Meet the Liddells

*All this has happened before, and it will all happen again. But this time, it happened in London. It happened on a quiet street in Bloomsbury. That corner house over there is the home of the Liddell family, and Gideon the Cat chose this particular house because there were people and an animal who believed in him. There was Mrs. Liddell.*

In the bathroom of the corner house, there was a French woman with vivid bright blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a sparkling blue ball gown, white petticoat, a black choker, and glass slippers. Her name was Cinderella. And she was busy fixing her hair in front of the mirror for a ball.

"Sinbad dear, do hurry," Cinderella called out. "We mustn't be late for the party, you know."

*Mrs. Liddell believed that Gideon the Cat was the spirit of youth. But Mr. Liddell...*

In the bedroom, there was a Greek man with a brown goatee, hair and eyes, wearing a sleeveless red shirt, matching pants, and black boots. His name was Sinbad, Cinderella's husband. And he was looking for his dark red wristbands through some drawers.

"Cinderella, unless I find my wristbands, we don't go to the party," Sinbad called back. "And if we don't go to the party, I can never show my face sailing the Seven Seas again. And if I can never--"

Unfortunately, he got cut off by bumping his head on the open top drawer.

"OUCH!" cried Sinbad, as he hopped around, holding his head.

*Well, Mr. Liddell was a practical man. The boys, however, a human boy named Cody, who was Sinbad and Cinderella's biological son, and a kitten named Edmond, who was their adopted son, believed Gideon the Cat was a real animal and made him the hero of all their nursery games.*

In the nursery, we see two shadows fighting each other with toy swords. One has one in its left hand and a hanger in its right while the other has one in its right paw.

One of the shadows belonged to an 8-year-old Australian boy with blond hair and green eyes, wearing red footy pajamas with snaps, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy snowmen and snowflakes on them, and white booties, dark blue glasses, and a fake paper crown. His name was Cody, Sinbad and Cinderella's son. And he was the one with the hanger in his right hand and the sword in his left.

The other shadow belonged to a 4½-year-old kitten with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing orange footy pajamas. His name was Edmond, Cody's adoptive little brother and Sinbad and Cinderella's adoptive son. And he was the one with the sword in his right paw.

"Blast you, Gideon the Cat!" Cody said in a scary voice.

Edmond bonked his brother on the head twice with his sword. "Take that!" he cried. Then he and Cody blocked their toy swords together. "Give up, Prince John?" he smirked, "Give up?"

"Never!" called Cody. Then he opened a drawer that was underneath Edmond's pajama-clad feet with the hanger, and he fell in as Cody yelled, "I'll teach you to cut off me paw!"

Just about then, 10-year-old British girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a black hair ribbon with a bow top centered in her hair walked in. She was wearing a light blue nightgown. Her name was Alice Liddell, Sinbad and Cinderella's daughter and Cody and Edmond's big sister. She was also carrying a jug.

"Oh no, Cody," Alice giggled. "It was the left paw."

"Oh, yes. Thank you, Alice." said Cody, as he switched the hanger from his right hand to his left and the sword from his left hand to his right.

*Alice, the eldest, not only believed. She was the supreme authority on Gideon the Cat and all his marvelous adventures.*

While Alice was in the hallway, she sighed as she talked to four figures, "Oh, Dinah, Patou, Peepers, Snipes. Must we always take that nasty tonic?"

"Yes, you have to." said a voice. The figures walked out to reveal an orange and white kitten with a pink bow named Dinah, a dog named Patou, a bird named Snipes, and a bird named Peepers. Dinah was carrying a tray of three spoons and a bottle of tonic for Alice, Cody, and Edmond.

*Dinah, Patou, Snipes, and Peepers the butlers and nursemaids, being a cat, dog, bird, and mouse, kept their opinions to themselves.*

"We do not!" Patou insisted after Dinah, Snipes, and Peepers walked over a pillow.

*And they viewed the whole affair with a certain tolerance.*

Dinah gave the tray to Patou, and he put the tray on a small table. Then they and Peepers and Snipes went over to the pillow to pick it up while Cody and Edmond were still playing.

