Wednesday, September 28, 1910
Sometime during the Autumn of 1910; in the loft of a big red barn on the outskirts of River City, Montana; a momma cat gave birth to six kittens. A smoky gray girl was the runt of the litter.
The little gray kitten enjoyed every second of her kittenhood. She tumbled and tussled with her brothers and sisters. She enjoyed sniffing and marking the horses that lived on the first floor. She had fun exploring the house where the farmer and his wife lived and climbing the apple trees which dotted the front yard.
One morning, the farmer came and picked up the kittens and placed them in a big wooden box. They cried and cried for their mother, but all she did was reassure them that everything was as it should be. Although the farmer tried his best, the little gray kitten was just too quick. She hid inside of a coffee can beneath the work-bench. The farmer resigned himself to thinking that she was probably meant to be a barn cat. He put the box in the wagon, bridled up his horses and drove off.
When the farmer was out of sight, the little gray kitten came out of hiding. She ran to momma. Momma was sad to see her kittens leave. She licked her tiniest baby's face, but then, hissed at her. The little gray kitten was confused and upset. Momma hissed again and growled. The little gray kitten was frightened. She ran out of the barn as fast as she could.
She kept running for a very long time before she finally stopped near a tall Maple tree. She took a moment to catch her breath. The sun was high in the sky and making her all the more dry mouth. She missed napping in a pile with her brothers and sisters back at the barn.
She was hungry. She flopped on the ground and folded her arms to rest her head, hoping to get a few minutes of a snooze. Her twitching ears woke her up. They were tuning on the skittish movements of a mouse as it rustled through the fallen leaves. She poked up her head and sniffed around until she found it. She wished mother were around to kill it for her, but, since she wasn't she'd have to do on her own.
She took light, subtle steps towards the rodent moving ever so cautiously. Finally, when she was in range, she pounced and delivered a quick, lethal bite. She was so happy. The kitten picked up her prize by its tail and held her head high. Momma Cat would be so proud of her, but, after walking a few steps in a circle, she realized she was utterly lost.
She hung her head down; very, very, very sad. She wanted to go back to the big, red barn. However, she knew that a kitten's tears would not make that happen. She was on her own.
She stayed at the tall Maple tree for several days. With each opportunity, she became more adept at hunting. She watched all manner of forest life pass her way. A colony of ants built a mound nearby. Whenever a kindle of rabbits would play or chew on alfalfa sprouts she was reminded of her family back in the barn: brothers and sisters who, in all likelihood, now had their own territory with humans to take care of their needs. The loving kindness showed by a family of skunks even vaguely resembled her earliest memories of happier days. A mother deer and her fawn mimicked the relationship with her own momma cat. The saddest day came when she could no longer remember what her mother looked like or sounded like.
After a couple of weeks, she was resigned to living in the tree, alone, unwanted, forever. Unfortunately for her, a much bigger, older cat had a different scheme in mind. He wanted that tree to be part of his territory.
Little gray kitten put up quite a defense, but the opponent was too scary. She ran away.
As she scampered for her life, she got lost. When she turned around, she could no longer see the tall Maple tree or the forest. She decided to keep running and see what turns up.
She saw a massive, rocky hill in front of her. That might provide a few places to hide. She ran to it and hid in a rocky crag. The next morning, the little, gray kitten concentrated hard and picked up the scent of the horses. She followed them down the road to a small town. The town looked so inviting. Many smells, many voices, a host of new friends and adventures. She found a bridge and merrily walked into town.
Humans were bustling about everywhere. Their mad rush, the constant clogging of horse hooves, the clamorous cars made her unsure about the situation. She ran back to the safety of the crag in the rocky hill.
The next morning, she headed for the town once again. She found the bridge and confidently strolled into the bustling metropolis. She stopped by each building sniffing it, seeing which other cats had claimed that slot of territory. Every time she found a place she liked, another cat or a stupid dog would chase her away.
