A Tale of a Thief

Moondagger coughes. Her silver and black body shakes. Her pursuer has returned. They have searched a long time for her but they haven't found her. Moondagger looks up in her little triumph. Nobody could find her. Nobody… when she hides herself in the darkness of the shadows. But her triumph flies away fast. Why did they have done that? Why? They have promised it and then they have hunted her away because she was a thief! Her thoughts wandered back…

Moondagger was successful in stealing her breakfast. The night was over and Moondagger has made herself comfortable for her luxurious breakfast. She loves the tension when she broke into a house and stole things what she needed to survive. As a street cat she had to do so. After having breakfast she wandered through the streets to her sleeping place. For her surprise the place wasn't empty. Two large toms were sitting there. Moondagger who was very tired and wanted to sleep, became angry. "Hey, you two toms, this is my place. Go away and search another for yourself!" The toms laughed and one answered her: "Are you the one who knows the barkeeper of the pub in this village?" Carefully Mondagger looked at the toms. "And if I were this one?" she asked. "Then we have a job for you." Moondagger thought of the offer. That was what she needed right now at the moment. "What kind of job is that?" "Well," said the other tom, "One queen of our tribe missed her jewels. They have been stolen by her rival. We want them back but without having a catfight. You have to break into the house and steal the juwels." That was what Moondagger liked very much to do. "An what do I get for the job?" she said. The toms smiled : "Everything you want." Everything what she want? Moondagger was surprised. Perhaps… perhaps her greatest wish could become true! "Can I live with your tribe after finishing the job?" she asked. The toms looked at each other. Then one gave her a little smile. "All right." he said and Moondagger felt her heart jumping up and down. Finally she got a home with some other Jellicles who accepted her. "Come on, gilt. We show you the house where the jewels are." Moondagger ran luckily with them. The house was a typical house of a rich human family. Moondagger looked carefully around. That should become very easy, she thought as she noticed the entrance for the cat. Good an entrance for me, too. One tom said: "The queen sleeps in an upper room. Come tomorrow to the old barn. You know where it is?" Moondagger nodded. "Good luck." wished the two toms and went off. Moondagger smiled that was going to be one of her easiest jobs. And the price… All what she want to have. The queen went to her sleeping place. For tonight she wants to be fit and so she soon fell asleep.

The night began and Moondagger took her place near the house wher she could easily notice all movements inside and outside. At midnight she hurried into the garden and through the cat door. There she stood quiet and listened to some possible sounds. Nothing. Everybody was asleep. Where was the chamber? she thought. In an upper etage she remembered. Carefully she turned towards the stairs. Her body searched automatically the darkest shadows so nobody could see her. Without causing any noise she reached the top of the stairs. To her right there were three chambers with two closen doors. To her left there was a small flat with two doors at the end. Moondagger listened at the closed doors. From beside she could here sounds of sleeps. She went into the room with the open door and stood inside a bathroom. In spite of knowing that she wouldn't find the jewels here Moondagger searched for the jewels inside the room. As she expected she found nothing. Carefully she walked along the flat. The doors of these rooms were opened. In one of the rooms she could notice the basket of a cat. Moondagger creeped carefully into the room. She used every dark shadow to hide her. There she could see the queen. But where were the jewels? Moondagger thought. As she looked around a moon shaft fell into the room and on the sleeping cat. On the queen's neck Moondagger noticed a glitter. "Aha", Moondagger thought, "There are the jewels!" Moondagger approached slowly the queen, so she reached the cat from the back. Being a very good thief Moondagger could easily take the collar with the jewels off the cat. Why haven't the toms told her that the jewels were on a collar? Moondagger wondered but then she said to her angrily that it was not her task to ask behind the history of the collar. Her task was to steal it and brought it back to the two toms. Moondagger left the house very satisfied. It was easy and know she would have get her greatest wish. Giggling of joy she reached her sleeping place. She tried to sleep but couldn't. Her thoughts wandered forward to the beautiful time she would have. Perhaps she would meet a nice tom? As the sun rise Moondagger made her way to the barn. Five large toms and a queen waited for her. Moondagger gave the queen the collar who didn't said a word for thanks. Instead she disappeared inside the barn. Moondagger wondered. At least she had expected one word like "Thank you". She looked at the toms. "I'm brought you the collar. Please admit me in your tribe." The toms laughed. One tom who Moondagger noticed as the one who gives her the job, said:" Do you really think that we would accept a street cat like you? A thief, eh?" "But you have promised it!" Moondagger cried out. "And you was so stuped to accept." The tom grinned. He turned to the other toms: "Let us play a little bit with the thief!" Moondagger turned immediately around and ran! She ran and ran and ran. The toms were hunting her and their laugh sounded in Moondagger's ears. She ran around a corner and found a possibility to hide herself. As the toms came around the corner Moondagger has disappeared…

Moondagger stands up. She doesn't want to stay in this village anymore. Perhaps she should search her home in on of the great towns, like London. There, some rumors said, should be a Jellicle tribe who accepted strangers as well. Moondagger decides to search for the tribe. So she left the village where she would never return.



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