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“It’s a vegetarian barbecue, Clarice,” Dooley explained.

Clarice hissed her disappointment.“What nonsense!”

“Yeah, they may never eat meat again,” said Harriet.

We all lapsed into silence. We hadn’t had meat in days, Odelia taking away our regular kibble and soft food and replacing it with a home-made variety consisting of bread, lentils, and vegetables. It was horrible, and I’d never felt so weak and discouraged as I had now. Instead of being feted as heroes, we were being punished. Orat least that’s how it felt. And it wasn’t just us. The whole town had suddenly gone vegetarian.

Suddenly Clarice hopped down from the swing.“I’m off,” she announced curtly.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“You know me, Max. I’m a strictly meat kind of girl.” And she started walking away. We eagerly stared after her, an empty, rumbling sensation in the pit of our stomachs.

She glanced over her shoulder, then cracked us a smile.“All those who want a tasty morsel of meat, follow me.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, we all jumped off the swing. And then we were chasing after Clarice, who was moving off mightily fast, setting a pretty deft pace.

“Where are we going, Max?” asked Dooley eagerly.

“I have no idea, Dooley, and I don’t care.”

And I didn’t. As long as there was meat at the end of this tunnel, I was on board.

“But what if it’s rat, Max?” asked Dooley. “You know how much Clarice likes rat.”

I wavered, but only briefly.“Don’t be a snob, Dooley,” I said. “Rats are animals, too. And they deserve to be eaten just as much as the next turkey or chicken does.”

And so off we went, into a bright future that held the only thing that can cheer up a cat, even more so than a cuddle or a pat on the head: a nice, tasty morsel of meat.

Yum!