Cassandra was perched on the branch of an old oak tree. It was a peaceful night…the sky was clear, a crescent-shaped moon glowed low in the sky, and a calm wind barely rustled the leaves on the tree…but something was missing. Cassandra stared at the branch beneath her feet and remembered Mistoff. She could almost hear his soft purr in her ear. For a moment, she could almost see him. But the vision faded, and Cassandra realized that he was never coming back. She gently laid her head down and began to think of that day that changed both of their lives. The day of the Jellicle Trial.
It was early fall. Mistoff and Cassandra were perfecting their tree climbing skills. “Cats always land on their feet, I’ve always wondered if magicians do,” Cassandra said as she crept closer to Mistoff.
“Hey, you wouldn’t…” Mistoff started.
“Yes, I would,” Cassandra interrupted as she gave him a significant nudge.
“REERROWWR!” Mistoff screeched as he fell from the branch. Quickly, he twisted in mid-air, landed, and arched his back to absorb the shock. “I should blow up that branch you’re on,” Mistoff said, slightly annoyed.
“Nah, don’t blow up that,” said a voice. Mistoff turned to see who it was. It was Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer was with him.
“Blow up that!” Rumpleteazer said, pointing to a small wooden barrel.
“Okay.” Mistoff got ready to blow up the barrel. Mungo & Rumpy backed away. The barrel exploded. The sky filled with smoke…and cacoburrs.
“Ack! Cacoburrs!” Mistoff yelled. He tried to make a run for it, but it was too late. He was covered with them, from his ears to the tip of his tail was nothing but cacoburrs.
“You creeps put cacoburrs in that barrel, didn’t you!” Mungo & Rumpy didn’t reply, they were too busy laughing.
“Hey, Mungo!” Cassandra shouted down from the tree. Still giggling, Mungo looked up at her. “What?”
“Catch,” Cassandra kicked an arsenal of acorns down at him.
“Ooh! Ah! Ow! Eee! Ack! Ouch! Yeeps!” Mungo yelled as each acorn hit him. Rumpy started laughing harder, until Mungo started chucking the acorns at her.
“Ow! Hey! Stop! Argghhh!” Rumpy protested.
“Can someone please help me?” Mistoff asked as he was trying his best to remove the cacoburrs. “They won’t disappear!” He complained. Cassandra jumped out of the tree and began to pick at the burrs.
“I wish I could help, but my nails aren’t long enough, and the burrs stick to my tounge if I try to bite them,” Cassandra told him after several unsuccessful attempts. Upon seeing this dilemma, Mungo and Rumpy quickly scampered away.
“What’s going on?” Tugger asked, accompanied by Bombalurina.
“What happened to you?” Tugger asked Mistoff, trying to fight off a laugh attack. Bombalurina giggled, “You look like you went bathing in Weed Creek.”
“Stop laughing. Just help me get these things off,” Mistoff pleaded. Bombalurina smiled and extended her long, alley-cat claws. “What’s in it for me?” She purred.
“If you think I’m gonna sleep with you, you’re out of your mind, but I will show you my latest magic trick,” Mistoff replied.
“Very well,” Bombalurina told him as she began to pick the burrs off one by one. Soon, the job was done.
“Thank you,” Mistoff said gratefully.
“You’re welcome,” Bombalurina replied. “Now, about that magic trick…what is it that you can do?”
“Well,” Mistoff began, “You’ll see…I need two volunteers.” Bombalurina backed away as Tugger and Cassandra approached Mistoff.
“Okay, here it goes,” Mistoff got ready.
“No, wait!” Tugger yelled. “Hold on, I’ll be back!” Tugger raced away. Mistoff just watched him curiously. That’s odd…he thought. Within five minutes, Tugger was back. With him were Munkustrap, Jellylorum, Victoria, Pouncival, and Old Deuteronomy.
“We needed a bigger audience,” Tugger told the puzzled Mistoff.
“Okay…” Mistoff gulped. Now he was nervous. “Here it goes…” Mistoff began to cast his spell on Tugger and Cassandra. “Sgnapuras ngo dihn *hiccup* diem uh oh…” Mistoff watched as a ball of lightning formed on his paws. He felt the force of it leave his claws. He watched the ball hit an audience member, and he watched Old Deuteronomy fall dead on the ground. For a moment, everything went silent. The moment lasted for over five minutes, until Munkustrap said to Mistoff in a soft, low voice… “You’ve killed the Jellicle leader.”
“Come with me,” Munkustrap said as he seized Mistoff’s arm.
“What just happened?” Victoria asked as soon as Mistoff and Munkustrap were out of sight. She stared at Deuteronomy in horror.
