Freya:
Fangu fur meetin' me heer. I luff yur lake. Duz yu play here at lot?

Shibui:
Not really, Freya. This is our our front (south) pasture. It's about 1/4 of a mile from the house and near the road. So we rarely get this far.

Freya:
Let's go and meets da rest of yu Crowley Cats. I see a house over der. Is that yur house?

Shibui:
No - that's our Honeymoon House. It has an interesting history.

[After a brief visit to the Honeymoon House, they continue their walk. Freya expounds about country living.]

Freya:
I juss luff da country. Da grasses an' buggies, da flours, da birdies - oohhhhhhh ... I really, really luff dem birdies. I betcha yu are happy, happy to live here.

Shibui:
We do like it, Freya, but we also have a great deal of responsibility, including ridding the yard and garden of rodents and snakes.

Freya:
Snakes? EEEKKKKK !!! Yu neffur tole me yu had snakes. Let's hurry to the house. Oh good, I see Bogey ... and Dobbin ... and Frenchie. Hi, all yu Crowleys. So nice to see yu. We were juss talking 'bout snakes. Dey are scarey, I think.

Dobbin:
In my opinion, snakes are one of our biggest disadvantages.

Midnight:
Oh Dobbin, you don't know what fun is until you catch a copperhead!

Dobbin:
I rememfur the time you killed one with your bare paws. My little brofur is SO brave!

Frenchie:
There are many vicious mockingbirds in the yard. They dive-bomb me and try to remove my tail. I can't retaliate because, "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." I guess that's because it's our State Bird.

Bogey:
They don't bother ME. They probably think Frenchie's tail is a snake. (mewsnicker)

Shibui:
I think the biggest disadvantage to rural living is ticks. Tick collars don't provide enough protection, so we must have a liquid application of tick repellent every month. None of us like that.

Freya:
Ticks? EEEKKKKK !!! Yu neffur tole me yu had ticks. Let's hurry inside. OK? I wants to get to know da newest memfur of the Crowley Cats, Frenchie. Duz yu mind telling us a liddle 'bout yurself, Frenchie?

Frenchie:
Not at all, Freya, I'm a young, short-haired white cat with a grey tail and I wear a grey beret. I'm very playful and I'm a good hunter. I moved in with the Crowley Cats during the Easter holidays ... after Shibui invited me to dinner.

Freya:
Well, I haff herd fine things 'bout yu. Like yu are healthy an attractive - a true gentle cat.

Frenchie:
Ah ... gee ... gosh ...

Freya:
Come on, Frenchie, Tell me what it's like being a Crowley Cat?

Frenchie:
If you ask me, being a Crowley Cat is great. I've never had such an easy life! We have a great deal of freedom and plenty of food. And we have two humans who attend to our every need.

Shibui: (Smiling at Frenchie)
That's because we trained them before you joined the family.

Freya:
It seems to me dat there is something special 'bout being a Crowley Cat. What is it?

Shibui:
That's a difficult question, Freya. We think we're very lucky that we all found a special place to live. We wish every homeless cat could find their own true home like we did.

Freya:
Duz yu du groupie things - like Crowley Crew Naps or Crowley Power Games ?

Shibui:
When we're in the house, we have group activities, like eating and playing practical jokes on our humans. We also have a game we play at night called "mewsical beds." When we're outside, we often work and hunt in pairs, but often we go our separate ways.

Freya:
Dobbin, you are the oldest of all the Crowley Cats. Duz dat makes yu Top Cat?

Dobbin:
For a long time, I was the only female cat at the Triple C Ranch. I'm content to let my oldest brofur be Top Cat, as long as he treats me like a Princess.

Freya:
Midnight, I reads in yur homepage dat yu is purrtective of yur sisfurrs. I fink dat is nice. Du yu think dat Frenchie will helps yu in dat job?

Midnight:
Thank mew, Freya. Purrtecting my sisfurs is a full-time job. I'm looking furward to having some help from Frenchie.

Bogey:
I can purrtect myself!

Freya:
Bogie, are yu gedding along any bedder with Frenchie now?

Bogey: (turning towards Frenchie)
HisssSSSSSSsPPPPPPitttt!

Midnight:
Settle down, Bogey; try to answer Freya's questions intelligently.

Freya:
Well, if yu asks me, he already answered dat question. Wat duz yu dislikes 'bout Frenchie?

Bogey:
I think I'm allergic to him!

Shibui:
Jealous of him, is more like it! Look ... her eyes are turning GREEN! (mewhehehehe)

Freya:
(Teeheehee) Too bad dere is not medicines fur being jealous. But don't feel bad, Bogey. Sometimes when Meowmie is petting Henny, I juss glares at dem. An den I go ups to Henny and I opens my mouff an I ... err ... but, back to da interview. Shibui, duz being a royal Siamese cat - amongst all of dem commoner brofurrs and sisfurs - cause yu any problems?

