Vyacheslav Miroshnikov - Cat Marquis De Richelieu

© Vyacheslav Miroshnikov, 2021

ISBN 978-5-0053-5418-1

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

1

LET ME INTRODUCE MYSELF!

Hello, my dear friend! Let’s get acquainted. My name is Marquis de Richelieu. As you understand, I am a cat. Yes, yes, a real cat, but not a simple, not an ordinary one. I am from that very breed of remarkable cats, about which there are myriads of fairy tales and other different stories. My ancestors became known to the whole world just due to the fact that they knew how to talk, work miracles and make friends with people no worse than people themselves make friends with each other.

I can’t tell you exactly who my great-great-grandfather was or where he was from, but I can definitely assure you that he gave birth to a whole generation of talented and funny cats, and that is a fact. Of course, not all my brothers and sisters got the gift of being able to speak to people in their native language, but what can you do about it! This is a serious thing. You probably think how great it is! And you also probably would like to have such a four-legged speaking friend? But just imagine where such luck might lead you? What if your buddy will be an incredibly chatty cat who suddenly wants to talk in the middle of the night? Or he will scream loudly at the yard dog, who barks all the time just because he is lonely! You jump out of bed from someone’s loud indignation, look at the clock that shows three in the morning, and at that moment your favorite cat jumps at your feet and asks quietly, “Master, you too can’t sleep because of that barking Bobik?” You will lay your head on the pillow in the hope of falling asleep, and he will lie down next to you, lick you in the ear and whisper quietly, “And how about a nice little saucer of sour cream?”

But, this is not the worst thing one can expect from us, talking cats. We, our dear owners, love your secrets very much, and we know quite a lot about you. We often hide in some secluded places, sit quietly, and we can stay there for a very long time until we find out everything that you share with your best friends. Unfortunately, by far not everyone of us knows how to keep one’s mouth shut, so some of us often might spill the beans.

But, this has nothing to do with me! I am honest, loyal to friends and always happy to help them. I have an interesting, albeit difficult, life story. As a kitten, I was taken to the town of Irpen and given by my owners from Paris to one noble person. My new family loved and petted me until I once spoke. To make things worse, I apparently said something superfluous, which plunged them into the state of utter and complete shock. They got rid of me. So I ended up in the forest – a lonely, but at the same time, a freedom-loving cat. I lived only for my pleasure and did not reckon with anyone, but one day there, in the forest thicket, I met my new friends who turned my life and consciousness upside down. I made a lot of acquaintances and got a real home, which I loved incredibly much. In order for you to find out how my life has changed and what has happened to me recently, I decided to tell you some interesting stories filled with adventures. My readers and listeners, to keep you really interested, I, cat Marquis de Richelieu, promise not to let my thoughts flow all over the tree and not get carried away with unnecessary details. My story will be as fast, contrasting and fun as it actually was from the moment when I woke up one early morning and decided to ride down the hill over slippery grass covered with clear dew that shimmered in the rays of the sun.

2

After yesterday’s rain with a thunderstorm, the morning was incredibly beautiful and sunny. Marquis De Richelieu opened his right eye and looked up. Then he slightly lifted himself on one paw and opened his second eye, after which he turned his head around in different directions. He still lay under a huge oak tree, and only now, in the morning sunlight, was able to appreciate its centennial grandeur and beauty. He slowly made a little stretch, pressing against the tree trunk with his hind paws and, pushed away from it and immediately jumped up. Having felt the hot rays of the sun, De Richelieu arched his back, closed his eyes for a moment and shook his back several times. He straightened up and immediately drew attention to a long, sloping hill, overgrown with thick tall grass. It was covered with morning dew, and he immediately felt a strong desire to ride down from it. Having run a few meters forward, Marquis jumped up, and right in the air turned over on his back and rolled down the hill at great speed. Thanks to the dew he felt how easily his body glided along the soft grass.

“Uhhhhhh,” De Richelieu cried out loudly, and at that very moment he felt with horror that his body ceased to sense the earth and hung in the air for a second. At that very moment he flew down like a stone. And already falling, he managed to see a man beneath him, who patted a horse slightly with a whip, so that she would carry a cart on which he rode faster. Also a green slide flashed before the eyes of Marquis and with a rumble he landed in a heap of odorous hay, and slightly bumped into some kind of wooden board.

“My sweet mother Marquise!” the cat shouted loudly in surprise. “This is not what I wanted!”

“What on earth is going on here?” De-Richelieu heard the man’s voice, “I don’t understand!”

The man jumped off from the cart and immediately ran to him.

“How did you get here, cat?” he asked with surprise in his voice and looked up. There was not a single tree above them, but only high hills with woodland along their edges.

“I… I…,” Marquis wanted to say at least something, but everything went floating before his eyes and it seemed to him that there were several identical twin men leaning over him at once. But they all had one and the same question in their eyes: where could this cat possibly fall down on us from?

“No need to feel sorry for me…,” Marquis wanted to say arrogantly, but all of a sudden he felt that he was losing both his gift of speech and his consciousness.

After a while, when De Richelieu came back to his senses, he immediately felt that he was not quite firmly standing on his paws and it felt like kind of shaking a little from side to side. But this was not due to his general weakness, but to a somewhat shaky ride. Around it smelled of dry, fragrant hay, which already tangled in his fluffy wool, and it also smelled of a horse who was slowly pulling the cart. Marquis got up on his hind paws and looked around. Their cart slowly moved between the trees; at its very edge sat a man with his legs dangling. He hummed some tune and slightly twitched the reins. He was obviously glad to notice that the cat woke up.

3

“Look, Lisa,” the horseman cried with enthusiasm, “our wonderful guest, who fell down straight from the sky, seems to have come to his senses.” But look how ugly he is! Never mind. We will surely wash him clean and make him a real handsome cat, if he doesn’t run away before it.

Marquis understood perfectly what the horseman said. But not everything he heard in fact pleased his ears. He did not consider himself a strange and unprecedented wonder that fell down straight from the sky. And he didn’t agree on bathing either, because he was already soaked enough by that yesterday’s rain. In addition to the above, he considered himself the most beautiful and smart cat in the world without any additional intrusion required.

Once again he could not restrain himself having forgotten that silence is golden. Emotions ran their course, and De Richelieu got really excited.