“Apparently, he hiccuped, said a wrong word, and the spell changed,” Jellylorum replied.
“He killed Old Deuteronomy!” Pouncival yelled. “Off with his head!”
“Where is Munkustrap taking him? Does anyone know?” Cassandra asked, looking very worried.
“I wish I knew,” Tugger answered.
About an hour later, Munkustrap returned, Mistoff was not with him.
“Where is he? What are you going to do with him?” Cassandra raced up to him.
“Deuteronomy’s funeral will be tomorrow morning,” Munkustrap said in a flat, lifeless voice. “Mistoff’s trial will be that afternoon.”
“Mistoff’s trial? What do you mean by that?” Cassandra asked him.
“TO FIND OUT IF I SHOULD KILL HIM,” Munkustrap yelled. “Anyway, Mistoff is currently locked up. If the jury finds him to be worthy of a death sentence, so be it. If the jury finds that he should not be sentenced to death, he will be set free. If the jury can’t decide, I will,” Munkustrap then turned to Bombalurina and Pouncival. “You are members of the jury,” He told them. “The other members are,”…Cassandra turned her ear to listen in… “Jennyanydots,”…Cassandra smiled, Jenny couldn’t bear to see anyone sentenced to death… “Sillabub”…Cassandra smiled again… “Alonzo”…hmm, Cassandra thought, I just don’t know with him… “And Skimbleshanks”…Auuughhhh! Cassandra thought.
“Well, Good Night,” Munkustrap bowed his head and walked away.
Cassandra didn’t sleep well that night. She kept thinking about Mistoff & the trial. If Pouncival and Skimble are on the jury, he’ll never get off free, she thought. Pouncival wants Mistoff’s head removed, and Skimble’s such a picky crab that he’d only look at the bad things that happened because of Mistoff when he should be looking at Mistoff’s endangered life. Argh! Cassandra thought.
The next day was dreary, dark clouds covered the morning sky. When Cassandra arrived at Deuteronomy’s funeral, she noticed that Mistoff wasn’t there. What? She thought. Is Munkustrap even to stingy to let Mistoff see Deuteronomy’s funeral? Creep. Just then, Cassandra felt a nudge in her ribs.
“Just checking to see if you were still here,” Demeter said to her. “You seem lost.”
“Oh, uh, sorry,” Cassandra replied. Demeter just looked at her strangely and turned her attention back to Munkustrap, who was giving the service.
Munkustrap placed four wildflowers on Deuteronomy’s grave. “Up, up, up passed the Jellicle moon. Up, up, up, up to the Heaviside layer,” he murmured as he set the last wildflower in place.
“Deuteronomy is a great loss, the Jellicle tribe needed him. But I, being the son of Grizabella, and the grandson of Deuteronomy, shall take his place.” With that, Munkustrap brought a closure to the service by sprinkling catnip leaves over Deuteronomy’s grave.
“Now, all of you Jellicles that are on the jury for Mistoff’s trial or are witnesses, come with me. The rest of you can come and watch it if you like,” Munkustrap said, using his flat, lifeless voice. Cassandra, Victoria, Tugger & Jellylorum followed Munkustrap as witnesses. Skimble, Sillabub, Jennyanydots, and Alonzo followed him as jurors. Pouncival and Bombalurina also followed him as jurors, even though they were also witnesses. The remaining Jellicles also followed him. It seemed as though Macavity was the only one who wasn’t interested in what was going to happen to Mistoff.
“Let the trial begin!” Munkustrap’s voice echoed through the junkyard. He was standing on the tire. The six jurors were in the back of the yard. The four witnesses were near the front. Mistoff was also at the front, but he was tied on a leash to the tire. The rest of the Jellicle population was spread out anywhere they could find room.
“I am going to try and make this as quick as possible. One witness will explain to the jury what happened, the other witnesses will verify it, and the jury will decide of Mistoff will be sentenced to death. Jellylorum, the floor is yours,” Munkustrap nodded to her, and sat down.
Jellylorum stood up and faced her very large audience. “Mistoff was about to perform one of his magic tricks on Tugger and Cassandra. He started to cast his spell, but in the process; he hiccuped, is believed to have said a wrong word, and a different spell was cast. A ball of lightning from Mistoff’s appeared and came in contact with Deuteronomy. At that point, Deuteronomy dies, and Munkustrap seizes Mistoff.” Jellylorum sat back down.
“Is this correct?” Munkustrap asked the other witnesses. Cassandra, Tugger and Victoria nodded. “Yes.”
“Very well,” Munkustrap approached the jury. “The rest of the Jellicles and I will be back in two hours, please have your verdict ready.” Soon, Munkustrap and everyone else but the jury had left the junkyard.
