*~*~~THE PANTHER AND THE KITTEN...an unlikely pair~~*~*

The big cat lay sulking in the corner as the truck bounced along. He wasn't a very happy cat. He was a sullen cat...a WILD cat! He raised his head and peered out into the black night, catching a whiff of diesel fumes on the air as they traveled at break neck speed along the mountain road. He was as miserable as any cat would be given his circumstances and where once he was a proud and free cat...now he was beaten & quiet. This's not to say he wasn't still a wild cat..oh no, not by a long shot. He hid it well from the humans, biding his time........waiting for his chance to flee his prison. As the truck seemed more out of control than usual he sauntered over to the bars and peered out. Nothing much was visible to him except dark shapes and shadows as they flashed past. Crouching on his haunches he started up a low growl, his tale swishing back and forth so hard it hit his body. Tonight something was wrong!

The truck lurched and he was thrown up roughly against the bars. A lot of noise then a loud crash found him tumbling over the truck bed propelling him into the other side. His head smashed against the bars then all went black.

Slowly the cat regained consciousness to the sound of a heavy pounding & sharp pain in his head. He didn't move or even wonder where he was but true to his type his instincts still worked and his fine cat hairs bristled as he became aware that he was not alone. Quicker than any thought process he just knew it wasn't a human. It was small, a land animal and very good at sneaking... but not as good as him. When he judged the intruder was close enough he jumped!

"RoooooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwW!" he growled, landing on all fours. A little dark shape scuttled off into the bushes..... screeching.

"EeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkK"...he heard......then ....."Geeeez mate! Are ya tryin' ta scare me? Ya almost gave me a heart attack!" Two small ears appeared from out of a bush followed by a small black face.

"Cripes!" said the little black cat when he saw the huge replica of himself. "How'd ya get so big? Crikey ya musta ate a lot..did ya mum feed ya lotsa fish?...blimey!"

"QUIET!" hissed the big cat, glaring at the smaller one who was so brazen he didn't even know that he should be afraid for his life. While peering around himself and assessing his surroundings the little cat stayed quiet for only one minute, with this being some sort of record for the little chatter-box.

"What's ya name huh? I bet ya came from the big monster down the hill...I heard it I did! Wow, it made such a loud roar and....."

"I said quiet!" and the big cat swiped a huge paw in the kitten's direction. Once more the small cat backed off into the bushes, crouching...staring at the big cat whom he thought was a grown up version of what he'd look like one day. This made the kitten very happy and he started to say so then stopped. He was learning fast. He watched the other cat lift his nose into the air and heard him growl low in his throat.

"Humans.....!" the kitty heard him say.

Before he knew what was happening the big cat roughly picked him up and quickly moved off into the bush. When they were a safe distance away but could still see the road the big cat stopped and rudely dropped his small load. Once more the kitten started to speak, a huge paw came down on his head and his little nose was squashed into the dirt.

He came up spluttering, was about to protest, then he heard the activity of humans close by and understood the big cat's caution. They silently watched as cars pulled up and heard running feet as humans appeared. Snatches of conversation was heard by the two cats and angry voices made the little one shiver.

"Look over there..hurry up!"..... "He has to be found..come on lads!", the cats heard from their hiding place.

"We can't leave a black panther to run loose in the bush", yelled another man. Without a sound the big cat moved further into the Australian bush and it took all his effort for the little cat to keep up.

After what seemed like a life time to the kitten the panther slowed then stopped, having found a small stream to sate his thirst. The tired kitten finally flopped down beside his new companion and stared up into the big cats eyes.

"So what's a panther then? Are ya a bad cat? Is that why those men were after ya? Where'd ya come from...what's ya name?" blurted out the kitten seeming to ask it all in one breath. The panther studied the small annoying animal and grudgingly agreed that it did indeed look slightly like him. But of course he knew without a doubt that nothing could be as grand a creature as himself so he tolerated the irritating intrusion into his life with controlled indifference.

"Huuurumph!" was his answer to the small black kitten that never stopped asking questions. "Why should I answer you?" he inquired. "You're only a small black dot compared to me. If you want to stay with me then you had better learn to be quiet when I tell you next time. Didn't you hear the roar of the human's machines as they were coming? What's wrong with you anyway?" ..... he gruffly asked the kitten.

"Well gee, I'm sorry...... ya know somethin'...I thought ya was dead..aha..I did..I was so scared too!" answered the kitten looking up at the big cat. He was in awe of the size and obvious strength of his new friend and even felt a little cocky as he thought of a few dogs he'd like to meet right that minute. Oh yes, wouldn't that be a scream when they saw the size of the big cat he'd found. The big bully dogs would respect him then!

"Whadda we gonna do now?" he asked the panther. He was taken aback when he saw the deep frown on the big cat's forehead.

"What do you mean we?"..... the panther spat out at the kitten. "There's no WE! I'm going to find a place to rest for awhile so I can assess my situation." Having said that the big cat quickly moved off into the dark trees and didn't once look back. Soon the kitten had lost all sight of the panther and sat forlornly under a willow tree near a river bank.

He was only a little cat, tame, friendly and not even very old. But he knew by his feelings that even though the huge wild cat was loud and gruff, they were still brothers of some kind. Quietly he sniffed out the panthers trail and followed him into the wild bush, being very wary of the hungry eagles flying far above the canopy of gum trees.

He stumbled across the big cat by accident and saw he'd found a shallow cave in which to fall asleep. At other times the kitten wouldn't have gotten so close to the wild cat but this one was exhausted from the truck crashing and being flung out of the broken cage, and lack of food. Silently the kitten kept vigil over the bigger cat and as the sun set he made many trips to the near by river until he'd created quite a cache of tasty morsels for when his big mate woke up. Having exhausted his own little legs he curled up next to his friend and was soon fast asleep.

When the sun came up the next morning he felt the big cat move and opened his eyes to see him sniffing at the pile of small river fish. He watched as the panther quickly ate the lot and was pleased to see a calmer look on the big cats face.

He ventured closer to talk to the panther and that was when the big cat noticed the kitten's presence.

"So you're here....well, I suppose you want me to thank you for the fish!? snapped the panther. The kitten gave a start then noticed his new mate was different somehow...maybe not as angry looking as before. It's amazing what food and sleep does to ya...thought the kitten. He ventured closer.

"Does that mean we can be friends?" he asked.

"Friends...FRIENDS!!! Why would I need such a little squirt as you as a friend!?" the panther spat back at the startled kitten.

"Maybe I can help ya...yesss, I can get more fish for ya..that was easy that lot!" bragged the little cat, puffing up his chest and showing his big friend how brave he was.

"Help me....ME!, ...oh that's funny.....hahaha..ho ho ho", laughed the panther. As does happen some times when someone laughs....it's very infectious and soon both the cats were rolling around on the ground laughing together. A few times the small cat nearly got crushed under the big cat but the panther was surprisingly gentle with the kitten.

"I suppose you can stay with me but for goodness sake......do as you're told when I tell you next time so you don't get us both captured or killed....and DON'T ask so many questions!"

"Yes sure..WOW...ok, geeee...." answered the little kitten with a big grin on his face.

This time the panther walked slowly to accommodate the kitten's little legs and as they moved off into the silent bush land the pink and gray gallahs perched high in the gum trees could hear the sound of the kitten's chatter.

"What did ya say ya name was?...How come ya so big?... Where're we goin"? Hey!,........ do ya know what a dog is........?"

©Janine Daniel