The Story Game with Gandalf, Grayson and Whitey, too!

Neptune loved the sea! Everybuddy thought that was how he came to be named Neptune, but that was not the real reason. You see, the Greek God Neptune was also known for storms, earthquakes and his bad temper!

Neptune could always manage to get himself into mischief! He was forever sticking his pink nose where it did Not Belong! One lazy late summers day, Neptune was exploring the rocks along the seashore when he came upon something quite curious! It was a pretty orange and had five arms and was moving along a rather large rock.

It was a Starfish! Neptune had always found Starfish to be quite entertaining! He was also a little bit envious of their five arms! Neptune often wondered what he could accomplish if only he had five arms!

“Hello, Starfish! My name is Neptune! What’s your name?”

“My name is Sarah” said the sea star. “I am a special sea star because I was once a star in the sky. If you will help me out, I will do something for you, too.”

Neptune pondered this promise for a moment.

“Do I have to rub a lantern for this?” he asked.

“Noooo!” said Sarah. “I’m not a genie. I’m from the sea! I’m from the court of the real Neptune. And despite the myths, the real Neptune has a heart of gold. So I am here to grant you five wishes. What would you like your first wish to be?”

Not wanting to waste the wishes, he sat on a nearby rock and thought long and hard before saying “I want five arms. Yes, I really want five arms.”

Sarah smiled a knowing smile. “Five arms? What in the world would a kitty want five arms for? You already have four legs to run and play with and a tail to swish with. Neptune, once I grant a wish, it cannot be undone. Are you sure that you want me to grant this first wish?”

Neptune started to say YES, but then he thought If I had five arms I wouldn’t look like my friends and that might be a BAD thing, and where would the extra arm go? Maybe he should rethink the five arm wish.

Then he thought An endless supply of nip is what I want! That wish could never go wrong! And then he thought about it some more. No! I cannot be selfish with my first wish. I know exactly what I want!

“I want all the kitties in the world to stop suffering. Healthy Happy Kitties! Sarah, can you grant my wish?”

A sudden breeze cooled the air around them, bringing a shadow overhead. Neptune hunched his shoulders in reflex, wondering if he’d said something amiss. The starfish stilled. Neptune felt a pressure between his shoulder blades and turned. A tall figure stood before him. Lined in moonlight, Neptune couldn’t see it’s face. The figure crouched before him, saying “Happy, Healthy Kitties is a good wish. I can see Sarah choose well when she picked you to receive the five wishes. I cannot wait to see what you choose for your next wish. How you choose is important to me and quite possibly, to you as well.”

Neptune thought deeply. He knew that he must chose wisely. He felt that he had made a good start with wanting to stop the suffering of all the kitties, but he knew he had to reach down deep within himself to find another wish, something equally wonderful.

Should all cats have cat nip? What about loving homes? What about voting rights? What about wonderful beds? So many things to consider.

“My second wish will be for all humans to love cats. That would ensure that all kittens and cats were cared for properly.”

Neptune scratched his head and pondered some more. But what about those cats that don’t have a home? The ones that are alone and scared?

He had been at the shelter for many months already, and he felt it was time to have his own Forever Home. But, he knew there were many other cats who did not even have the safety of a Shelter to live in. At least he had a warm bed and plenty of fresh food and water and toys.

So, instead of wishing for his own Forever Home, Neptune said “For my third wish I wish for loving Forever Homes for all homeless kitty’s, a real home where they will feel loved and sheltered and where they will never be alone.”

Sarah thought that was a very good wish and she said “How wonderful it will be if all kittens have responsible families to care for them and to have Forever loving homes for each of the kittens. Sarah smiled. “Yes! I think that is a very good wish!”

“Now you have made three good wishes, Neptune. The first is for all kitties to be happy and healthy, the second is that all humans will love kitties, and the third is that all kitties will have Forever Homes. Neptune, you are very generous! You still have two more wishes. Don’t you want anything for yourself?”

Neptune thought real hard. There are so many things that would be nice; plenty of beautiful fresh nip whenever I want it, Temptations whenever I want them, a nice smooshy bed or two…. but how to decide?

Neptune then wondered if Sarah would think his next wish was a little silly. Yet he summoned up his voice and said “Well, there is something I’ve always wanted, but no! There are still other things more important than my wishes. I think that all the woofies should be cared for too. There are lots of woofies without homes. Then Neptune thought about when he was a kitten and remembered the softness of his cat Mom’s fur. To have that softness again, that made him feel so safe, secure and loved would be wonderful! Neptune didn’t want to be selfish though. So he thought some more.

