Zoe Introduces Belle and Barre…

Posted on by Chris The Story Reading Ape

Zoe Introduces Belle and Barre


Dear friends and fans, I’ve got a happy story for you this month. Well, happier than last month’s story, anyway. I will recap that in a minute, in case you missed it, but first, for any reader who has not yet met me, I must introduce myself. I am Zoe the Fabulous Feline, and I write stories. I live with Emily, the human I adopted about eight years ago when I was a mere kitten; at that same time, my sister, Jasmine (“Jaz”) adopted Emily’s daughter, Michele, and Michele’s husband, Michael.

In last month’s story, I told you that Jaz had fallen ill and had crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Losing her left us broken-hearted and we miss her very much.

Michele and Michael felt the loss of Jaz more acutely, of course. After all, when they left the house, there was no Jaz sitting in the window, meowing, “Good-bye, please hurry home!” When they returned, there was no Jaz sitting just inside the door, waiting to welcome them home. The house just did not feel the same without their little Jaz running around, begging for play time and treats. It did not take long at all for Michele and Michael to decide that, although they could never replace Jaz, they could offer a forever home to another shelter cat. And so began the search for a new feline to love.

Michele and Michael quickly found and fell in love with not one but two kittens. A pair of sisters, no less! They did not have the heart to separate them, so, although the plan was to adopt one cat, home they came with two.

Anyway, you know what they say about plans. “The best–laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” They being just a single Scotsman by the name of Robert Burns. And actually, Mister Burns did not say that; not exactly anyway. The quote evolved into what we say even today, but was adapted from a line in a poem written by Mister Burns in 1785, who wrote the poem, entitled “To A Mouse,” when he inadvertently turned up a mouse’s nest while ploughing the fields. His brother said that Mr. Burns wrote it right on the spot, with plough still in hand. In the poem, Mister Burns apologizes to the mouse for destroying its home; he describes how he recognized that the poor mouse, after seeing this great and empty field, thought it would be a wonderful and safe place to nest for the winter. But alas, as Mister Burns wrote: “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men, Gang aft agley” – I can certainly see how this line came to be anglicized. Do you want to know one more interesting tidbit relevant to this great quote about plans? (I plan to tell you either way, so you may as well listen up.) Mister Burns’ quote provided the seed for John Steinbeck’s 1937 novel Of Mice and Men.

Hmmm … where was I? Oh yes. The new felines in our lives. Two. It was a happy day at the shelter. It was not such a happy day for me. After all, they’re cats. I’m a cat. Cats generally do not like it when a new cat comes into the picture; two cats were going to be impossible. I got along with Jaz and miss her because she was my sister. These are strangers … unknown felines coming into my territory! The family will expect that I will welcome them, show them around. Play with them! This will not be easy to do. But in honor of Jaz’s memory, I will try. I know she would want me to.

So, without further ado, allow me to introduce you to Belle and Barre (pronounced as “Bar-ree”). I will say, they are beauties. In their own way. I mean, they don’t possess my kind of beauty, but I am unique. I—oh, okay, okay!—they are really quite pretty. But I write stories. I will have to see what their super-power is. When I look at their photos, I wonder if they might be part Bengal. If they are, I am sure that, after we get used to each other, we will have some great adventures together.

Currently, the sisters are still pretty shy and adjusting to the change in their lives. They are only just starting to socialize with their humans, so I know they are not yet ready to welcome a visit from me.

Whew! I get a reprieve!

Zoe & Emily both live HERE

Zoe’s Facebook Page is HERE

Emily’s Facebook Page is HERE

Emily’s Sunrise Editing Services

sunrise_photo3-758x194

NOTE:

You can catch up with any Zoe the Cat Posts you may have missed, by any of the following three means:

Clicking on the Zoe the Cat tag at the bottom of her posts

The Categories Cloud in the right column and clicking on Zoe the Cat

Typing Zoe into the Search box top right of blog and Enter or Return

30 thoughts on “Zoe Introduces Belle and Barre…”

  5. Miss. Zoe, I know that you will be so bowled over by their sweetness that soon, you shall all be one big, happy family! of course, they will need your wisdom and guidance to full understand their new surroundings but I am convinced that they needed to be with you and the humans who rescued them from the shelter! ^–^

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  8. Thank you, this is delightful. A house without a cat.. or three is a home without a soul. My two girls do their best to train me but I always manage to bungle up somewhere. The thought of Colette and Simone hosting a blog has come up but being their servant and the one who would have to type it all up, they currently feel they suffer enough from a severe lack of lap-time. C’est la vie!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • awww, thanks, Lea. A Colette and Simone blog does have a certain flair, that je ne sais quoi, don’t you agree? But I understand, my paws get in the way too, and my human is my secretary. But she has no life, so….I’m kidding, of course, I know she does a lot for me and I show her my appreciation . . . with little love bites. You might want to check out that story, Love Bites, my first ever published here.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      • I shall check out that story. I just might have a photo or two hundred of the girls but it is likely a whole lot more! Colette is tiny and the boss. She loves to cuddle but only when it suits her. She has been hard at work trying to train me for a year last May. Simone has little use for humans and has been here since last August. She has only taken to visiting my lap in the past month or so. No doubt you understand what difficulties there are in training humans. 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply

        • Oh yes, Miss Lea….we four-leggeds have to have the patience of saints when it comes to training two-leggeds. Saints…I don’t really know what they are, or if they are all that patient. It’s something I hear Emily say often to the male in the household. I’d love to see photos of Colette and Simone….French beauties I bet!

          Liked by 2 people

          Reply

          • They are not called Les deux divas for nothing. I am typing their first post at this moment as Colette is dictating… Of course with her being the first in the house, this post will be a solo! 🙂

            Liked by 2 people

DON'T BE SHY - LEAVE A REPLY

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.