Twas the Night Before Catmus

Twas the night before Catmus, when all through the house

Lil' cats were stirring, chasing after the mouse;

Stings were hung from the top of the cat tree with care,

In hopes that Father Catmus would soon be there;

The kittens were nestled all piled in their beds,

Tired out from chasing the mice from out in the shed;

With mamma in her gown, and dad in the chair,

Both settled down, without a winters care,

Outside the house arose such a loud noise,

It disturbed us from our kef like poise,

Off to the window onto the kitty perch

Peered out the windows got ready to lurch.

With the night time vision of a kitties eye

Everything was visible under the nights sky,

When, what to my vision it would entice

A pet stroller pulled by eight white mice,

The driver giving me quite a pause,

What do you know it's Santy Claws.

Quickly they arove here from up the lane,

So he chirped, and he meowed calling them by name;

"Now, Tuffy! now, Jerry! now, Topo and Sniffles!

On, Pixie! on Dixie! on, Maisy and Wyffels!

Over the fence! On top of the snow!

Up to the roof top! Now up up you all go!”

Same as sponge soccer ball will roll,

Nothing can stop them, not even a wild Dhole,

So on top of the house the meeces did spring,

The stroller of toys, and Father Catmus they bring,

Whats that sound that approaches my ear

Is it a HO HO HO I overhear?

As I leap off of my perch and hit the ground,

Coming through the cat door, Father Catmus was bound.

All of his fur was covered completely, from whiskers to tail,

With the red tipped feathers of a Asian Blue Quail,

With catnip mice, rubber balls, feathery strings

To the worlds kittens so much joy he brings.

Almond eyes aglow! Long white whiskers all aquiver.

With perked up ears and breath smelling of liver!

His teeth were all glistening and sharp,

The angle of his nose much like a scarp;

The tail of a wondering mouse in his paw,

Squeaking and squawking all the way to his maw;

A triangular face and long supple tail,

That swished when he purred mighty hearty and hale.

He was a round and plump a very joyous feline,

With much laff 'n merriment I was on cloud nine

A twitch of his whisker and a twist of his ear

Reassured me that there was nothing to fear;

Quite as could be he silently he went about his task,

Stuffing all the booties full, he took a sip from his cask,

And laying a paw aside of this nose,

Out through the cat door he goes;

He leapt to his stroller, to the mice gave a shout,

Off they flew for which there could be not doubt.

I heard him purr before away he did skip,

“Meowy Catmus to all,hope you enjoy the catnip”

© 2010 Bryan's cats blog

All the meeces names are from fictional mice a complete list can be found on Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_mice_and_rats . I already knew I wanted to use Snifffles, Jerry, and Tuffy as they are 3 of my favorites.

As to Wyffels it showed up as a proper name on the rhyme site I used. I did a search and found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Wyffels_(DE-6) a destroyer escort named after Lawrence Edward Wyffels.

There is also some lesser known words here are the definitions to clarify meanings. Definitions are from http://www.merriam-webster.com/ . Unless other wise stated.

1. kef- a state of dreamy tranquility
2. arove- poetic use of arrive
3. Dhole- a wild dog occurring from India to southern Siberia
4. aquiver- marked by trembling or quivering (I already knew this one)
5. scarp- a long steep slope or cliff at the edge of a plateau or ridge; usually formed by erosion (http://www.rhymezone.com/r/d?u=scarp) found while rhyming sharp. *this word my spell checker knows but not aquiver
6. Maw- informal terms for the mouth (I already knew this one) (http://www.rhymezone.com/r/d?u=maw)
7. Brisker- poetic use to make more brisk
8. cask- a cylindrical container that holds liquids (http://www.rhymezone.com/r/d?u=cask) didn't state size.

I hope you all enjoy this poem and my apologies to Clement C. Moore and his decedents.