Cheshire Cat - The Truth

• Madeline Flood, Grade 7, Asquith Girls High School
• Short Story
• 2017

Excellence Award in the 'Write Here Write Now 2017' competition

This is a story from generations in the past that only very few have heard of. Way beyond the yellow brick road and past the shoes of ruby red there lived a black cat. An ordinary black cat, hiding in the depths of the OZ forest. His coat was extremely rich and dark. His claws were glistening gold that exploded with colour that lit up the darkness of the forest. Eyes. His eyes were the worst. They were hypnotising deep shades of blue and green that could see you from a mile. Though the wizard of OZ was known as the most powerful person in Oz, nobody had known about the ordinary black cat that lurked the forest on the border of the kingdom, The Cheshire Cat.

Midnight had come and the Cheshire cat was looking out for danger. A strange looking lady with a long indigo coat was passing by and noticed the glowing eyes of the cat. The Cheshire cat slowly crept up to the woman, as quietly and cautiously as he could and hid behind a large rose bush, little knowing of where the woman was. Suddenly there was a blinding light that shone behind him. He ran towards the light and pounced at the woman tearing her coat viciously. But it was too late. She had gotten away and the Cheshire cat was feeling peculiar. He was feeling a little bit dizzy and nauseous. He stared out into the emptiness of the forest. Then the next thing he knew is that he was falling. He was falling deep and fast. Sparks of blue light were surrounding him and he didn’t know what to do. He kept descending down into the bareness until finally he landed on a soft surface. After a really long pause he realised that he had landed on pillows. A whole room full of pillows. Now he was scared and confused. Right at that moment the world was whirling. And then he fainted. His head gently laying on the pillows beneath him.

When he awoke he heard a voice. “Hello… little cat…” There were two round shaped boys standing in front of him. They were wearing striped tops and overalls and they looked exactly the same. Now the Cheshire cat was confused. Was he seeing doubles? And where on earth was he? “Who are you?” he asked the boy. “I’m Tweedle-dee”, he said. “And I am Tweedle-dum, we’re the twins of wonderland!” said another voice. Now it made more sense, they were twins! But the cat still had questions. “Where am I and how did I get here?” asked the Cheshire cat. “Welcome to wonderland young lad! You fell down the rabbit hole and now you are here with us” Tweedle-dum greeted politely. It was a quiet and peaceful village with many unusual people and places still to discover. There were large oak trees and aesthetic vibrant gardens. Maybe this was a good sign for the Cheshire cat. This was it. This was his chance for freedom…