Sally and Tommy go to the park with their little sister. |
The Cat in the Hat and the Young Brat Oh, the things that you know, the knowledge you gain, when the Cat in a Hat comes in from the rain. Oh, what can you do when you really don't know that the Cat in the Hat will come in from the snow? Yes, Sally and Tommy had to learn that when they had two visits from the Cat in the Hat. Oh, what a mess, things here, and things there. The horrid pink stuff was everywhere. But the Cat in the Hat, he cleaned it right up, from the lowest basement to the tippy tip top. Time flew past, with the snow and the rain, but the Cat in the Hat didn't come back again. Soon a new child was born in the house, a child so small they called her Mouse. Now, although the child was really small, she had a loud holler that was heard by them all. "Oh, please," said Tommy. "Enough of that! Please! Oh, Please, quiet that brat!" "Yes," said Sally. "I agree with my brother." She looked at her father, and then at her mother. Daddy said, "She is still young. She doesn't know how to have fun. Let's do something before it gets dark. Why don't we go out and go to the park." "Yes! Yes!" said Tommy. "We must leave this house, and get far away from our sister, Mouse." "Now, be nice," said Mom "We are going together. Put your coat on in case of bad weather." "Oh, no!" said Sally. "Listen to what I say. Please, don't take that brat to the park today." "Now, Now children We must get along." Then mother started singing a nice quite song. So, the whole family walked down the street. (Brother and sister stared at their feet.) What's behind the fence? A red and white hat? And up in the tree, is that a black cat? Sally looked in the tree, but the black cat was gone. All she could hear was Mom singing her song. They went to the park. They went there to play, but they had to watch Mouse so she wouldn't crawl away. "Remember," said Dad "We're leaving at eight, So don't go to far, and we'll meet by the gate." Said Tommy to Sally, "Let's play with a ball. The brat won't get far, she's just learning to crawl." "Okay," said Sally, and started to play. They didn't see Mouse crawling away. Out of a bush came a long, red arm, and it picked up Mouse without raising alarm. Sally missed the ball that Tommy did throw. She said, as she looked, "Where did Mouse go?" They looked all around, in bushes and brook, They knew they must find her however long it took. Then out of a tree came a red-striped hat, and following that was a large black cat. "Greetings, you two," said the Cat in the Hat. "Could you be looking for a little, young brat?" "Oh, please," said the children. "You must tell us about where our sister is before our parents find out." "No worries," said the cat. "It's not very far. I'll take you there, just jump in my car." "You know," said Tommy. "we will get in trouble, and the Cat in the Hat will just make it double." "Don't worry," said Sally. "It will be okay. We must find Mouse before she's too far away." They got in the car and rode with the cat to a small little cave guarded by a fat bat. "Who are you?" said the bat who was very fat. "Me, Sally, and Tommy," said the Cat in the Hat. The bat looked them over with small, little eyes. He spotted the cat, and noticed his size. "Oh, this won't do, It won't do at all. The cat is too big and the cave is too small." So that cat grabbed his hat, and pulled the rim wide. He pulled the hat down until he was all inside. "So," said the cat, "now that I'm small, let's go inside. Let's go one and all." The bouncing striped hat, the girl and the boy, walked into the cave and heard sounds of joy. Thumb bonkers were banging, and loud cali-bassoons, wontringers, and tonblingers were playing loud tunes. Many red Things were dancing about. They were so loud Sally had to shout. "What's going on with the stringers and bloys. And the all of the Things playing with toys?" Said the Cat in the Hat, "Oh, can't you see? This is the great Thing Jamboree. Things come together to party and play. They sing and they dance all night and all day. And the guest of honor, the star of the house, is a little young girl. A young girl named Mouse." The children look up and to their surprise, they saw a happy young girl with bright, shining eyes. "Oh," said Sally, "She's no longer a brat. She's a happy little girl. Thank you, Cat in the Hat." "You're welcome," he said. "Now join in the fun. The party has started, it's almost half done." "We must hurry," said Tommy. "We don't want to be late. but our parents will wonder, If we're not at the gate." "Okay," said the cat, and they hurried outside. They jumped in the car and had a quick ride. As they were leaving Mouse started to cry. "Oh, no," said Sally "I think I know why. She misses the playing, the girls and the boys, the singing and dancing, and all of the toys. Maybe if we sing the song that they sung, it will be joy to one so young." So she sang the song as they went to the gate. They got there just as the clock struck eight. "Where have you been?" Asked their worried mother. "How's my little girl and your sister and brother?" "We're all fine," said Sally. "We weren't gone that long. We went for a walk, and learned a new song." As they left the park, the children thought that they had a good time thanks to the Cat in the Hat. Second place winner in the Seuss-ify Me! contest ("Invalid Item" ) for the month of November, 2003. |