“Okay, off with his head,” Pouncival said plainly.
“No, wait a minute,” Jenny frowned. “We need to discuss why he should die, and if he should die at all.”
“Well, I think he should because the only punishment for killing a Jellicle is a sentence of death for the murderer,” Skimble replied. “What if his powers went crazy again? And killed you? Would you like him to live?”
“Skimble has a point,” Alonzo said to Jenny. “If he were set free, there’s nothing that says this trial won’t take place again.”
“Well, if it ever does, I don’t want jury duty!” Sillabub complained. “Think about this…you’re gonna be the one to sentence one of the most loved Jellicles to death. And you’ll never be able to take it back!”
“Yes, but Mistoff isn’t able to take back what he did, so I won’t take back what I’m going to do,” Pouncival snapped at Sillabub.
“Wait a minute,” Bombalurina said, looking deep in thought. “Mistoff once saved Deuteronomy’s life from Macavity. Don’t you think Deuteronomy would want the favor returned?”
“Yes, Deuteronomy probably would want the favor returned, if he were alive to do so. Because of Mistoff, Deuteronomy is lying in a grave.” Skimble replied.
“Well, I don’t think it’s right to kill him. He didn’t do it on purpose, why should the Jellicle tribe lose more lives than it needs to?” Jenny asked.
“We’re not coming to a conclusion,” Alonzo blurted out. “Let’s just tell Munkustrap that we haven’t reached a decision, and let him decide.”
“Good idea,” Sillabub replied, looking somewhat relieved. And so the jury told Munkustrap their decision.
“Very well,” Munkustrap told them, and let the rest of the Jellicles back into the junkyard where he would announce Mistoff’s fate.
The junkyard was silent. It was as if no one dared to breathe. Munkustrap was ready to announce the decision.
“The jury was unable to make a decision, therefore, it is up to me to decide the fate of Mr. Mistoffelees. I’ve thought this over very carefully, and I decided that,” Munkustrap hung his head, “Mistoff will be killed at sunrise tomorrow.”
“Nooooooooooooooo!!” Cassandra screamed in horror, but she couldn’t even hear her own voice. The junkyard had erupted in the sound of other screams, whistles, shouting, and even laughter. Munkustrap tried to keep things under control, but was highly unsuccessful. Some of Mistoff’s really loyal fans were at the back of the junkyard beating the hell out of the jurors. Tugger wanted to beat up Munkustrap, but suppressed his emotion somewhat and took it out on a nearby box of Ritz crackers. The junkyard looked like a battle scene from the civil war.
“STOP IT NOW!” Munkustrap screamed. “OR YOU’LL ALL BE ON TRIAL!” That seemed to quiet everyone down.
“Now, I know this is not a happy conclusion for Mistoff, but at least try to keep your own head screwed on!” Munkustrap said, with a no-nonsense tone in his voice. “Do you think I want to kill him? It is only right for him to lose his life if he loses someone else’s! I don’t want him to die anymore than you do,” Munkustrap’s voice grew louder, “but it has to be done!”
“Just because something is ‘right’ that doesn’t mean it’s right!” Cassandra yelled at Munkustrap, and ran off. She didn’t care where to, or how far, but she ran as fast as her four limbs could carry her out of that junkyard. Eventually, she came to a familiar oak tree and stopped. Poor Mistoff, she thought. Will I ever see him again? Is he really going to die? All kinds of questions formed in Cassandra’s head until finally, she cried. She cried the rest of that evening until midnight, worried and upset about Mistoff. I have to see him at least one more time, she thought.
Quietly, Cassandra returned to the junkyard. It looked vacant. She wandered around, crawling in and out of boxes whispering “Mistoff?”
“Over here,” Mistoff answered. He was inside a pet carrier; the door had a good-sized lock on it.
“Oh, Mistoff,” Cassandra looked elated just to see him. “I needed to see you again, even if it’s the last time that I ever do.”
“I’m glad you came,” Mistoff told her.
“Hey, wait, maybe you won’t die,” Cassandra said, studying the lock.
“Yeah, right,” Mistoff mumbled. “Just how can you open this cage?”
“My claw fits in the lock! Maybe I can open it!” Cassandra replied. Instantly, she began to twist and turn her claw. “Drat,” she said dejectedly. “My claw isn’t long enough.” Cassandra cried as she slumped against Mistoff’s ‘jail’.
“Don’t cry,” Mistoff said through his own tears. Suddenly, Mistoff stopped crying. “What about Bombalurina? Her claws are practically as long as my tail! Maybe she’ll let me out!” Mistoff said excitedly.
