Part I
Nobody knows how it happened
that a kitten should one day appear
in a basket with two sleeping Staffies
cuddled up to them quite without fear.
Had it been that a door left ajar
had allowed the wee mite to slip in
the night being bitterly cold and wet
and he somehow lost from his kin?
So the sight of a basket of blankets
and the sound of a duet of snores
would have seemed to the cat so inviting
that without hesitation or pause
He slid silently under the covers
and fell sound asleep like a log
so close to his unknown companions
that cat scent got mingled with dog.
And this may be why the two puppies
who woke up to find the cat there
didn't notice that he wasn't canine,
or certainly seemed not to care.
In fact from the moment they saw him
they took him as one of the pack
as he liked very much being nuzzled
and would roll with delight on his back.
Within weeks the three baby creatures
had become creature children instead
and the pups began chasing squeak balls
while the cat batted bobbins of thread.
And on issues that might have divided
they all took a tolerant view
as the dogs had a go on the catnip mouse
and the cat gave the pig's ear a chew.
Nor did one of them ever object to
how the other made use of his tail
whether twitching, or waving, or wagging,
or thwacking it much like a flail
Along with these happy encounters
they suddenly learnt they had names.
For the cat it turned out to be Reuben;
for the dogs it was Linford and James.
And never a growl or a hiss was heard
when it came to the eating of meat,
as they dined out of sight of each other
to ensure that they would not compete.
Part II
Well the seasons passed very quickly
and they'd all been together a year
when Reuben, it seemed had stopped growing
while the Staffies had not, that was clear.
In fact, it may well understate it
to say Linford and James had grown large
having now transformed into teenagers
full of wrestle and bustle and barge.
So I'm sorry to say that one evening,
those rascals proposed they all play;
'Biggest pretend to be hunters
and the smallest pretend to be prey'.
In a flash the cat got the picture
and since it was two against one
shot up on top of the wardrobe
before the planned chase had begun.
This act provoked furious barking
which made Reuben lash out with his claws
but the dogs then leapt higher and higher
until all he could see was their jaws!
Part III
Well the humans who witnessed this madness
were forced to admit things had changed;
a phone-call was made to an aunt that night
and a re-homing plan was arranged.
The next day poor Reuben was driven
to the house where he now was to dwell
feeling fearful the felines who lived there
might object to his doggy-ish smell.
But it turned out this wasn't the problem
when it came to the aunt's two Burmese
but rather disgust at him wagging his tail
in pathetic attempts to appease.
Reuben was passed on again, therefore,
this time to an elderly chap
who needed a furry companion
to settle and snooze on his lap
Well this was a match made in heaven
as our boy was the settling kind
and also the meals he was given
were abundant as well as refined.
So when Linford and James came to visit,
a quite different beast they both found;
a cat of great size and distinction
who certainly stood his own ground.
Yet Reuben chose never to dwell on
the fight that had split the three up
because he so fondly remembered
his life as a pussycat pup.