Smalley In the Hedge
Written & Illustrated by
Lau Vun Ping
For Simeon
The day Smalley opens her eyes, she is loved Mother strokes Smalley with her pink wet nose She licks Smalley all over with her large warm tongue
Smalley and Mother live in a tall long hedge When the wind blows, leaves tickle her ears When it rains, Mother tucks her under her belly
An old man strolls past Smalley’s hedge He gives Mother a rub, he leaves her a fishy treat He taps his cane when he comes and again when he leaves
Mother brings Smalley small insects and shiny leaves She walks long and far to find these happy things Smalley hangs on a branch waiting for Mother
One day Smalley waits and waits but Mother doesn’t come It is day and then it is night, then it is day Smalley calls for Mother but she doesn’t come
A rustle in the hedge brings a tap of a cane Warm hands hold Smalley to a scratchy chin When Smalley peeks over her paws, she is loved again
Smalley adores her new home where it is warm The bed is creaky, it is smelly and cozy for two By its window Smalley watches the wind and rain
A man with a paper and pen comes to the door He says cats are not pets, they are noisy and wild What has Smalley done Mr. Man but sleep and play?
The old man’s tears fall down on Smalley He carries her downstairs, he carries her to the hedge He says stay here, I will come everyday on my cane
The man with the paper and pen comes to the hedge He tells the man in a truck he has a job to do There are too many of them, they are noisy and wild
Smalley knows she shouldn’t but it is shiny and happy Like her Mother used to bring her on a sunny day She crawls in and paws the toy, it clinks and the door clangs
Smalley is in a cage with many like her in cages They meow and cry in unison, for Mother, for old men and fishy treats. It is ok they weep, we were loved
It’s ok, we were loved.
It is not ok. This little story was written to highlight the plight of cats in Singapore sandwiched between the Housing Development Board’s policy that does not allow cats to be kept as pets in public housing flats, most Town Councils’ classification of stray cats as pests, and the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority’s unrelenting stance on culling of stray cats. * All children have a natural affinity towards animals, they say, and I believe that to be true. For one thing, it clarifies why there are more children’s books featuring animals than there are not. Quite often however, this affinity is quickly lost as the child grows older. It is a loss that the adult in us need to comprehend, and the child in us need to mourn. This loss, I attribute to the yawning disconnect between the sensitive gentle world of a child and what they will be told and what they will see of the world they inhabit. So what does it take for a child to become a man that makes policies that persecute, harm and kill animals in the name of public good? Is that what we want for them when they abandon childhood ambitions of being firemen, doctors, teachers, to save and to be nurture? It is our belief that there is a better way, for our children, for our cats and for ourselves. It’s time to take back the real world from the realists. Join us. myanimalfamily.blogspot.com