“Maybe!” Cassandra replied, and ran off to find her. She searched through the alley, but wasn’t having much luck. Suddenly, Cassandra heard the sound of a loud car horn.
HONK!
Cassandra approached the car and found Demeter and Bombalurina bickering.
“Hi, I need your help, Bomba,” Cassandra said.
“Sure, just tell Demeter that it’s my turn to sleep on the front car seat,” Bombalurina replied.
“You sleep on that seat, and I’ll sleep on the car horn again!” Demeter snapped at Bombalurina.
“Ack. Never mind,” Bombalurina surrendered and let Demeter have the front seat. “Now,” Bomba turned to Cassandra, “What do you want?”
“Come here,” Cassandra said, and motioned for Bomba to follow her. “Okay,” Bomba replied, and did so.
Cassandra lead Bomba to Mistoff’s jail. “Can you pick the lock?”
“Wait a minute,” Bomba said, looking suspicious. “You want me to unlock Mistoff’s cage, even though it is Munkustrap’s order to have him killed tomorrow?” Bomba then turned to Mistoff. “What’s in it for me?” She said as she extended her long, alley-cat claws. “And don’t show me another magic trick.”
Mistoff hung his head. “I don’t have anything but my life right now, and if you don’t let me out of here, I’ll lose that too,” he said sadly. Bomba sighed, but began to pick the lock. Mistoff heard the grinding of the gears, but most importantly, the click of the lock. She was successful. “Thank you,” Mistoff said as he got out of the carrier.
“You’re welcome,” Bomba replied. “I broke a nail for you. Now, you must promise me something.”
“Sure, what?” Mistoff asked.
“Munkustrap will come here looking for you at dawn. If he ever finds you, he will kill you.” Bomba gulped. “You must promise to run away, leave the tribe, and never return.”
“Okay,” Mistoff replied. “I’ll miss you both.”
“No, wait, before you go!” Cassandra pleaded. “Let me come with you!”
“No, you shouldn’t…” Mistoff started.
“But I love you!” Cassandra interrupted.
“I love you too…but…well…I guess we better go now if we’re going at all,” Mistoff caved in. “I’ll miss you, Bomba, remember, never tell anyone what happened,” Mistoff said. “Goodbye,” Cassandra and Mistoff said together, and the two of them left.
“Goodbye,” Bomba whispered and headed back towards her and Demeter’s ‘home’.
“I have to admit, I’m glad you came with me,” Mistoff said to Cassandra.
“Where are we going? What will we do?” Cassandra asked him.
“Oh, we’ll find a suitable place. Probably passed the outskirts of the city,” Mistoff replied. “Maybe we’ll live with a farmer and get fresh milk every morning!”
Cassandra laughed. “I guess anything is possible.” The two cats continued walking and talking for the next few hours into the night.
“Hey, what’s that sound?” Mistoff said suddenly.
Cassandra tried to listen. “It sounds like a train whistle,” she replied.
“Oh, great,” Mistoff grumbled. “Just what we needed. To wait for a train to pass by.”
“Hey, maybe we can make it across in time, come on, let’s go!” Cassandra yelled. Quickly, Cassandra and Mistoff raced over to the tracks. “We can make it!” Cassandra jumped over the tracks as fast as she could.
“Woah, that train is going awful fast!” Mistoff yelled.
“Come on!” Cassandra yelled back. Mistoff made a dash for it. Whap! The train hit Mistoff’s hind legs. He fell to the ground instantly.
Cassandra screamed. “No!” But Cassandra could scream all she wanted and Mistoff wouldn’t hear. He was lying on the ground. Dead. Cassandra collapsed on the ground beside him. It can’t be, she thought, and cried. Cassandra watched as the train finished passing and saw the sun begin to rise. “Munkustrap will be looking for him,” she whispered.
“But he will never find Mistoff,” a voice replied.
Cassandra nearly jumped out of her skin, and quickly turned her head to see whom the voice belonged to. “Skimbleshanks! Oh, no. I should have known you’d be over here!” Cassandra screamed.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe. I know it is not in my nature to betray Munkustrap, but what he did wasn’t right,” Skimble said in a soft voice, he looked like he was about to cry.
“You mean what Munkustrap was *going to do*, he never did kill Mistoff,” Cassandra told him.
“No, no, it isn’t that, I also believed that Mistoff should be killed, but I didn’t believe that…” Skimble stopped and started to cry. Cassandra was shocked; it was highly unlike Skimble to cry.
“What is it? What happened? What’s wrong?” Cassandra asked.
