Murray & Solomon - Solomon In A Spin

One day, Murray the cat was stretched out on the window sill enjoying the sunshine, when it suddenly occurred to him that he hadn’t seen his little brother, Solomon, for a while.

“I suppose I really ought to look for him,” sighed Murray, “mind you, it is so very warm here in the window...” He yawned slowly, started to stand up... then sat back down with a soft “flump”, “No, this will never do. I can’t spend my precious time chasing after that little imp. I have more important things to be getting on with.”

And with that, Murray stretched again, then curled up and went back to sleep.

Meanwhile, the mischievous little Solomon was also deciding what to do. That day, Caroline had been doing some washing, and Fraser was out in the garden watering the plants. Solomon had spent his morning exploring. So far, he had chased a spider around the bath, sung some of his very favourite songs, and played pounce with a number of imaginary objects. Now he was looking for another game to play.

Peeking into the lounge, Solomon saw that his big brother Murray was busy relaxing in the window, and decided that now would not be a good time for a game of “creep up and attack Murray’s tail”. Last time he had tried that, he remembered with a shudder, Murray had jumped on him with such force that poor Solomon wasn’t able to sing for a whole day!
 
Instead, Solomon decided to go into the kitchen. Sometimes, if no-one was looking, Solomon could jump up onto the work-surface and see if there was any tasty human food to steal, but today he felt it was too risky. Caroline was just in the next room, and he didn’t want to be told off today.  So he wandered into the kitchen, and was just thinking what a lovely noise his claws made on the hard floor, when something wonderful caught his eye.

The washing machine door was open!

Solomon couldn’t believe his luck. He’d always wanted to see what was inside that mysterious white box, but for some reason Caroline and Fraser had always slammed the door shut and said “No, Solomon!” Now it was here, ready to be explored. His heart racing, Solomon sidled over to it cautiously. He lifted his head and pushed the door further open with his nose. He jumped up, with just his front paws on the edge of the circular opening. Slowly, with eyes as wide as saucers, he peered inside. He half-expected a pack of wild dogs to leap out at him, teeth bared, but it didn’t happen. What could it be that was so dangerous about this empty metal drum?
 
Suddenly, he heard a sound from just outside the kitchen. It was Fraser, and he was coming in! Without a moment to lose, Solomon leapt inside the washing machine, just in time. As Fraser walked into the kitchen, Solomon cowered as far back in the machine as he could so Fraser wouldn’t see him and tell him off. It worked! Fraser walked straight past the washing machine and towards the sink to wash his hands. Solomon silently flicked his tail with pride. What a clever cat he was! Then something terrible happened. Fraser turned away from the sink, and noticed the door of the washing machine slightly ajar. What he didn’t see, though, was one small black cat in the shadows deep inside the drum.
 
“Caroline!” called Fraser, “You left the washing machine open, you ninny! One of the cats could get inside!” And with that, he slammed the door shut and walked out of the kitchen. Solomon was alone, trapped, and very, very frightened.

Now that Fraser had finished his gardening, he and Caroline went into the lounge to relax with a nice cup of tea. Murray had just finished a lovely dream all about a mouse made of ham, and it had made him hungry. He knew Caroline couldn’t resist giving him food when he jumped into her lap and purred softly, so that’s what he did. He looked up at her with big, wide eyes, and she smiled and rubbed his chin. Ah, now this was living! If only that pesky Solomon wasn’t here to steal all the attention away from him... hold on, where was Solomon? Murray suddenly realised that his little brother hadn’t pounced on him at all today, and that wasn’t like him at all. Something didn’t seem quite right, so he jumped down off Caroline’s lap and walked out of the room.

“What’s wrong with Murray?” said Caroline, surprised that he had left so suddenly.

“Oh, don’t worry, he probably just wants you to feed him,” said Fraser, “it’s nearly their dinner time, after all.”

“Well, I think I’ll just finish this tea, then I’ll see to it,” Caroline replied.

Murray had gone upstairs to look for Solomon there. He wasn’t in the bathroom, and he hadn’t found a comfortable spot in the linen cupboard or a warm window sill. Murray went into the bedroom, in case Solomon was hiding under the bed. Still seeing no sign of him, Murray sat down and washed himself thoughtfully.
 
“Hmm, I wonder where he’s got to?” he said to himself. Murray knew that Solomon loved playing under the bed, as there were all sorts of fun things there to enjoy, like shoelaces and lost buttons, “But my word, doesn’t that bed look comfortable! I think I’m about ready for another snooze, actually... all this searching has made me tired...” And in a flash, Murray was on the bed settling down for a well-deserved rest.