"Take that!" Edmond called.

Cody and Edmond played around, hopping around the beds. "Insolent beast, I'll slash you to ribbons!" Cody yelled.

Snipes went to the bed and placed the pillow there while Patou fixed up the sheets and Dinah fixed the blanket up. "And I'll cut you to pieces! Aha!" Edmond called.

As he hit Cody, the second grader yelped in pain. "Ouch! Careful, Edmond, my glasses!"

"I'm sorry, Cody." Edmond said.

Then Dinah picked up one block, Peepers picked up another, and they went with Patou and Snipes to the other blocks. Cody and Edmond hopped back to the bed, messing it up again. "Ah! You'll never leave this ship alive!" Cody shouted.

So both of them bounced up and down as the pillow fell off again. "Oh yes, I will," Edmond shouted back. "Take that!"

When Snipes placed the ABC on the top, he, Peepers, Patou, and Dinah, but they quickly turned as they realized that Snipes had made a mistake. He got them to BAC. "Oops," said Snipes. "I got A and B backwards." So he took the A block, moved the B block, and placed it to the first. He and the others smiled and walked to the tonic for the kids.

"Scuttle me bones, cat! I'll slit your gizzard!" Cody yelled, as he stabbed as his wooden sword. It ripped through the sheets.

Then Patou poured on the spoons. "Oh, no, you won't," Edmond cried. "Back! Back! Back, you villain!" As they moved through the sheets, he pushed his wooden sword against Cody's.

"Insolent pup!" Cody snarled.

Patou heard that as he turned, only to get the tonic on his paw. He put it down. "Wicked lion prince!" Edmond cried.

"Aha! I got you!" Cody shouted.

"You didn't either. You never touched me!" Edmond smirked. When Patou licked it off, he was grossed out by the taste. "Oooh!" Patou grimaced, "This tonic *does* taste nasty." "Take that! And that! And that!" When Edmond thrust his sword at Cody, he got it under his arm as if he made it look like he got him.

Pretending he was dead, Cody placed a hand over his chest, groaned a fake death groan, and collapsed to the floor. That's when Sinbad came into the nursery.

"Boys, boys. Less noise, please." Sinbad said, without looking where he was going. He knocked the blocks down as Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou heard that, and they had to get them back together as they frowned in annoyance.

Cody saw him. "Oh, hello, father." he said in a normal voice. But Edmond was still playing.

"You old bilge rat!" Edmond cried out.

Then Sinbad heard that and was insulted. "Wha- wha-what? Now see here, Edmond!"

"Oh, not you, father. You see, he's Gideon the Cat." Cody told him.

"And Cody's Prince John." Edmond added.

"Yes, yes, of course. Er, have you seen my wristbands?" Sinbad asked before he bumped Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou, knocking the blocks down again. "Oh, Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, Patou, for goodness' sake!" Sinbad shouted, walking past the annoyed kitten, bird, mouse, and dog, "Where are those wristbands?" Dinah smashed the last blocks that were standing with her paw. "Here we go again!" said Peepers, rolling her eyes.

"Wristbands, dad?" asked Cody.

"Yes. The dark red ones." Sinbad answered, still looking around.

"Edmond, the buried treasure," Cody whispered to his brother. "Where is it?"

"I don't know, Cody." Edmond said in an innocent way.

"The map then… Where's the treasure map?" Cody whispered.

"It got lost." Edmond said.

While Sinbad was looking around the bed, he then spotted something under the covers, he was shocked as he shouted, "Good heavens! My tunic!" He grabbed his black tunic.

"Hurray! You found it! You found it!" Edmond cheered.

Sinbad put it on, as he turned. He didn't know that it got chalk all over his tunic, the one that looked like the lost map. "Yes, so I have. And hereafter..." As then, Edmond came and pulled his tunic "Don't paw me, Edmond! This is my last clean..." It was loose as he has saw something shocking and horrifying. He saw a lost map. "No..." He can't say something, only he covered his tunic shouting, "NO!"

Cinderella, who now had her hair tied in a bun, was wearing a light blue headband and matching opera gloves. She came in and said, "Sinbad dear, we really must hurry or we'll be late."

