The next morning the 3 Kittyteer brothers, Don Pedro, Don Carlos, and Don Juan awoke early. The words of the head mistress rang in their ears... "We don't have enough food to feed the mouths we have already!" "We need to find a way to make sure the orphanage has enough food for ALL the kittens," said Don Pedro. As the oldest of the 3 brothers he felt a responsibility to the orphanage... after all... that's where he met his 2 brothers.
They were not blood brothers... That explained why they looked so different. Sure they were all the same color black but that is where the similarity ended. In fact that's what drew them together in the first place. Don Pedro had been in the orphanage for weeks before his "brothers" showed up. Don Juan latched on to him right off and followed him everywhere. He was a small little thing and pestered Don Pedro so much that he was forced to shoo Don Juan away, but he kept coming back. Don Pedro finally gave in and let little Don Juan follow him everywhere. "We are the same color," Don Juan said. "We can be brothers!"
Don Carlos had not been so easy to friend. He was opinionated, feisty, and jealous of Don Pedro. HE... was Don Juan's REAL brother and no one else was going to step in and fill HIS paws. It took a week of spatting and hissing, but for Don Juan's sake, the two finally became friends, as long as Don Carlos knew Don Pedro was in charge. From that time on the three were inseparable and considered themselves brothers for life.
The headmistress had been good to them. She made sure ALL the orphans were well fed and groomed. Don Pedro had great respect for her. She did not have an easy job. At times she had 10 to 20 orphans to watch over. In the city there were LOTS of orphans. It was not a safe place to live. Many a time parents of the orphans would be hunted down by dogs... die of starvation... or get run over by a car or truck as Don Pedro's parents had. He VOWED that would NOT happen to any more kittens as long as HE lived in the city. So... when he was old enough he explained to the headmistress that he and his brothers had to leave the orphanage and try and keep the city streets safe for ALL kittens.
The three brothers made their way back to the orphanage as promised to pick up the little kitten. A fresh coat of snow had fallen on the ground and their paws crunched as they walked. They had a long day ahead of them and they wanted to get an early start. They thanked the headmistress and off the four of them went... back to the tavern where the kittens mother had been seen last. They found the trash cans just as the night before... but now the sun shown bright and they could see better. They heard a soft mew in corner where the trash cans stood in a triangle. The kitten recognized the mew..."That’s my sister!!!" And off it ran to say hello.
The brothers followed and found the little kitten being welcomed by the sisters. Mother stood ready to attack the intruders. "WAIT mama," said the little kitten. "These are my friends... they helped me find my way to you!" Immediately mother gave a sniff and sat down around her kittens to protect them. "Thank you for finding my kitten" she said. "We have been looking for him all night."
"Our pleasure ma'am," said Don Juan. "Do you have a home?"
"Yes I do" said the mama kitten. "I live in a big building with lots of land around it. But I am lost and can't find it. I have a nice warm bed with plenty of food to eat. The food here in the city is awful! I get catviar every night and look at my coat. It is all dirty. My master grooms me with a brush. Oh how I miss that brush!" She sighed. "I should NEVER have run out the door when my master opened it. That was MONTHs ago. I met a nice friendly tom cat who he wined me and dined me. And then left me when the kittens arrived! Now I'm all alone and longing for my soft bed. I'm sure by now my master has forgotten me," she cried.
"We can help you find your home," said Don Pedro. "WE... have connections."
"OH you can???" I would be soooo grateful to you all. "I hope my master loves kittens!" she giggled. She explained to them what the building looked like and the surroundings she remembered. "I KNOW that building," said Don Juan. "I have a pretty kitty friend that lives there too. I walked her home one day after our date. It is quite a ways away. It will take us a while to get there."
They ate a fine feast from the garbage cans and set off to find the building. Don Juan lead the way, and as they walked the little kitten told his sisters of his adventures. "And I stayed at the Kitty Orphanage last night. There wasn't much to eat so I went to bed with my tummy growling." "Oh how awful," said mama kitty. "We shall have to do something about that!"
They found the building just as the mama kitty had described. "HOME!!!" she sighed. "I can feel that brush already." They made their way through the large gate at the end of the driveway. A guard stood at the entrance of the building. "Let me go first" said mama kitty. "The guard knows me." "O.K." said Don Pedro... "We will wait in the bushes over there." The kittens waited a safe distance away.
"QUEENIE!!!" the guard exclaimed. "So you found your way home did you??? Your master will be so happy to see you."
He reached down to pick her up but she ran back to the kittens. He followed. "OH my!!! Kittens! Not sure how your master will feel about kittens, but we will bring them all inside." He scooped them all up... mama too... and his arms looked like one big lump of fur. Off he hobbled trying not to drop them. Mama Kitty blew a kiss to the three brothers and disappeared inside the door.
The brothers were quite pleased with themselves. It felt good helping. They spent the night under a bush on the soft lawn. They waited a few days before deciding to head home. The food here was great. So much better than the city. "Well it looks like mama and kittens are safe," said Don Carlos. "We best head for home." His brothers agreed and they were about to head home when they heard... "PSSSSSSSST... Psssssst" It was mama kitty. She was pulling a bag alongside her. "Guys!!! Wait!!! She puffed... I have something for the kitty orphanage." They ran over to help her.
"My master was soooooooo glad to see me," she explained. "I was cleaned up and my kittens were fed. We have been eating our fill and there is plenty left over. Here are some cans of catviar for the Kitten Orphanage. They won't be missed. We have lots." The brothers thanked her and gave her kisses. Their hearts leaped for joy as they peered in the bag at the food. "This will feed the kittens at the orphanage for a week" said Don Juan! They talked with mama kitty and made plans to come back once a week to bring kitty food to the orphanage.
As the brothers dragged the bag down the road back to the city... NO one noticed the "PURINA" sign at the edge of the curb.
That night a big feast was held at the kitty orphanage in honor of the three brothers. There was dancing... singing... kissing... hugging... and even the press was there. The brothers were big celebrities now and everyone wanted to shake their paws. Lights flashed before their eyes and the crowd of kitties was overwhelming. "This is just like Christmas!" the brothers heard as they greeted the crowd. They were soooo happy!
The next day the "CAT MEWS" newspaper headlines read... THREE KITTYTEERS SAVE KITTY ORPHANAGE! On the front cover was a picture of the 3 brothers wide eyed looking at the camera with the snow gently falling to the ground in front of them.
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