coyright l. ivison 2013
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Prince Volonski and 2 Kuppies Go Walkies by Foutoux
All Rights Reserved L.Ivison 2013 Copyright |
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Prince Volonski with Kuppie on Lap by Foutoux
All Rights Reserved Copyright 2013 L.Ivison |
Ming the Siamese cat had just given birth to five Kuppies. They sucked at their mothers' teats purring before the Great Hall Fire and Prince Volovski sat looking satisfied with his new breed. The Kuppies' father, Lenin, was a Dalmation and the Kuppies had brown muzzles, black legs and a black tail. Their ears, however, instead of being upright and standing on their heads were twice the normal size and hung over their still closed eyes. You could already see the black spots on their bodies and their purrs were twice as loud as normal kittens, indeed the Kuppies themselves were twice the size of normal kittens.
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Ming Suckles Kuppie by Foutoux
All Rights Reserved L.Ivison 2013 Copyright |
Prince Volovski was reknowned for his inventive nature and his rose garden was noted through the region of N. in France where he had been exiled with his father half a century before. In particular his Crimson Neige variety was famous for blooming all through the year. Bored by a long wet winter the Prince had hit on the idea once night when Ming, with her usual indifference, had walked across his shoulders while he was sitting on the sofa, using him like a bridge. He wondered why cats couldn't be more like dogs and, for that matter, why dogs couldn't be more like cats. Of course, Ming's independence compensated for his indifference while Lenin the Dalmation was always getting under his feet, was too big and brought large muddy puddles into the house.
Wouldn't it be wonderful, he thought, to have a dog that was a bit more independent and a little smaller and a cat that didn't climb up the curtains and was a bit more affectionate. And so it was he hit upon what he called his "highbreed" idea - or, more affectionately, his COGS. So far, he thought as he looked at Ming with her Kuppies, so good. The Kuppies were healthy, they had purrs that even on their first blind day sounded like small lawn mowers, and Ming's iris eyes opened and closed with satisfaction.
It was not long, however, before the Prince began to regret his experiment. It was true that Ignatius, Portia, Penelope, Rodolph and Zoro grew into active Kuppies and were as affectionate as their mother Ming was indifferent, but the cross-breeding had not eliminated the curtain climbing and all the chateau's velvet curtains had been torn to shreds by the weight of the new breed. The Prince hadn't accounted for their refusal to use the litter tray like normal kittens and he now slid around the chateau floor finding large puddles wherever he went.
When the Prince went out walking passers-by were unnerved by the Cogs who purred while he passed the time of day.
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Kuppie Walks in Prince Volonski's Park byFoutoux
All Rights Reserved L.Ivison Copyright 2013 |
He had become attached to Ignatius and Rodolph in particular but he gave away Portia, Penelope and Zoro as soon as they were weaned. The philosopher in him recognised that cats were the size they were for a reason and that Cogs who barked and purred at the same time would always be considered odd.
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Ming Plays with Kuppie by Foutoux
All Rights Reserved L. Ivison Copyright 2013 |