“Well,” Skimble began, “Munkustrap thought you or someone else would try to set Mistoff free, so he came to execute him about three hours ahead of time. By then, Mistoff had already escaped, so he started looking for clues that would tell him who did it. And do you know what he found?” Skimble asked.
“No, what?” Cassandra answered.
“A broken claw. Not just any claw, a particularly long one that he found stuck in the lock. He immediately identified it to be Bombalurina’s, and went looking for her. When he found her, he asked her how Mistoff got loose, where he was, and if anyone was with him. Bomba said that she unlocked his cage, and he ran away by himself. Munkustrap gave no warning and stabbed her,” Skimble started to cry again. “But that’s not the end of it. Demeter was with Bomba at the time and saw Munkustrap kill her. Demeter told him what a rotten leader he was, and said that he should be the one on trial. Munkustrap, realizing what he had just done to his Jellicle tribe, announced that Alonzo would be our leader, removed the knife from Bomba’s neck, and stabbed himself!”
Cassandra nearly passed out. “Woah, run that by me again…who all died? And who is our leader? This isn’t making sense!”
Skimble’s eyes filled with tears yet again. “Bomba and Munkustrap are dead, and Alonzo is our leader, if there is even a tribe left. Cassandra, you and I better head back before someone thinks we’ve also betrayed the tribe.” Skimble laid down on the ground. “Put Mistoff on my back, even he deserves a proper burial. Cassandra did so, and her and Skimble made their way back to the junkyard.
When they reached the junkyard, Demeter was the first to notice. “Why is Mistoff with you?” She asked.
“Me and Skimble found him by the railroad tracks near the outskirts of town,” Cassandra replied. “We thought he needed a proper burial.”
“I guess he joins the club,” Demeter said and started to weep. “Bomba and Munkustrap also died.”
“I heard,” Cassandra answered.
“Alonzo’s almost finished digging the graves. I suppose it will be a combined funeral, for all three of them,” Demeter said. Soon, Alonzo was ready.
“Okay, I decided that they should be buried by Old Deuteronmy, even Mistoff. Now, I know squat about giving a service, so I’m gonna need some help,” Alonzo said to anyone that would listen.
“I’ll help,” Cassandra told Alonzo. “When do I speak?”
“The funeral will start in about an hour…you lead,” Alonzo replied.
In an hour, every Jellicle was present for the funeral. Even Macavity stopped by. The other Jellicles looked weary of him, but as soon as he placed a rose on Bomba’s grave, they realized they had nothing to fear.
Cassandra started the service by holding up the knife that Munkustrap had used to kill Bomba and himself. “How many Jellicles can I kill with this? How many do you want killed?” Cassandra looked directly at Pouncival. “Or should I say ‘off with their heads’ and use a guillotine? Nobody wanted to kill Deuteronomy, it was an accident, on Mistoff’s part. Nobody wanted to kill Munkustrap, it was an accident, on everyone’s part. We made it clear to Munkustrap that killing Mistoff was the best thing to do. After all, no one confronted him with a better solution. And so, Munkustrap was going to execute him. Instead, he killed Bombalurina because she, like everyone else, made it clear that killing Mistoff was the right thing to do, but ended up betraying his plan. So how many Jellicles should I kill? We all deserve it. But I think by now, everyone feels bad enough as it is. Let’s remember this if anything ever happens again. Just because something is ‘right’ that doesn’t mean it’s right. No matter how many different angles you look at through, it couldn’t have saved Deuteronomy, but that quote could have saved Munkustrap, Mistoff, and Bombalurina. So instead of looking at why and if we should punish someone, let’s look at how. After all, we can’t take our actions back, can we?” Cassandra bowed her head and got off her soapbox.
Alonzo placed flowers on the three graves. “Up, up, up, passed the Jellicle moon, up, up, up, up to the Heaviside layer,” he whispered. “Being your new leader, I will try my best to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” Alonzo brought a closure to the service by sprinkling catnip leaves on the three graves. Soon afterwards, the crowd of Jellicles departed.
Cassandra opened her eyes and found herself back on the branch of that oak tree. I’ll remember that miserable day forever, she thought. If only it was all a dream, and I could wake up and see the faces of Mistoff, Deuteronomy, Munkustrap and Bomba, she thought. But it wasn’t a dream. If it wasn’t for that damn hiccup! She thought. But she could think of all the what-ifs in the world and it wouldn’t change anything. Cassandra sighed and began to doze off. In her head though, she could still hear Mistoff’s voice. “That train is going awful fast!” the voice said. Cassandra was getting ready to cry, but she heard the same voice again. “I love you too.” it said. Cassandra smiled, and fell into a deep, pleasant sleep.