I Wish for Fish

Gently rolling in his blankets was an umber ambush, a stalking blot of venom on the night sky, thick in the tryst of the hunt. Or, so he thought of himself. No, his sanguine dream of dense jungle and damp mist hiding all but his bright yellow eyes was canned within the confines of a rocking metal tub. “A cat on the sea, who ever heard of such a thing”? The sleek feline mused to himself, lazily trailing a paw over the edge of his soft cloth perch, dangling from the dark ceiling in the corner of a warm room. He peeked though the keyhole to the small cupboard he was curled in

“How utterly droll”. He hummed to himself, twisting and allowing his lithe form to drop noiselessly to the metal floor. “The comforting hum has stopped”. Indeed, the big metal box that gave off so much heat dominated the majority of this room. Normally, it hummed comfortingly and warmed the pads of his paws after he awoke. But the humans had turned it off, it seemed. “No matter. I do believe I am famished. I will see if my patrons have brought a fresh bounty aboard. A new catch, yes! A fresh peck, yes! I wish-I wish- I wish for fish!” He intoned magnificently, rubbing a whiskered cheek against the doorframe as he bounded up the grated steps.

Arriving at the landing he dropped to a crouch. Tucking his front paws tight against his chest, back legs fully extended and primed, he peeked around the corner into the night. The air was annoyingly damp as his world churned in the rough surf. Sea spray occasionally flicked droplets of water aboard, which irritated his face. “Hardly seems worth it. A princely panther such as myself should really have a bell to ring, a melody to play, that brings the servants ere’ my way! I wish-for fish, upon a plate with no delay!" He chortled to himself. "I really am brilliant, and underrated every day!”

A gnawing growl in his belly brought him out of his deep self-appreciation, which was tragic in itself. He glared at the stomping yellow boots that clumsily splashed by his door. Following them toward the back of the boat, he narrowed his splendidly ochre eyes. “But that’s away from the barrels. And I see the nets coiled up by the tiny boats. No indeed, humans, this won’t do in the least. No for sure, humans, this won’t bring a feast”! He traipsed out onto the deck and stared up at the man in the yellow coat. “Intolerable, unacceptable, I greatly disapprove! I wish for fish, I’ve told you so, break out your nets and MOVE!”

The nerve of the clumsy, yellow lummox! He paid him no regard! Joined by another human, they retreated to the back rail, gazing overboard at the boat’s yawning tail. Rolling his eyes, he plodded along to see what was interesting enough to trump his restitution. What could be so critical, it outranked his gnawing need? He was wasting away before their eyes! And yet they give no heed! “What has your eyes so enraptured that you dare protract my fast? I told you both in volume high that FISH is all I ask!”

The humans beckoned and gestured; the noise they made chafed his ears. They looked quite upset at the tail of the ship. “A pity the ship has not a tail like mine” he gloated, taking a moment to lick an errant bit of fur along his own. His keen apertures followed the humans boorish gestures to a coil of rope and a thick tube, connected to a stack of cold metal cylinders. He scowled and licked his paw. The last time he had fooled with the alluring, notched dial on one of those, a blast of freezing wind was his reward, along with more of the humans annoying shouting.

The tube and rope led over the back of the ship. Only once had he seen what lie beyond the edge of his steely bastion. Once, while the boat was taken out of the rocking waves. He did not like the change, but had explored the unfamiliar, hot sand. He was not enamored with it at all, and had come around the rear of his floating lodging to find a way back up. Massive three-finned pieces of metal stuck out of the boat, and they reminded him of the odd, noisy devices the humans kept in their small sleeping-rooms that blew air all over the place and rattled incessantly.

1He grew impatient as more humans ran to the back of the boat, one was waving his big, stupid arms around and shaking his head. The glorious shadow of splendid black fur chafed. “How your voices hurt my ears, my wishes unattended. Let the human in the water play with the finned-metal pieces, if that’s what you intended!” And he turned to go back to his hammock. It was far too noisy. The humans hauled up the rope and tube, the ends frayed and severed. This did catch his interest momentarily. “That looks…fun”. But he smirked and closed his eyes, continuing to the stairs leading down to his warm room.

Trotting down the steps again, he was delighted to hear the deep hum of the warm metal machine in the middle of the room. “The humans had the sense to turn this back on for me, at least. But what a poor replacement for my belated fishy feast.” He leapt into his soft bed and tried to tune out the wailing cries echoing down the stairs. Clearly the humans were blustering with lament over delaying his meal. Peering through the keyhole again, he purred. “It’s only right that they should hiss, I really am a simple cat, my demands were only this: I wish- I wish, I wish for FISH! There's nothing wrong with that!"