Finally God took pity on the islanders. They had been without a king for decades. The last king had died childless and so there was an empty throne. The king's palace lay deserted, the last of the caretakers too having died. One could see the birds nesting on the balconies and mice dancing on the ornate floor. The throne was now home to a family of cats. The mama cat had queened a number of times using the throne as her labor cart and successive generations of kitten had grown around it.
The news traveled very fast on the island. Everyone informed everyone of the God's pity. The news however came as a great shock to the palace dwellers. A rightful owner was on way and with that the end of their sojourn in luxury. The pigeons, cats and mice all distrusted each other but over the years an uneasy calm had descended over the place. Exigency, the mother of compromise had shown them the virtues of live and let live. Over time, the areas of influence got marked of their own accord. No negotiations were made, no treaties signed and no declarations made. The pigeons ruled the airways, cats the ground and mice the underground. Generally there was no scope for overlapping or overstepping. They remained confined to their domains and if at all on a sunny day a cat ran after a pigeon it was more for fun than for a battle. Battles did erupt but not between the three resident species of the palace but between siblings. Cats fought long battles among themselves whenever the mama cat was away on any business trip outside the palace. Her approaching call would immediately cause a ceasefire and all would be quite in a jiffy. Pigeons spent their time ……,making love, laying eggs and hatching them. Within a short time they had procreated to be all over the place, the balcony was now bursting at the seams with their load.
The mice were the most gentle of the lot. They kept themselves busy all the time burrowing tunnels under the floor and nibbling at what ever came their way. They had laid an immaculate maze of tunnels, which extended outside the palace in to horse stables, the granary, the stores and the cornfields. They would always be moving in search of food and then dragging it to their stores.
It was a bright sunny day, perhaps midday when the word reached the palace that the place would soon be inhabited. A pall of gloom fell over the inmates. They knew that they would be thrown out much before the new master was to make his entry in to the palace. The seasoned cat could very well imagine a horde of workers descending upon the place to restore its old glory and that would mean a total overhaul. The worn-out faded window drapes would be pulled down, the old dilapidated furniture removed and an elaborate regime of repairs undertaken. The old weather beaten cushioned throne was destined to be carted away to some shanty junk store and with this the Cat and her little kittens would become homeless. All the royal comforts, the kittens were used to would disappear and very harsh times would begin. But the Cat could do nothing to stop this catastrophe. She needed to immediately start looking for a place for herself and her brood. She could not say anything to her little kitten as she reasoned they would not understand the gravity of the situation.
The pigeons went in to a huddle, the moment they heard about the impending doom. The eldest of the flock a pigeon of considerable wisdom was quick to reassure his companions .He reasoned, after all we are birds and the Lord has made us masters of the skies, we can fly anywhere and find a nesting place. If not in a building we could go to a tree and make ourselves comfortable again. So friends, do not lose heart, collect your energies and be ready to take to the wings. Some young pigeons who had not seen the storms and tornados of life expressed their fears but the old pigeon counseled them to be patient and follow his commands. The old pigeon also emphasized the need to put an immediate stop to love making for with an uncertain future security of eggs could be in jeopardy. Guards were appointed to keep an eye on the younger couples through these uncertain times. The old pigeon also designated a group of wise pigeons to undertake probing missions in to the surrounding areas and locate the suitable nesting place.
The mice seemed to be less bothered. They depended on the extensive network of underground tunnels and the speed with which they could disappear from the palace at any approaching footfall, only to return the moment it was quite. Their only worry seemed to be a possibility that the housekeepers may resort to the use of chemical weapons if they suspected a large-scale presence. So the best way to avert this was to lie low and do not under any circumstances betray their presence in the palace .The mice decided to stay away and confine their activities in areas outside the palace for some time. They were sure to return when all things settled and life in the palace became normal. They saw a huge possibility of better things to eat as the royal cooks restarted their work.
This was no time to settle any long pending scores between cats and mice. A shared misfortune was at hand. Some thing had to be done, thought the mama cat although she recollected all the thefts of food she gathered for her kitten by these wretched mice .Then suddenle she recalled with satisfaction the few occasions she had succeeded in apprehending a cheeky intruder and the feast she made of him.But now was no time to think about these things.Pigeons too had been scared of her and a couple of them had fallen prey to her deceit and cunning but anyway things had moved on and they too had reconciled and never tried to cross her path.Today neither mice,nor the pigeons were of any consequence .All the three resident species of the palace were scared for their dear life and were considering the options for survival.
2
(to be continued next week)