Poor Solomon, meanwhile, was sitting inside the washing machine feeling very sorry for himself. He had tried pawing at the door to get someone’s attention, but as Caroline and Fraser had the television on in the lounge, they couldn’t hear him. He began to wonder if he would ever get out, and tried to imagine what kind of life it would be if he had to stay there. Oh, why did he have to be such a silly cat? The worst thing was that Solomon could see outside the washing machine through the clear door, but he couldn’t get out of it. He had just about resigned himself to the fact that he might have to live here, with the smell of dampness and washing powder all around him, when suddenly, Caroline walked into the kitchen! Hooray! But Caroline had her back to him, getting a tin of cat food from the cupboard. She nearly looked round once, thinking she heard a strange scraping noise, but ignored it, thinking it was just her imagination. She scooped out some food from the tin and put it into the two bowls belonging to Murray and Solomon. The little cat couldn’t believe his misfortune. Not only was he trapped inside this metal drum forever, but he would miss his dinner, too!

“Murray! Solomon! Dinner time!” Caroline called. Murray, from upstairs, woke up for the only thing that could wake him up – the promise of food – and hurtled down the stairs to eat.
 
It was then that Caroline realised something was wrong. Not two cats running into the kitchen, just one. Dinner time, and no Solomon. Murray was munching away quite happily (he had quite forgotten that he was supposed to be looking for his brother) but Solomon was nowhere to be seen.

Caroline went back into the lounge.

“Fraser, where’s Solomon?” she asked. Fraser shrugged his shoulders and said he hadn’t seen him for a while. He wasn’t worried, until Caroline told him that Solomon didn’t come when she called him for dinner.

“He’s missing his dinner?” Fraser said in amazement. Now this really was a problem, “We’d better look for him!”

Fraser and Caroline searched the house. They looked under the bed, in the linen cupboard and in the bathroom, but just like Murray they were unable to find the missing cat. Caroline started to worry that Solomon had got out through an open window.

“What if he’s fallen, and he’s hurt somewhere?” she cried.

Fraser tried to reassure her.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll turn up. You go back downstairs and sit down. I’ll keep looking.”

By now Murray had finished his dinner and was having a quick wash before he decided where to go for his next sleep. Then he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be looking for Solomon. Where had that naughty little cat got to? He was just about to leave the kitchen to continue the search, when he thought he heard a noise coming from the washing machine. It couldn’t be – could it? Could Solomon really have got inside? Murray tore over to the white box in the corner and peered through the clear window. And sure enough, there was a sad little black cat, sitting forlornly inside the drum!

“Solomon!” said Murray, shocked, “What on earth are you doing in there?”

Solomon mewed pitifully.

“Oh Murray, you have to get me out!” he wailed through the door.

“What’s it like? Is it cosy?” said Murray, considering that this might be an excellent place for a catnap.

“No! It’s horrible! Oh, please get Caroline or Fraser to come and open the door!”

Murray paused. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. All the attention, all the food to himself – he would be able to sleep in peace whilst Solomon was in there! Then he looked again at his little brother, terrified and trapped.

“Well, I suppose I’d better try and get him out,” he yawned. Turning back to Solomon, he told him to wait there.

“Well, it’s not like I can go anywhere, is it?” replied Solomon irritably.
 
Murray ran out of the kitchen and into the lounge, where Caroline was worrying about Solomon. Now Murray had to get her to follow him into the kitchen and let Solomon out. He lifted his paw and patted at her leg, trying to get her attention.
 
“Murray, stop it,” said Caroline, “you’ve already had your dinner; I’m not feeding you anything else.”

“Meow!” said Murray. He didn’t want any more food, but Caroline didn’t seem to understand. Maybe he should try Fraser instead. He ran upstairs to where Fraser was still searching for Solomon, and meowed again.

“What is it, boy?” he said, as it was unusual for Murray to make such a noise, “Do you know where Solomon is?”

“Meow!”

Fraser quickly followed Murray down the stairs and into the kitchen.

“Where is he, Murray?” asked Fraser. Murray looked at him intently. Caroline heard Fraser in the kitchen and went in. Solomon, from inside the washing machine, meowed loudly. Fraser and Caroline both spun round in astonishment.

“He’s in the washing machine!” they cried. Diving over to the machine, Fraser yanked the door open, and out fell poor Solomon, miserable but relieved. Caroline scooped him up in her arms and held him tightly.

“You silly cat!” she said with relief. Solomon purred and rubbed his head on Caroline thankfully. What an adventure! He vowed never again to go exploring in places he shouldn’t.  Well, maybe never again was too big a promise, but he would certainly be more careful in future!

After Caroline and Fraser had both petted him and made a fuss, they put him down on the floor.

“Thank goodness he’s all right!” said Fraser, “I told you not to leave the door open!”

“You’re the one who shut him in!” laughed Caroline, “and Solomon, let that be a lesson to you!”

Solomon looked up at Caroline and Fraser and sang a little song to say thank you. When he had finished, his tummy rumbled. His adventure had made him hungry. He raced over to his bowl, only to find – it was empty!

And Murray, feeling very pleased that he had been a hero and rescued his little brother, and somewhat full up from the two bowls of food he had had for his dinner, decided now would be a great time for another sleep...

C. Garlick, Thursday, 4th October 2007 ©