Diary of a Day in the life of Topaz
7:15am. Slipped indoors just as He was leaving for work. Was a
frosty night. Should have made myself scarce when She came to put me out last
night. The hunting was rubbish and I was famished. She gave me a dish of Whiskas
and a bowl of milk. Felt better. Went for a kip.
10:am. This was a big mistake, hiding in here to keep warm,
but the van had a friendly look. It had bright flowers and suns and things
painted all over it. I could feel the warmth coming from inside the bit under
the lid. Anyway when all these hairy people with long coats and long frocks
piled out and left I snuck in. I must have dozed off sitting on this ledge
because I woke up with this awful noise all around me and a sick feeling in my
stomach.
12.30pm. Phew! You won’t find me climbing into one of
those things again. I thought all my nine lives were spent at once. I shot off
as soon as the van stopped. I don’t think they noticed me. It's sheltered here
in this hedgerow but the ground's frozen and I haven’t seen a mouse or
anything yet. They're a funny lot, these people. There were a lot of them here
already. It looks as if they're living in funny cloth dens. They've lit fires
and are making a lot of noise. One of them from my van has got a big round thing
and is beating it to death with a stick. What a racket, but these people seem to
like it.
2pm. Went for a
walk along the hedgerow. Nearly caught a robin in the top branches of a
Blackthorn but it got away, wouldn't have done if I hadn't caught my collar on a
twig. I was swinging backwards and forwards thinking this is it, when finally
the twig snapped and I lost half my fur falling to the ground. There's a lovely
food smell coming from the fires. I wish I could get close enough to find some
scraps. Maybe if I crawl along the hedge, then creep under the vans I could do
it.
3:15pm. I’m not hiding back in this hedge because I'm a
coward I’m just being careful. There's a lot more people out there now; some
of them have got big crinkly yellow coats and funny yellow hats on. They're all
shouting at one another. Some of the hairy people have climbed up trees; perhaps
they're not so strange after all. It all feels very angry. There are big yellow
noisy things with long teeth on the end. I think I’ll just stay here for now.
5pm. I
wish I were home. My tummy has a funny feeling. I think it’s because I’m
hungry. There wasn’t a scrap of meat in all those cooking pots. There were a
lot of people in dark clothes. They had tall pointy hats in the same colour.
They had big sticks and they dragged the hairy people away and put them in big
vans. Everything was angry. Now the fires are out but the yellow men and their
yellow machines are pulling down the trees. My skin feels all prickly. I wish I
were at home.
5.45pm. I’ve been shut inside this box for ages. It may be
warm but I don't like it and they haven't given me any food. One of those people
with the funny hats and the dark clothes (one in a frock) found me in the hedge.
The yellow thing with the big teeth was just about to eat me when she grabbed me
roughly by the scruff of the neck. I didn't let her get away with it though;
those scratches won’t heal in a hurry. I wish I knew where this box was going.
9pm. This is the life. A nice dish of sardines (special
treat) and a bowl of milk, and allowed to sleep on the rug in front of the fire.
She and He both fussing over me. I’ve got a feeling I won’t be kicked out
when they go to bed tonight. I wonder what I’ll do tomorrow.