Short story: Stripe and Socks

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Stripe and Socks

On Christmas Eve, farmer Brown left home to collect two kittens from a family in a neighbouring village.
A few weeks earlier, he was collecting his mail at the post office when he saw a sign on the noticeboard. “Kittens for sale” He was in two minds.

I need to keep the mice under control in the dairy and cowshed, but one cat might get lonely, so maybe I should get two cats? He continued thinking to himself. Fully grown cats might run away; perhaps kittens are a better option. Having convinced himself that kittens were a better option, farmer Brown phoned the advertiser.

‘Can you keep the kittens for a few more weeks?’ He asked. ‘I’d like them to be a little older before I collect them.’ That year, England had a freezing winter, and leaving tiny kittens alone in the cowshed didn’t seem right.

Farmery Brown, known as Harry to his family had been a farmer all his life. A strong man with broad shoulders and a serious but caring disposition. He worked long hours growing crops in the surrounding fields, but his passion was his small dairy herd. Every morning come rain or shine, farmer Brown rose at four o’clock to herd the cows into the dairy and milk them.

Harry hadn’t told his wife about the kittens because he knew she’d want to keep them in the house and that would defeat the whole object of getting cats as mice catchers.

His wife, Mary, was as wide as she was tall, a cheerful lady with a wonderful sense of humour. With the family arriving for Christmas she was in a flat spin, bordering on panic, preparing the bedrooms and cooking dinner. Their married son and twin grandchildren were arriving that evening.

‘You can’t leave now Harry.’ She objected. ‘The children are arriving any moment. The least you can do is be here when they arrive.’

‘I’m sorry dear, I won’t be long, I promise. I just have to pop into the village to collect something.’ He had received a phone call earlier that day saying the family keeping the kittens was going away for Christmas, and they wanted farmer Brown to collect them as soon as possible.

‘What’s so urgent that it can’t wait?’

‘It’s a surprise, my dear.’ He gave one of his rare smiles, then kissed her on the cheek. Mary loved surprises, but her husband was the sensible type, so she wouldn’t hold her breath.

He shook his head as he drove into the village. Now I’ll have to think of something to take home as a surprise.

When he arrived at the family home to collect the kittens, he removed the cat box from the back of the car and knocked on the front door.

‘Hello Mister.’ A young girl with freckles and long plaits answered the door. She looked the same age as Harry’s twin grandchildren.

‘Hello, young lady, I’m farmer Brown, and I’m here to collect the kittens.’

‘Come in farmer Brown.’ She held the door open for him. ‘Mum said you were coming, and I’ve been waiting for you. I want to tell you all about Stripe and Socks.’ She pointed at the cat box sitting on a table in the entrance hall.

‘I see you’ve brought your cat box; that’s good. I’ve put some food in a bag to feed them for a few days. Changing their diet too quickly is not a good thing.’ She turned to make eye contact. ‘You can buy more food at the local supermarket, but I suggest you keep to this brand.’ She took a quick breath. ‘They’ve had their injections but must visit the vet when they’re about a year old. Stripe is a girl, and Socks is a boy, so you’ll need to have them neutered or spayed at five to six months if you don’t want more kittens. Do you have any questions?’ She looked up at him expectantly.

‘How old are you?’ Harry Brown asked.

‘Oh, I’m sorry, Mum says I talk too much and should introduce myself when meeting new people. My name is Hildegard, and I’m 10 years old.’

Farmer Brown stretched out his hand to shake hers. ‘How do you do, Hildegard. You’re about the same age as my twin grandchildren. Thank you for telling me about the kittens. Why did you call them Stripe and Socks?’

…

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