I, Stapper

(a 'Plavuizenpluis')

Do I just find myself having my own pages on the internet ! Gosh, what an honour ! I looked down and saw four little white feet beside me on the ground. I stood beside my self with pride. But Dede, my human, I call my Mama, warned me that I should not think too highly of myself now. She said the same before, when my first poem was published. So I'll try to stay modest, although I find that really very hard to do.

But, before I go on, let me be polite and introduce myself first. My name is Stapper and I am, what they call here, a 'Plavuizenpluis'. Because cats are 'fluffy' they call us 'Pluis' (thats dutch for fluff). And 'plavuis' is the dutch word for flagstone or paving. Because I have no pedigree, my origin is the street, or the pavement. That's why they call me a 'Plavuizenpluis'. I thought that out all on my own, because all the pedigree cats have such 'nice' names and 'Plavuizenpluis'' sounds a lot better than house cat' or 'stray cat'.

The name Stapper comes from Tolkien's Lord of the rings. The character that is called Straider in English, is called Stapper in the dutch translation. His official name, in the dutch translation, is Aragorn-de-Dúnedain, de Doler, but that is so difficult ! I prefer a plain Stapper.
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(Home made picture) .
I am a black-and-white cat, on top a bit more black, under, on my belly a little more white. On my chest, the hairs are a little longer, so that it looks like I'm wearing a ruff, like the old dutch regents did. That gives me just that little touch of class that I need to keep my position in this household of pedigree cats. As I already wrote I have four little white feet and a very tiny white end on my tail. To be honest, I'm quite satisfied with my appearance.

I live here with four other 'pluizen': Noisa is a pedigree-cat, so she is 'part of a family-tree', a kind of branch. In dutch that is 'tak'. So I call her a 'Takkepluis'. In dutch that has an association with an unkind word for a not-so-nice-woman. Hee, hee ;)
Noisa has two children. A daughter called Arwen and a son called Bras, but we always call him BrasBras. That sounds better.
Although everybody says I'm not, I am quite sure I am BrasBras' father. So I helped with his education. Something Noisa didn't like, so we argue quite a lot. But I hear people often argue about children, so why shouldn't cats ?

Oh, and then there is Midas, he is also a 'takkepluis' with a long name. He thinks all day.... We think he sleeps all day but he denies that and says that thinking is very hard work, best done with both eyes closed. And sometimes he has very remarkable sayings, like: "The epidemic effects of a bee-sting are according to the present points of view negligible".
I mean... nobody knows what it means or if it is useful but it sounds like it took a lot of thought.

The most important beings in my live are of course my people, Dede and Irene. ( I have to say this to protect my right to food and things like that). I call them my mama's because I never knew my real one, and they are nearest to what I heard about mama's.. Dede is the most dear one. Once I wrote my first poem about her: "Not Ideal". Because she is the dearest thing in my life but she isn't perfect. In spite of that I hope I never have to part from her, as long as I live. We're special to each other she says.

In future I plan to write a book about my live, but that will take quite some time. I'll inform you whenever it is finished.

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