"Cinderella! Look!" Sinbad said, showing Cinderella his tunic.

Cinderella saw that and was shocked. "Sinbad!"

"It's only chalk, daddy." Edmond said.

"Why, Edmond..." Cinderella was about to say something when Cody cut in.

"It's not his fault. It's in the story. And Alice said..." Cody said.

When Sinbad heard what Cody said, he now knew what was up. "Alice? Story? I might have known." He walked to the door as he called out, "ALICE?" He crossed his arms and called out even louder. "ALICE!"

Alice heard him, walked in, and asked, "Yes, father?"

"Would you kindly expl-" Sinbad was about to say something. But Alice walked by him when she saw the radiance of Cinderella's dress.

"Oh, mother! you look simply lovely!" Alice said.

"Thank you, dear." Cinderella smiled.

Sinbad turned to her in annoyance and said, "Alice..."

"Just my old gown made over but it did turn out right. And I-" Cinderella was about to say.

"Cinderella, if you don't mind, I'd..." Sinbad said, as Alice turned and saw his shirt front.

"Why, father! What have you done to your tunic?" Alice asked.

Sinbad couldn't believe what she was saying. "What have I...?" He then turned and screamed in shame. "AAAAAOOOOOOOHHHHHH!"

Cinderella walked to him with a damp washcloth "Now, Sinbad, really. It comes right off." She washed off the chalk on his tunic.

"That's no excuse!" He frowned while Alice, Cody, and Edmond were putting the toys away. "Alice, haven't I warned you? Stuffing the boys' heads with a lot of silly stories."

"Oh, but they aren't!" Alice protested.

"I say they are! Prince Joke! Gideon the Lion!" Sinbad said.

"Gideon the *Cat*, father." Alice told him.

"Cat, lion," Sinbad shouted, trying to put on collar around his neck. "Poppycock!"

"Oh no, father."

"Daddy, have you ever-"

"You don't understand." The children tried to tell him.

"ABSOLUTE POPPYCOCK!" Sinbad shouted, finally getting the collar together. "And let me tell you, this ridiculous..."

"Now, Sinbad..." Cinderella said, about to do his red waistband.

"Now, Sinbad! Now, Sinbad!" He repeated of what Cinderella said, while Snipes, Peepers, and Patou were almost done helping Dinah put the blocks back up. But they stopped to listen. "WELL, 'NOW, SINBAD' WILL HAVE HIS SAY!" He put it on himself, only to make a furious tangle.

"Please, dear." Cinderella said, fixing his waistband neatly.

"Cinderella, the child's growing up," As when Dinah picked up two more blocks, she listened very carefully. "It's high time she had a room of her own!" He pointed at the hall as it shocked them all.

"Father!" Alice gasped.

"Sinbad!" Cinderella gasped.

"What?!" Cody gasped.

"No!" Edmond gasped.

Dinah dropped all the blocks while she, Snipes, Peepers, an Patou gasped in shock and couldn't believe what they were hearing and what Sinbad was doing. "I mean it! Young lady, this is your last night in the nursery!" he said, as Alice lowered her head in sadness. "And that's my last word on the matter!" He walked away, only to nearly stomp on Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou and tried to get out of the way. Sinbad couldn't move around and was ready to fall. And he was losing his steps!

Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou moved away, as they fully stopped. But they nearly knocked the blocks again because Sinbad bumped into them and knocked them down. Now they must move away before it happens. But Dinah stepped the wagon, rolled back, and fell as Sinbad stepped on it and rolled around here. "NO!" And when Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou were rolling by, the wagon made a tear in the rug, and Sinbad was sent flying as he yelled, "NO!" And with a large crash, he fell into the dresser, knocking the toys down. Alice, Cody, Edmond, and Cinderella were shocked that Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou were against the wall.

As for Sinbad, he was on the floor in pain, and last of the toys fell on his head, the last was the jack-in-the-box, and up popped the jack, as it stood on his head, which made Sinbad mad and annoyed.

