SPLODGE

Splodge was a kitten who was all alone,

Without a family and without a home.

Everyone said as they kicked him away

‘No one ever wants a skinny little stray.’

Splodge was sad because they were right,

A skinny little stray is not a welcome sight.

To find a nice home as a cute little cat

It was important to eat and get very fat.

He hunted birds with a gleam in his eye,

But alas poor Splodge never learned to fly.

He searched the garbage for something to munch,

But the alley cats had eaten everything for lunch.

The fishes in the pond looked yummy to eat,

But Splodge only caught four very wet feet.

He shook and shivered in a dreadful storm

And dreamed of being well fed and warm.

The rain kept dripping on his poor wet head,

And deep was the puddle of his very cold bed.

He climbed into a nest big enough for a cat,

Welcomed by two ravens as tasty drowned rat.

Splodge escaped by dropping to the ground,

Cats eat birds, not the other way around.

He sneaked into a kennel, just until he dried,

Along came a dog and bit him till he cried.

Searching for a home, Splodge begged at every door,

Up and over back fences until his paws were sore.

But everyone said as they kicked him away

‘No one ever wants a skinny little stray.’

One special day, a gentle voice said,

‘Be welcome, Puss. Come and get fed.’

Splodge was very scared and turned to run,

‘Do stay,’ begged the voice. ‘Cats are such fun.’

When he was offered a large bowl of meat,

Splodge remembered how he loved to eat.

He was so hungry that he gobbled and gobbled,

He ate and ate until his tummy wobbled.

He groomed his whiskers and washed his face,

And kept on eating at a much slower pace.

Splodge now has a home to call his own,

And someone to love so he’s no longer alone.

Contented at last and now very fat,

Splodge is the cat that sits on the mat.

Margaret Pearce