Once there was a cat who that he could sing opera.
He had grown up on the streets and in the alleyways of the
city, and once when he was young his mother had led him and the rest of her
litter by the back stage of the opera house. On that particular night the air
was sticky with humidity so the stagehands were at the door having at cigarette
and letting in what little fresh air there was to the stifling backstage area.
What they were letting out was the beautiful sounds of the
opera.
The melody called to the young cat like a siren song and
he lagged behind his family to get a better listen. Nearing the door, he could
hear the raising of the chorus voices filling the auditorium with gorgeous
sound that wafted out into the alley like a sweet cooling breeze.
He edged closer, unable to help himself and one of the stagehands
caught sight of him, and thinking he was trying to get into the back door, they
kicked at him to scare him off.
The little cat scrambled to get away and caught back up
with his mother and siblings, but it was too late, he was hooked. From then on
he would sneak away whenever he could to come back to the opera house to try
and get a listen to more of the glorious music of the masters; Puccini, Verdi,
and his favourite, Wagner.
In his mind he pictured himself singing the great solos
and sometimes when he got carried away he would begin to meow along with the
songs being sung inside only to incur a beer can or cigarette butt being thrown
at him to drive him off.
But that never deterred him from coming back time and
again.
When he had grown and left the security of his mother’s
watchful eye, he made his home in the alleyway behind the opera house and
almost each night, sat and listened in the shadows.
Until one day the stage hands left the door propped open
and unattended as they were pulled away for some set malfunction emergency,
giving the foolhardy young cat his opportunity to leap down to quickly dart
inside.
The backstage area was dark and full of random set pieces
and props. Luckily cats have very well developed night vision and he was able
to navigate unseen to the curtains off to the side of the stage easily enough.
There he sat and watched in awe as out on the stage the
prima donna sang an aria that had the entire audience rapt. The melody built
until the tenor was to come in to join her song but the whole occurrence was
too much for the cat and he leapt out on stage to begin meowing in response to
the opera singer’s song.
The entire house gaped in shock as the cat meowed loudly
and the prima donna stared stunned at what she was witnessing; a little alley
cat standing center stage, meowing along to the music, proudly and loudly as
though its sounds were more than just regular cat throat calls; almost as if it
was trying to sing.
Realizing she was still on stage, the opera singer did
what she would have done if her partner’s singing was up to par; she sang loud
enough to mask their imperfections.
From off stage the tenor stood with his mouth dropped wide
watching his duet be sung by a cat.
When the audience erupted in applause at the end of the
song, it was as much for the skills and professionalism of the prima donna as
it was for the brave little cat, but he stood proudly as though he was the star
of the show.
The prima donna turned to her unlikely partner and
gracefully curtsied, holding out her arms to offer her ample bosom and the cat leapt
into her arms and they took their bows together.
From then on, everyone there would tell the story about
the cat who thought he could sing opera.
And he could.
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