Friday, December 16, 2022

Learning the rules - excerpt from A Surprise Gift, Sparky's story

 


Chapter 7

Learning the rules

Buen diá Princesa Chica. ¿Cómo está?” I said, “Good day Princess Chica. How are you?”

¿Estoy bien, gracias, y tú?” Chica answered me in cat-Spanish and I understood. She had said she was doing well, thank you, and then asked how I was.

I was so pleased I couldn’t stop my tail from doing its helicopter-spin of happiness. “I’m very well thank you,” I replied, then I noticed she was sitting beside a little tree that was covered in cute decorations.

“Oh, that’s a good idea, an indoor bathroom for pets,” I said. “But why is it sitting on a table? It should be on the floor.”

“No!” Chica quickly said. “This is our Christmas tree, un árbol de Navidad. Our humans would be upset if you peed on it.”

“Really?” I put my front paws on the low wooden table and gave the tree a sniff. It didn’t smell anything like a real tree. “What’s a Christmas tree?” I asked.

“It is part of the decorations our humans display at this time of the year.”

“So, Servant and Driver are also Decorators? Do we call them Decorator One and Decorator Two?” The rules of my new home were very puzzling. And why shouldn’t I pee on the tree? That’s what trees were for.

“No,” Chica answered, “she’s always Servant and he’s always Driver. Tommy says we don’t want to confuse them.”

Si, now I remember. He told me that humans are difficult to train.” I agreed.

“Si, very difficult,” she agreed. “Tommy is very smart, and you should always listen to his advice.”

“I will,” I said, carefully studying the fancy tree. I still didn’t understand why I couldn’t use it for my indoor bathroom.

“We are extra lucky because we were born in Mexico and there are many winter celebrations, not just Christmas,” Chica said. “The holiday season starts with December 12th, Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe- Virgin of Guadalupe Day. Then, December 16th to the 24th is the Posadas, the procession recreating the journey of Mary and Joseph, and December 24th, Nochebuena or Christmas Eve is when Mexican families have their special feasts. Our people and many of their friends are called Gringos and they have their feast on December 25th.”

“Is that when the people create loud noises?  Lots of booms and bangs?”

“Yes, fireworks scare me,” Chica answered.

“I usually just hide under something and try to sleep,” I said.

“Me too!” Chica said. “The best part of the holiday season is that our people like to invite their friends and some of their cat-friendly dogs to a party at our house. They laugh, play music, sing, and eat lots of yummy foods.”

“I don’t think my first human had a lot of money. We never had a party,” I said, wistfully. “Parties sound like a lot of fun.”

“Si,” she agreed, “and our humans also go to our friends’ houses to celebrate.”

“Do you get invited too?” I asked.

“Tommy and I are invited to the parties that are close by,” she said, “We follow Servant and Driver along the beach.”

“What else do you do to celebrate?” I asked.

“My goodness you ask a lot of silly questions!” Chica flicked her tail and glared at me.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t understand everything about my new life yet.” I said, “please be patient with me.”

She sighed, “Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry. We were all strays at one time.” She licked one paw and cleaned her whiskers.

I was fascinated. She knew how to self-clean just like Tommy. Maybe she could teach me, but not right now, because she was still talking about the holidays.

“And there are parades with funny costumes,” she said, “and music, and people tossing candy for the children and their parents. Many people go to a building called a church and sing nice songs,” she added. “It’s a very busy time on the island, but we enjoy the excitement. My favorite day is Christmas Day. We get presents in the morning, then we eat turkey and sweet potatoes at dinner time.”

“Turkey? What’s that?” I asked.

“Turkey is awesome! It’s a huge bird that is roasted for hours and then we feast on it. Servant, Driver, Tommy, me, and of course you this year. We eat and eat, and then fall asleep.” Just thinking about the upcoming feast made Chica feel sleepy. She stretched and yawned, “the celebrations continue until January 6th Día de Reyes, when the Mexican children receive their presents from the three kings.”

“Presents? What are presents?”

“Presents are my favorite,” she replied with a sly grin. “You’ll see.”

Oh no, I really don’t like it when a cat gives me a sneaky smile. I am pretty sure it means something bad for me, like another visit to the cat-doctor.

Maybe I should just hide outside in the bushes on Christmas day.


 To be continued ...

Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings






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Woof, woof, Sparky



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