A little kitten, orphaned in the streets of Paris is scared, hungry, and lost. Wandering around in and out of various trash cans, he's hoping to find something to eat, or even to find someplace decent to stay for the night. He is not lost for long as he hears a blaring but beautiful sound from inside a tall, rundown building. Inside the building, he sees a black, overweight cat wearing a bowler hat, sitting on a large piano, and playing a gold, bell like instrument he's never seen before. In wide-eyed amazement, he starts coming closer to the big cat. But then he trips over a pot that he doesn't see, making a loud noise. The cat stops playing, turns around and seeing the little kitten, smiles broadly.
"Well now! What have we here?"
The kitten, too frightened to respond, hides behind a large nearby box.
"Aww, whatsa matter, kid? Cat got your tongue? Hahahaha!!"
But then the laughter stops as the big cat suddenly hears the sound of weeping. He saunters on over and sits down next to the helpless kitten. "Hey now, little man. I'm sorry if I scared you. Now now, dry up those blues. Come on and tell ol' Scat Cat what's achin' ya."
Sniffling, the little guy finally spoke, "I.... I'm lost. I'm not from around here."
"Ain't ya got a momma or daddy lookin' for ya?"
He shook his head. The big cat had a look of sadness come across his eyes. "Yeah..... I been there. I'm an orphan myself. So I can dig that."
"Really?" he asked. "Oh yeah," the big cat replied. "But ya know what? It's all about who ya know, ya know? You ain't alone anymore, you're with Scat Cat now! Why doncha stay with me for a while? I can teach you a few things."
Perking up, the kitten was able to look around the layout of the building he was in with this big cat. A broken chandelier, some old chairs that had seen better days, tattered curtains. But in the middle of the room was all the instruments. A piano with some missing keys, an accordion, an upright bass with a couple of plucked strings, and..... a drum with some assorted pots and pans and a single cymbal.
The kitten turned to the big cat who was by now walking upright on two legs, cleaning out his large golden bell like instrument. "What's that?" the kitten asked, pointing at it.
"Oh, this? Hahaha! That's ol' Bessie, my lovely lady. We jazz musicians love to name our instruments."
"Jazz?"
"Ohhhh..... well, little man. Let me give you a demonstration." He began to take a breath, but then asked, "What's your name, by the way?"
"Elvin," the kitten replied.
"Gotcha!" The big cat played ol' Bessie with a bouncy vigor the kitten had never heard before. It was so..... fresh and exciting, he found himself tapping his paws in perfect rhythm. After he finished with a beautifully placed high note, he said "That's trumpet for 'Hello!' Saaaaay now..... you got that natural beat going for ya. Why don't you swing on over to that drum set over there and play a little somethin'-somethin'?"
Elvin ran over to the drum, picked up the two sticks next to it and started tapping out a simple rhythm, a "rat-tat-tat and a rat-tat-tat." Huh, simple enough. Then he started playing faster. And then, he moved to the pots and pans next to it. Bobbing his head to his beat, he finished with a loud cymbal "CRASH!!!"
Scat Cat looked at Elvin in amazement. "Wow, kid! You're a natural!"
Elvin smiled back and said "That's drum for 'Hello!'"
"Maaaaan, I dig that good, Elvin! Say, why doncha stick with me for a while? You'd make a great addition to the band. Wait til you meet my alley cat buddies!"
Elvin looked at Scat Cat, the first feline to show him kindness. He nodded with a sense of pride and confidence. "Does that mean you're my new Papa?" he asked.
Scat Cat looked back at him and proudly nodded. Lying down on his back on a comfy pillow, he picked up ol' Bessie and asked his new adopted son, "Whatcha say we swing a little more, son?"
Elvin purred happily and started to tap the cymbal and drum with a steady rhythm, replying "Dig it, Daddy-O! Yeah!!"


Art drawn by the amazing  lulu