She sniffed a familiar smell in an alley: flour and sugar. She saw a light on in the window. She jumped on the ledge and peered inside. The blonde human female was rolling dough. An older, black haired female with a bump in her belly was yelling at her. As soon as the older one left, the younger one did an exaggerated imitation of her.
The little, gray kitten started to tap on the window to attract the human's attention but a big Siamese cat jumped on the indoor part of the ledge. The kitten was startled. The Siamese hissed at her to go away. Defeated and sad, she left. She meekly walked back down the alley and back to the crag on the rocky hill.
The next day, the little, gray kitten went to the schoolhouse. The wafting fragrances of lunches enticed her pallet and drew her closer. She found a lone male human sitting under a ring of tall trees behind the schoolhouse. She gave a polite meow. He smiled and gave her a piece of tuna fish. She relished the seafood until two other humans, females, showed up and told her to scat. One of them began sneezing.
The little gray kitten ran away and hid in a drainage pipe. She cried and cried and cried. Life was so unfair. Everyone was cruel. No one loved her. No one ever would. She would spend her entire life, alone, afraid and cold. She wearily returned to the crag, exhausted, defeated, and hopeless. More days passed by, each seemingly blurring into the next. She was no longer interested in finding a home. She didn't care much about anything.
One morning, just after sunrise, she felt a tap on her nose. She popped open her eyes but no one was there.
She stuck her head out of the crag and looked around, no cats, no dogs, no humans. She started to return to her home, but, something compelled her to go for a walk.
She went to the creek bed and relaxed by watching tadpoles. She stuck her paw in to catch one, but suddenly she felt some whiskers brush her right ear. She turned her head to see who was there, but there was no one.
She crossed the bridge and strolled into town. It was still early, only a handful of humans were on the streets. The sun's rays were peeking over the mountains: coloring the sky, bathing the town in a warm amber glow.
She came to a big yellow house surrounded by a small, white picket fence. The fence had another cat's smell on it. Once again, she was in someone else's territory. She started to move along, but for some reason she stopped. She could not go any further. She felt a slight tug on her left paw, so she took a chance and crawled under the fence. She cowered down and hid in a clump of grass.
As she examined the big yellow house, an old female human who had black hair with streaks of white stepped on the porch carrying a cup of coffee. She was silent and forlorn as she sat in a big fan chair. She looked sad and lonely; just like the little gray kitten.
The little gray kitten sympathized with the human as she watched her from the clump of grass.
An odd sensation poked at her tail. She stepped up and turned around. Once again, no one was there.
When she turned to the house, the old woman was looking right at her.
At first she thought to run away, but instead she took a couple of steps forward.
The old woman smiled. The kitten smiled in return.
She took a couple of more steps and then put a single paw on the bottom step to the porch.
The woman grinned and made kissing noises.
The kitten did not know what that meant exactly, but she took it as a sign to come closer.
The kitten tilted her head and meowed, "Home?"
The old woman chuckled and stuck out her hand to be sniffed.
The kitten sniffed her hand and then rubbed it. The human now belonged to her. She scratched the kitten's ears and patted her head. She nodded and spoke a human phrase that somehow, the little gray kitten heard in the complex language of Cat: "You're as cute as a button."
The little gray kitten purred. "As a matter of fact, that's your name: Button!" The woman patted her lap.
The little gray kitten instinctively jumped in her lap and curled up.
As she lay on the human's lap she looked out on to the lawn. The human looked up too. The human saw the yard, empty streets and morning clouds.
Button, on the other hand could see a bright, shimmering human with soft, snowy wings. It was so unusual: beautiful and not at all frightening. The winged human reached into her white robe and pulled out a black kitten.
The shinny human began to slowly float into the sky. The kittens looked at each other and smiled.
The floating human picked up one of the little black kitten paws and used it to wave bye-bye.
Button looked to the sky and meowed, "Thank you for the home."
Prissy meowed in reply, "You're welcomed, Button, you're welcomed."