Do I want to take care of myself for my next wish or do I want to help take care of all of the cruelty and meanness in the world? Neptune thought to himself, “Now who is being selfish?”

Neptune said “For my fourth wish I wish for peace among the beans.”

Sarah said, “My! You really are a generous kitty!” and with the sweep of her arms she granted his first four wishes!

“Now, Neptune”, Sarah said, “it is your turn to wish for something for yourself! What is it you want more than anything else?”

Neptune hesitated, and then he whispered, “I would like my very own Forever Home near the seashore-a home where I could have my very own Lap Lady, a lady who has another cat who needs a Best Buddy! I have always wanted to be a Best Buddy and to have a Best Buddy! Oh, how I would love to explore the seashore with my Best Buddy, looking under rocks, tossing over sea glass, peaking into seashells and maybe even exploring a cave or two. That would be my most purrfect Forever Home, Sarah!”

Once again the tall figure lined in Moonlight stood up and spoke. “Well done, Neptune. You have made me very proud!”

“Thank you, sir” said Neptune nervously. “Sir, may I ask who you are?”

“I am the Neptune, God of the Sea! I was hoping that as my namesake, you would demonstrate that I am not as bad-tempered as many have long said. I was hoping that your love of the sea was just a glimmer of your capacity to love. Your love for your fellow kitty is great! Although Sarah asked you several times if you had a wish for yourself, you put yourself last. You have exceeded my expectations and given me great hope, young Neptune! You have done well by our name! To thank you for your kind heart, your wish for a seaside Forever Home is granted. I also have a small gift for you, a token of my affection. From this day forward you will bear a reminder of this day. I give to you your very own Trident! Wear it with great pride!”

Neptune looked down and there it was! He couldn’t believe it! He now had markings clearly shaped like Neptune’s Trident, right there on his chest! He looked up to thank Neptune and Sarah, but they had both vanished! All that was left was a foamy wave retreating back into the sea and the reflection of Moonlight shimmering across the water.

Neptune looked up and now saw some people walking towards him. As they got closer he recognized the nice lady from the shelter. She had another lady with her and they were both smiling broadly.

“Neptune, come along now. It’s late and you know that you are Not Allowed out after dark! Besides, it’s time for you to go Home!”

THE END

Many thanks to our Contributing Authors:

1. Camie’s Kitties
2. Skittles, The Huntress
3. Kellie The Orange Cat
4. Simba
5. goldenshade
6. Parker
7. Alasandra
8. Tesla
9. Angus Mhor
10. Alasandra
11. Mickey
12. DEBRA
13. Cheysuli and gemini
14. Sandee (Comedy +)
15. Daisy
16. Ariel
17. Alasandra
18. Thor and Marco Polo and 3 Kats
19. The Island Cats
20. Furkidsmom
21. Babs (Beetle)
22. Shadow / Molly
23. Sweet Praline
24. Samantha and Mr. Tigger
25. Gandalf and Grayson
26. This could have been you! Please join us next week!

We sure hope you enjoyed The Story Game this week! And we sure do hope the real-life Neptune finds his Forever Home soon! - UPDATE! Neptune has been adopted! He found his Forever Home with our friend Daisy the Curly Cat! He told them his real Name is actually Harley, so of course, that is what we will all call him from now on! Happy Dance!!

Click here to read the previous Stories we have written so far!

We hope that you will join us once again next Tuesday when together we will write another wonderful story!

One of our Story Game Stars has had to leave for the Bridge. Posey was the Star of one of our very favorite stories, Posey and the Gnome’s Satchel. In real life Posey was a beautiful senior cat at the Cat’s Exclusive shelter where Daisy’s Mommie volunteers. Posey had been very sick and although she had been doing much better, yesterday Daisy’s Mom told our Mom that Posey got very sick again and had to be helped to the Bridge. We are very sad that Posey never found her Forever Home here on earth. We hope she is running through the meadows with our friends who have also gone to the Bridge. We also hope that with her brand new teeths Posey is chewing on some wonderful crunchie foods again (Posey had lost all her teeths).

We were Sponsoring Posey. We discussed it with Mom and we all agreed that Posey would want us to Sponsor another kitty. We looked at all the wonderful kitties at the shelter and we chose one! We would like you to meet her. Her name Is Figgy! Isn’t she pretty? She has the most wonderful Blue Eyes, too!