Oooh, I LIKE doze! Mine hoomins sez I must haf some Siamese in my
heritage, cuz I sings so beautifully when I stroll up and down da hall
at night. So da musinc notes is purrfect!

I see dat Ranger has some blue-grey flipflops to match himz furz, and
Francesca has a sparkly silver pair with some swirls of tortie colors.
Looking good, efurrybody!

I fink I saw some kitties I recognize heading towards da elevators.
Shall we head up dat way?

Sammy

[Sammy sees Ranger and Francesca walking toward the elevator, so he
follows. The Purrlagio has human sized elevators converted to
multi-deck feline use, so it holds a lot of kitties! Since it's a fancy
place, they also have an elevator operator - an elderly orange tabby
wearing a nametag reading "Leo". The operator addresses Sammy as he
boards.]

Leo: Where to, sir?

Sammy: Well, we'z lookin fur da big pawty. I unnerstand it's upstairs
somewhere?

Leo: Ah yes, dat would be da pawty in da penthouse. Right away, sir.

Sammy: We hafn't heard a lot about dis. Who is throwing da pawty, an fur why?

Leo: I believe it's a party thrown by a group of Buropean kitties to
celebrate something local. But they have indeed invited all kitties to
attend. And here we are, the penthouse! Have a wonderful time, all.

[Sammy wanders off the elevator, followed by everykitty else. At the
door to the penthouse he finds a desk where guests are asked to sign in
and make name tags for themselves. At the far end of the penthouse, in
front of a huge window looking out over the Las Vegas Strip, is a stage
with a band off to one side. The band is playing dance music, and the
guests are dancing. Along the sides of the penthouse are long tables
filled with marvelous foods, drinks, and deserts. Sammy spots Big Mama,
the black panther, dancing with Jocko, the diving cat, near the center
of the dance floor. Off to the side, in a quiet corner, Sammy sees Pepe
and Gigi, the skunks from Catalina Island, enjoying their food and
trying to blend into the decor. Darius and Maria, uncle and aunt to the
late Mme. Anais, occupy a table near the band, chatting with Inspektur
Jacques Chat-Clouseau of the Gendarmerie Feline du France and Gaetano
Tartuffo, retired businesscat and suspected ex-crime boss.

As everybody signs in, a big, burly tuxedo cat takes the stage and
approaches the microphone.]

Good evening, efurrybody! Kitties, goggies, and other species, fangu
for joining us at this celebration. My name is Bruno, and I will be
your Master of Cermonies tonight. Before we do anyfing else, though, I
would like to tell you a story. It is a story about life and it's
hardships and triumphs.

We are here celebrating the success enjoyed by a community of cats
living in an isolate valley in eastern Europe. Our valley has been home
to proud, hardworking, industrious kitties for many generations. We
survived by farming, hunting, fishing, and some trade with neighboring
valleys. Close to a generation ago, things got difficult. The soil was
getting depleted from being farmed for too long, our tools were falling
apart from old age, our kittens were leaving the area when they got old
enough, and our population aged. Then the weather turned against us -
we suffered through a couple years of drought, then we had 5 straight
years of rain, wind, and flooding. The few remaining fields with good
soil got washed away, houses got destroyed, we had no food stored away
- we were in desperate straits. In desperation, we went to the castle
at the head of the valley. The castle has stood at the head of the
valley for as long as anyone can remember. Our histories don't mention
a time when the castle was ever not there.

The residents of the castle were almost as bad off as we were, but they
welcomed us all anyway. They gave us shelter, they shared their meager
supply of food, and they kept us warm. Then the mistress of the castle
vowed to help us. She left our beloved valley and traveled the world,
looking for solutions to our problems. She contacted rich kitties and
goggies in other countries and secured a few small gifts of money and
food, but nothing that would offer us long term benefit. But then our
benefactor, the Countess, decided to take advantage of the valley's
natural beauty. She approached movie makers in Hollywood and showed
them pictures of the valley. She found some folks looking for locations
in which to shoot movies, and she got a couple of them to agree to
shoot in our valley. These movies were huge successes, and our valley
was soon the site of many more movies. This brought money into our
valley, and led to the construction of hotels and guest houses and
restaurants, and we even opened our own movie production company last
year. And we are now getting so much business that we are sending
business out to the residents of the valleys adjacent to our own, and
helping kitties and others living miles and miles away.

The success we now enjoy is entirely thanks to the tireless efforts of
our own beloved Countess Persia Katzenplatz. The Katzenplatz Valley is
now more alive, more successful, more happy than ever before in it's
history. And we owe it all to the Countess. Let's hear it for the
Countess!

[The penthouse erupts in meows and barks of applause and thanks. A
young Siamese kitty assists an elderly Persian kitty up the steps and
to center stage. As they approach the microphone the applause slowly
stops.]

Countess: Thank you, all of you. I am embarassed by all this acclaim!
All I have ever done was try to get others to see the beauty of our
lovely valley. But thank you all for this. I am deeply touched. And
since we are all gathered here, I have some announcements to make.
First, all of my personal interest in the Katzenplatz movie production
company I have placed into a trust. This trust is owned by all
residents of the Katzenplatz valley, and it will be managed by Bruno.
Bruno, I trust you are willing to do so? And my young assistant here,
Missy - Missy, I have named you as manager of the Katzenplatz estates.
As of this evening, I am officially retiring. I am too old to keep as
busy as I have been. I am going tyo spend the rest of my years enjoying
the beauty of our valley, and celebrating life with my friends in the
worldwide Community.

I see that we have guests with us - kitties from the Community, many of
whom I have enjoyed adventures with. All of you, please join us! We
have much to celebrate, a lot of excellet food and drink, and Maestro
Hercule Lenoir isw leading the orchestra playing wonderful dance music.
Please, everybody, enjoy yourselves!