Jenny the little black cat goes along a sea voyage with her owner, the Captain, and her two adopted ‘brothers’ Checkers and Edward. They are welcomed by the ship’s cat Jack Tar, who shows them around. Jack tells them all about far-away places he’s seen, including Siam, where he says Checker’s ancestors must be from (he thinks Checkers has some Siamese traits). The first place the ship stops is Cape Town, where Jack goes ashore. Our traveling cats feel anxious about this, especially Jenny, who is afraid to walk on the narrow gangplank. They visit with the Captain while their host cat is ashore, learning more about things aboard the ship and its cargo. The next stop is Zanzibar, where all the cats go ashore and meet an Abbyssinian cat who reads their fortunes on their paws. They all wonder how their fortunes will play out- Jenny is supposed to do something brave, Checkers will be naughty, and Edward write a great poem.
Then the ship goes to Singapore, where they meet another ship’s cat on shore leave- who has just finished hopping from one boat to another trying to catch up with his own ship (he was too late when it left the last port). He’s anxiously waiting to see if his original ship arrives as scheduled at this dock, and our protagonist cats help him while away the time by dancing together (the sailor’s hornpipe, of course). His ship does arrive and they gladly see him off, then scramble aboard their own. They suffer through a storm before arriving at their next port: Siam. Here a Siamese cat shows them around on a sampan, and they are all enthralled with the sights, until they realize Checkers is missing. He had wandered off, eager to visit a palace (which was denied when he asked to do so earlier) and see if he can find out more about his heritage. Jack and Edward go off to find him while Jenny performs her act of bravery: standing on the narrow, tilted gangplank to prevent the ship from leaving, giving the other cats time. They do arrive at last, all the cats bolt aboard, greatly relieved. Checkers apologizes for almost making Jack miss his ship. Edward writes a poem about the whole escapade, and the cats happily arrive back home at last- stopping briefly in Hawai’i and the California coast, before finally New York, where Pickles greets them at the dock.
Borrowed from the public library. Completed on 6/1/24.
