Part 1 - the adoption and naming

In days of yore, two children were sent by their mother to obtain some milk. This was by the exchange of coins which was a new custom in those lands. Having succesfully purchased the milk without loss of life or injury, they chanced to spy a notice. It was on parchment and written with ink and proclaimed:

Ginger kittens - free to a good home.

The children on reading this began to hatch a plan. Their mother, following the death of the family’s old cat, Pippin by name, one year previously, had said that she would not like to have another tabby cat again since it could never compare to him. However the children reasoned that since this would not be a tabby cat then they’re mother could have no cause for objection. Having survived the long and dangerous journey home they told of what they had seen written. The mother, named Olwyn, tried to think of excuses as to why they should not get another cat. Having made the objection that the place where the kittens were was in a far off land the children’s father pointed out that he had planned to visit a friend who lived near the farm, in that far off land, where the kittens were.

Giving in the mother spake thus: do not bring it home if it looked ill or unhealthy or if it be too young to leave its mother. Having been so advised the father set out on his travels.

Some time later the father returned home and the children ran to see if he had brought them a kitten. Seeing him carry nothing the children’s hearts sank. They followed their father into the kitchen. He opened his hands which had until that moment been clasped together and lying, no bigger than the palm of the father’s hand, was a scrawny grey-brown shape. The mother started making a fuss that it was much too small and ’the poor creature’. They gave it food and were concerned for it, since it should still have been with its mother. After a while they decided that they should wash the kitten for it was dirty to such an extent that it was difficult to determine the colour of its coat and so resolved to give it a bath.

The sink was filled with luke warm water and diluted baby shampoo was close by. The poor kitten did not like the water and for a time the mother worried that it might die of shock. As they washed it a multitude of fleas as the children had never seen before swarmed off the cat. All these were drowned. As the bath comenced the colour of the cat became clear. It was a deep orange tabby with white socks, a white bib and white on its upper lip so it looked like it had just drunk some milk. It was the prettiest cat that the family had ever seen.

Then it came for the naming of the new arrival. Much thought was given to this. It had long been a tradition in the family to name their cats after charaters from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. In the past they had had cats called Pippin, Merry and Frodo. However this cat was a female so was more difficult to find a name for. After considering the names Galadriel and Arwen it was decided upon that the kitten should be called Lady Goldberry on account of her golden fur.