Mastodawn

Halfway down the stairs
is a stair
where i sit.
there isn't any
other stair
quite like
it.
i'm not at the bottom,
i'm not at the top;
so this is the stair
where
I always
stop...." - a.a. milne

Our two original Cornish Rex cats, Rupert and Molly. Like all cats, they migrate around the house depending on where the sun is shining. In the morning it shines through onto the stairs. I was struck on that particular morning by the wavy shadows of the stair balusters next to the curly cats. Rupert was a golden colour, Molly was black.

#EllieKPosts #catsOfMastodon #CaturdayEveryDay #MonochromeMarch #cats #monochromeMonday #BlackAndWhite #caturday #CornishRexCat

Will 🇯🇵Mar 2

@elliek Gorgeous light! And the Milne quotation brings back happy memories.

James James Robertson Robertson Whetherby George Dupris…

Ellie Kennard Mar 2

@wilpercy
Oh yes! Sigh. Happier days.
I'm glad you like it, thank you.

Ellie Kennard Mar 2

@wilpercy
https://www.best-poems.net/milne/disobedience.html

Will 🇯🇵Mar 2

@elliek Alas, I am blocked for that site. WhatIdo?

Will 🇯🇵Mar 2

@elliek It says I could email the owner and explain myself but provides no email link.

Ellie Kennard Mar 2

@wilpercy
Sent the text!

Will 🇯🇵Mar 2

@elliek Much oliged!

Ellie Kennard Mar 2

@wilpercy
Here ya go!
"Disobedience
by A. A. Milne
A. A. Milne
James James
Morrison Morrison
Weatherby George Dupree
Took great
Care of his Mother,
Though he was only three.
James James Said to his Mother,
"Mother," he said, said he;
"You must never go down
to the end of the town,
if you don't go down with me."

James James
Morrison's Mother
Put on a golden gown.
James James Morrison's Mother
Drove to the end of the town.
James James Morrison's Mother
Said to herself, said she:
"I can get right down
to the end of the town
and be back in time for tea."

King John
Put up a notice,
"LOST or STOLEN or STRAYED!
JAMES JAMES MORRISON'S MOTHER
SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN MISLAID.
LAST SEEN
WANDERING VAGUELY:
QUITE OF HER OWN ACCORD,
SHE TRIED TO GET DOWN
TO THE END OF THE TOWN -
FORTY SHILLINGS REWARD!"

James James
Morrison Morrison
(Commonly known as Jim)
Told his
Other relations
Not to go blaming him.
James James
Said to his Mother,
"Mother," he said, said he:
"You must never go down to the end of the town
without consulting me."

James James
Morrison's mother
Hasn't been heard of since.
King John said he was sorry,
So did the Queen and Prince.
King John
(Somebody told me)
Said to a man he knew:
If people go down to the end of the town, well,
what can anyone do?"

(Now then, very softly)
J.J.
M.M.
W.G.Du P.
Took great
C/0 his M*****
Though he was only 3.
J.J. said to his M*****
"M*****," he said, said he:
"You-must-never-go-down-to-the-end-of-the-town-
if-you-don't-go-down-with-ME!"

Will 🇯🇵Mar 2

@elliek It’s a lovely tale inviting marvelous cadence for childrens’ ears. I’d forgotten that King John was involved.

King John was not a good man.
he had his little ways.
And sometimes no one spoke to him for days and days and days.

Sharonbw stands with Minnesota Mar 2

@elliek @wilpercy

Thanks for reviving one of my favorite memories, as my mother would read A.A. Milne to us as kids. I'll have to get my copy of "When We Were Very Young" off the shelf and dust it off. ♥️

Will 🇯🇵Mar 2

@Sharonbw @elliek My great grandmother gave me a copy of it when I was born. Leather bound on paper with gold edges. I think it’s a second edition. Very precious. I must check.

Ellie Kennard Mar 2

@wilpercy @Sharonbw
What a gem!

Ellie Kennard Mar 2

@Sharonbw @wilpercy
These memories are so precious.
In 1968,I was 18 and newly arrived in England from Canada, still wet behind the ears, meeting my mother for the first time in over 10 years. I discovered that she had had a baby girl not long before. As that little girl grew I used to read to her from the A.A. Milne books, changing my voice for all the different characters.
She had also adopted a boy, Pete Erskine, who was my age and we got on like a house on fire. He went on to write for the NME (he was a brilliant writer) and sadly died aged 31 from the effects of drug addiction. My half-sister is an alcoholic and we don't communicate. But I remember the stories.

Will 🇯🇵Mar 2

@elliek @Sharonbw

Goodness. A powerful mix of happy and painful memories. Thank you for sharing them.

Jon Bosak Mar 2

@elliek @wilpercy Am I the only person who's ever wondered what James James's mother was planning when she dressed up and went to town alone and never came back?

Ellie Kennard Mar 2

@bosak @wilpercy
I did wonder the same. Perhaps James' foreboding was based on his knowledge of her proclivities?

Jon Bosak Mar 2

@elliek @wilpercy Could be! Whatever the explanation, I've always thought that Milne intended more than the surface meaning here. A little something for the adult reading the piece to their kid.

LordWoolamaloo Mar 2

@elliek My apartment has tall, VIctorian windows, west facing, so lot of light in the afternoon. Wasn't long before the cats figured it out, and would migrate along the living room rug, following the sunbeam. Like a kitty sundial, the cats are now at this end of the rug, hey, it must be nearly dinner time!

Ellie Kennard Mar 2

@LordWoolamaloo aren't they great? I have that picture in my head now too! Thank you.