Tale # 9: Hallowe'en at 906 Alexandra

"Look at the moon!" Bandit said. He was lying on the back of the couch, looking out the window. "Just perfect for Hallowe'en!"

The porch light was on. A big bowl of Hallowe'en treats was ready inside the door -- Smarties and chocolate bars and little plastic bags full of gummy dinosaurs. Dancing Bear and the cats were in the living room, waiting for trick-or-treaters. Doug was away in Sault Ste Marie.

"Would you like to watch TV?" Dancing Bear asked.

"I'd rather hear a story," Oreo said.

"Me too," Bandit said. "Do you know any stories about ghost cats?"

"I know a story about a goblin cat," Dancing Bear said. "Will that do?"

"Let's hear it," Oreo said, swishing her tail.

"Once upon a time in ancient Japan, Prince Ruiten lived in his palace with his beautiful wife Princess O Toyo. Every evening, they would take a walk through the gardens and smell the lovely flowers. One evening a little grey cat followed them and sneaked into the palace. Nobody noticed the animal crouching in a corner of the bedroom. It looked just like a shadow."

"Yes," said Oreo. "Cats are very good at being invisible."

"Ruiten and O Toyo went to bed and fell asleep. O Toyo dreamed that a giant cat was standing on its hind legs beside the bed, ready to strangle her. It was a goblin cat with fierce yellow eyes and horrible fangs, as big as a person. O Toyo tried to scream, but no sound came from her throat. When she woke up, she discovered that her husband had the same dream.

"The nightmares continued night after night. They were so terrifying that the prince and princess became very ill.

"The doctor suspected that an evil spirit was at work. He ordered a hundred soldiers to keep watch in the bedroom. But no matter how hard they tried, they could not stay awake. They fell asleep and had the same nightmares as the prince and princess."

"They should have made some strong coffee," Bandit said.

"They didn't have coffee in ancient Japan," Oreo said.

"Are you sure, or are you just making that up?" Bandit asked.

"I know everything," Oreo said.

"Do you want to hear the rest of the story?" Dancing Bear said. "You are getting on my nerves with all your bickering!"

"Okay," Bandit said. "I'll shut up."

"Please continue," Oreo said.

"All right," Dancing Bear said. "Just when it seemed that the nightmares would never end, a young soldier named Ito Soda had an idea. He offered to keep watch over his master and mistress. Whenever he started to drop off to sleep, he poked himself with his dagger. He managed to stay awake. Nothing unusual happened. Ruiten and O Toyo slept peacefully with no nightmares. In the morning, they felt much better and asked Ito Soda to come back the next night.

"The next night, exactly the same thing happened. The third night, Ito Soda pretended to fall asleep, and kept his eyes open just a slit so he could see what was going on. At midnight, the goblin cat appeared and started casting an evil spell. Ito Soda jumped up with his dagger in his hand, yelling as loudly as he could. The goblin cat fought back fiercely. All the other soldiers came rushing into the room with their weapons drawn. The goblin cat turned back into a little grey cat, ran between their legs, and got away. Ruiten and O Toyo lived to a ripe old age with no more nightmares, but they never forgot the goblin cat."

"Do you think there is such a thing as a goblin cat?" Oreo asked.

"I thought you knew everything!" Bandit muttered.

"Maybe there are goblin cats in Japan," Dancing Bear said, "but I've never heard of one in North America."

"That's good," Oreo said.

"Did the clever soldier get a big reward?" Bandit asked.

Before Dancing Bear had time to answer, there was a lot of thumping on the porch.

"I wonder if that's a goblin cat," Bandit said. He jumped off the couch and ran to the door to investigate.

Dancing Bear opened the door. "Trick or treat!" somebody yelled.

"Well -- is it?" Oreo yelled. "Is it a goblin cat?"

"No," Bandit said. "These are friends of mine. They are wearing costumes, but I can tell who they are by their smell." He went out onto the porch to say hello.

The tall boy in a skeleton suit and the two little girls in ballerina tutus petted Bandit while Dancing Bear handed out the treats.

"Wow! What a great costume!" the boy said to Dancing Bear.

"I'm going to stay out on the porch and watch for more visitors," Bandit said.

Dancing Bear closed the door. She went back to her chair and started chewing on a chocolate bar.

"Why did the boy say I have a great costume?" Dancing Bear asked Oreo. "I'm not wearing a costume."

"Humans are funny," Oreo said. "I'll never understand them."