MAX'S FABLE

Once upon a time…

Such an invitation to write

And find characters ready to play

Who do we have here?

A cat, a dog, a mouse, an elephant

And an ice cream parlour

The cat, Miss Miaou, loves to dress up

The dog, Max, her faithful follower and protector,

They meet Arroth the mouse and her friend Gino on the sidewalk across Molly’s, the ice cream parlour.

Gino also loves to dress up, mostly as a magician. So when Miss Miaou showed up with her sequin dress,

Gino held his tusk high to show his appreciation. Without paying attention to what he was doing, he wiped to the ground the chocolate-mango ice cream waffle

Max was about to bite into.

Max growled his disgust at Gino’s lack of style, expecting Miss Miaou would chastise the pachyderm.

Wrong! She didn’t even notice what had happened. The feline was struck by Gino’s rugged charm.

Arroth, introduced herself to Max, trying to pacify him. Max grunted, intrigued by her glowing whiskers and intense eyes. Such a bunch of eccentrics they all are!, he tought, without realizing that he, himself, was quite a number with his pirate eye and powder blue bow tie.

Arroth told him that although Gino was a great magician. He lost some trunk muscle control because he just came out of the dentist who removed two… canine teeth.

Poor fellow, thought Max, his dog teeth!

But wait a minute diminutive Grandma mouse, you look like a shrewd actress giving a performance. I don’t buy your story; this looks more like a cover-up for your friend’s E-phantormones.

I’m still hungry and wan’t my waffle; I want compensation. And want an apology from him!

Hey, you big non-curly tailed schmoozer,

stop harassing Miss Miaou and replace my waffle, or else...

Miss Miaou was baffled by her friend’s bad manners. Max, she said, hide your canines and say hi to Gino instead of acting like nincompoop.

Yeah right, Max thought, why don’t you ask that Gino guy to show you his non-existent canines instead!

Gino, being a mature and somewhat dignified male, studied the angry malamut carefully. He realized that the pirate was not only resentful, but also quite jealous of the attention Miss Miaou was paying to himself, while getting no compassion from her for his loss.

Having perfected their approach together several times, Gino winked a signal at Grandma Arroth that meant "Take the mutt to the parlour and offer him two waffles with whatever topping he desires. But this time, Arroth was tired of the old trick and ignored the wink. She wanted a new script, a more substantial role. So she took the situation in her own hands.

Gino, she said, this nice gentleman is offended with reason. Why don’t you take him to the parlour and make amends while I go shopping with Miss Miaou. I’m sure she can show me the best designers in town for a costume that will highlight my whiskers appropriately. I’ll wear it on our next visit to your grand-children.

Grand-children asked Miss Miaou? How many Mr. Gino?

Oh, said Arroth, he has 22 from his first marriage, 17 from his second and 3 from his current wife. He is such a doting grandpa, which is likely why he lost his canines He eats half of all the candies he gives the grand-children. Frankly, he isn’t very careful with his diabetes either.

But, but, but… said Gino, taken by surprise. This is not…

Miss Miaou, who already had some hopes for a new romance, started wondering about the true potential of that relationship. She was on a diet most of the time and wasn’t particularly fond of children. Humm, she thought, I have no prejudice against aging

But I wonder how old he really is. What if his magic failed?

Gino wanted to say “But I’m only 102”. But all that could come out was “But, but, but…”. His speech was getting more and more slurred and his gums were hurting.

Max knowing his friend well was now smiling, all teeth showing. Grandma Arroth seemed more sympatico by the minute. So he asked for her e-mail planning to send her the URL of his favourite cheese factory and a pair of tickets

to his most recent play “Aging is becoming”. He didn’t know yet that she would love to hear

about his career as a writer. Uplifted, he offered Gino his dentist’s business card, not without a bit of malice.

Miss Miaou didn’t particularly like Arroth, but could never resist an opportunity to shop and show off, even in front of a mouse... and what an easy way to drop Gino without being obvious. So off they went.

Arroth was proud of herself for having saved her friend from his gimicky poker and women's clothes addictions. And she was already salivating at the prospect of visiting the cheese factory website and a potentially getting a role in Max’s next drama.

Relief! thought Max, one less shopping spree for me. And forget the waffle, I want to keep my teeth! Off with the pirate patch and bow tie, I'm going to the park to write a comedy.