"Oh!" Alice, Cody, Edmond, and Cinderella all said together. Sinbad heard them, and knew that they saw him get hurt, and caring of him. So he closed his eyes and waited for them. But suddenly, they ran past him, which made Sinbad open his widened eyes in shock. As they ran to Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou, but Sinbad.

"Poor Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou." They said together again.

Sinbad couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Poor Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou?" Now he was very angry as he hopped up on his feet when he stomped up and shouted, "This is the last straw!" He pointed his finger out the door shouting, "OUT! OUT, I SAY!"

Edmond was hugging Dinah, Dinah was clinging to Patou's tail, and Snipes and Peepers were hugging Patou. "No, daddy, no!" Edmond pleaded.

Sinbad grabbed Snipes by the legs while he and Peepers were still hugging Patou with Dinah still clinging onto his tail and shouted, "YES! There'll be no more dogs or birds for butlers or cats or mice for nursemaids in this house!" Edmond grabbed Dinah's tail. But Cinderella stopped him by picking him up as Sinbad was dragging Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou out the room.

Edmond started to cry as he waved to his friends. "Goodbye, Dinah. Goodbye, Snipes. Goodbye, Peepers. Goodbye, Patou."

"Goodbye, Edmond!" Peepers said cheerfully, as she, Dinah, Snipes, and Patou waved goodbye back. As Sinbad walked out to the back, he muttered to himself, "Poor Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou. Oh yes, poor Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou. But poor father? Oh, no." He let go of Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou and looked for some ropes, and couldn't find any. "Blast it! Where are those ropes?" He turned as he saw Dinah holding one rope in her mouth, Snipes holding one in his wing, Peepers holding one in her paw, and Patou holding one in his mouth. Sinbad walked to them and said, "Oh, thank you." As he was tying the ropes to Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou's collars, Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou gave him sad looks. "Oh, boy!" sighed Peepers. Sinbad saw that and couldn't bear the sight. "Oh, dash it all, you four. D-Don't look at me like that."

He walked to the fountain and filled up Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou's dishes. He picked them up and filled them more. "It's nothing personal. It's just that- Well, you're not really a butlers or nurses at all You're… Well, a cat, a bird, a mouse, and a dog. And the children, except Edmond, aren't kittens, baby birds, mice, or puppies, they're people. But Edmond's just a kitten." He placed the water dishes near Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou. "And sooner or later, Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou, people and kitten have to grow up." He pet Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou's heads.

Inside the house, the kids are in their beds, as Cinderella knew that Sinbad didn't mean to do that to Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou.

Alice looked depressed. "But mother, I don't want to grow up." she pleaded.

"Now dear," Cinderella said, as she kissed her on the forehead and covered her up with a dark red blanket. "Don't worry about it anymore tonight."

"He called Gideon the Cat 'absolute poppycock'." Cody said to himself after what his dad had said.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it, Cody," Cinderella said, as she removed the glasses from his eyes and crown from his head. "Father was just upset."

As for Edmond, he uses a cat bed as a bed. He had tears running down his whiskers. "Poor Dinah, Patou, Snipes, and Peepers," he sniffled. "out there all alone."

"No more tears, Edmond. It's a warm night. They'll be all right." Cinderella said, as she covered him up with a blue blanket, kissed his forehead, and left.

Then Edmond remembered something. "Mommy?" he asked.

Cinderella turned around and asked, "What is it, dear?"

"Buried treasure." Edmond had the wristbands that Sinbad was looking for, and he gave them to Cinderella.

"Now, children, don't judge your father too harshly. After all, he really loves you very much." She walked to the window door, and was about to lock it up.

But Alice stopped her as she said, "Oh don't lock it, mother. He might come back."

"He?" Cinderella asked in a puzzled way.

"Yes, Gideon the Cat. You see, I found something that belongs to him." Alice said, as she lay down.

"Oh, and what's that?" asked Cinderella.

She yawned and said, "His shadow."

"Shadow?" Cinderella asked, very surprised.

"Mm-hmm. Dinah, Snipes, Peepers, and Patou had it, but I-I took it away." Alice said, as she drifted off to sleep.

"Oh? Yes, of course. Good night, dear." Cinderella said, as she turned off the light, walked out, and left for the party.