Shibui:
When I first came to live here, I had a difficult adjustment to make. It was much easier to teach our d*g, Sandy, to bow to me than it was to get respect from my siblings. Even now, they sometimes forget their place.

Freya:
Easier to teach a d*g? Dat is amazing! In preparation fur dis interview, I visited all of yur homepages. An Shibui, I haff to admit, I sneaked into yur Inner Sanctum. I luffed it so much - all of dem bootifur crowns an valuables. I just hated to leave. Did it takes yu long to collect dem?

Shibui:
I'm glad that you enjoyed visiting my Inner Sanctum. You'll always be welcome there. It has taken me several years to build my collection.

Freya:
Ahhh ... Duz yu haff even more jewels an crowns hidden anudder place?

Shibui:
I do have a few jewels that are hidden in a secret location.

Freya:
Hmmm ... Shibui, purrhaps we cud meets later and discuss dis in further depth, wid maps and directions an keys an things. But ... ah ... furst ... er ... ahhhh .... well, Shibui, I wuz juss wonderin ... duz yu ... duz yu effur, effur loan yur jewels to any of yur gude frens? Like frens dat duz yu a favor by interviewing yu?

Bogey:
She won't even let her own sisfurs wear them!

Shibui:
Never mind her, Freya. She's just upset because she can't find the key to my treasure chest. If you find it, you may take enough jewels to make your own crown.

Bogey: (Whispering to Freya)
If you find it, will you tell me where it is? Pretty please with lots of catnip on it? If you do, I promise to take you fur a ride in my airplane ... whenefur I get one, that is.

Freya: (Whispering in Bogey's ear)
Sure, Bogey, if yu helps me look, I'll share wid yu.

Freya:
What are yur favorite things to do?

Shibui:
We all enjoy purrticipating in events at the Back Fence Cat Club and other clubs on the Internet. I'm the only one in the family who has joined CLAW, but I take my siblings to the events that are open to the public. We particularly enjoy attending performances at CLAW Theater. As a member of the Older Cats Society, I've been adopted by three very special Purr Scouts in the Adopt-a-GrandKitty program. Being a Grandmew has given me a lot of pleasure. My siblings and I also have fun chatting with our friends at the clubs and in Scrappy's forum.

Freya:
Shibui, it is hard to belief dat yu are a senior. You have such a youthful appearance. Wud yu share some of yur beauty tips wid da readers?

Shibui:
My goodness, Freya, I am very flattered by your comments. I attribute my youthful appearance to getting plenty of beauty sleep in addition to my exercise program. Of course, I have a few flaws, but I don't think it's necessary to call attention to them.

Freya:
You really exercise? Puleeze tells us how yu exercise.

Shibui:
Wait training is a very important part of my daily routine. If I'm inside, I pace while I wait. Occassionally, I jump on the kitchen counter to remind Meowmie to look for the can-opener. If I'm in the yard, a long wait is followed by a quick sprint when I hear an announcement that dinner is served.

Freya:
Der yu haff it - Shibui's exercise sekret - Wait Training.

Shibui:
Of course, it's wise to remember that inner beauty is more important than physical appearance. I begin each morning with a series of flexibility exercises followed by a period of meditation.

Bogey:
Sure - like snoor, snoor, snoor (mewhehehehe)

Freya:
Is der special things yu do on da ranch - dat we ken not do in town?

Dobbin:
On windy days, I love to climb my fafurite live oak tree and swing and sway in the breeze.

Bogey:
I like to climb trees, too. Sometimes I climb the one that's next to the house and then I jump on the roof. It's about twelve feet higher than our deck. It's the best command post on the ranch!

Midnight:
The deck is high enough fur me, Freya. It's on the roof of our carport. Once, my older brofur Rascal and I were wrestling and I got too close to the edge. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground. Furtunately, I wasn't injured, just startled.

Frenchie:
I like to fence with Midnight! Especially when we have a duel on the deck.

Midnight:
Fencing is fun, but my fafurite activity is hunting.

Freya:
Yu is really active cats. Say, I wuz wondering - did any of yu purrsonally know Scrappy?

Dobbin:
Midnight, Shibui and I we were all living on the ranch when Scrappy arrived. So was our brofur Rascal. Rascal was just like a father to Midnight and Scrappy.

Freya:
Scrappy had to be one furry special cat.

Midnight:
Yes, Scrappy was a furry special memfur of our family and we all miss him. You can learn more about him at Scrappy's Nest

Freya:
Yes - and effuryone ken also reads bout all you wonderfurr Crowley Cats. I sure luffed interviewing yu. Now I has to get back to the Back Fence. Midnight, will yu and Frenchie escort me to da teleport and purrtect me frum da snakes?

All the Crowley Cats:
We're all coming to purrtect you, Freya. Come back and visit anytime.

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