George’s Secret Compartments

Mog Og finally got home. As he was climbing over the garden fence, he saw Marmalade and Cat Majick dancing and singing under the apple tree. He couldn’t believe it. He was a little bit envious, but then he remembered he’d fallen in love with one of the posh cats that he’d just been to see. However, he still wanted to think Marmalade loved him. Luckily she didn’t see him, and he quickly ran through the garden and into the house. He got into the kitchen and decided to sleep in the cubbyhole under a tartan rug that was used for picnics. It smelled of French cheese and wine. In no time at all he was fast asleep, dreaming of Coconut.

When he finally woke up, of course he was so hungry, and he went into the kitchen.

Milly noticed him and said, “Where have you been, Mog Og? You’ve been out for ages. Has anything happened in your world?”

Mog Og yawned. He was still so tired.

“I’ve had a great evening, Milly, with the posh cats from Hyde Park. Me, Popcorn and Barney met up with Lady Treacle, Cleopatra and Coconut, so we have had an excellent evening. And we’re all in love.”

“Mog Og,” said Milly, “I thought you liked Marmalade.”

“Well, I do, Milly, and I like Coconut too. Marmalade was with Cat Majick tonight, and I know Cat Majick has always liked her.”

“Oh, I see,” said Milly. “It’s very complicated in the cat world, isn’t it?”

“Well, Milly, I’m going to have another catnap. I’ve had some milk and I feel a bit refreshed, but I am going to sleep in the hall at the feet of George.”

Mog Og went into the hall, and George Midnight, the grandfather clock, was asleep. In fact, he was snoring. His snoring made Mog Og feel tired, so he finally fell asleep at George’s feet.

When Mog Og was asleep he couldn’t stop thinking about the alley cats with fleas. He so hoped they would get a cure. He actually dreamt that they found a cure, and a few weeks later when he met them (in the dream, of course) they had finally stopped scratching and he could actually make friends with them.

When Mog Og woke up, George was also wide awake, so he had finally stopped snoring.

“George,” said Mog Og, “do clocks get fleas or is it just cats?”

“Well, we grandfather clocks are made from mahogany, and we can get woodworm. It riddles our brains with holes. But the good thing is we don’t get fleas like cats do.”

“Where does mahogany come from?” asked Mog Og.

“It comes from a tree that comes from ... a M–A–H–O–G–A–N–Y Jungle!”

Mog Og was impressed with George. He seemed to know everything. He also liked to talk to George about Scotland. George told Mog Og about Malaig, the place where he was made, and he told Mog Og about the Loch Ness Monster.

“Have you ever seen the Loch Ness Monster, George?” asked Mog Og.

“Oh, yes. I saw her once. She was sat on a rock near Urquhart Castle, and she was painting her nails red.”

“What did she look like?” asked Mog Og. “Did she look like a cat?”

“Well,” said George, she looked like a griffin. She had green skin. She looked like a little dragon - like a cute, magical dragon.”

“Oh,” said Mog Og, “and because she’s green they think she’s a monster.”

“Well,” said George, “that’s why she was putting nail varnish on her nails: trying to make herself look pretty. When I saw her she looked up and gave me a cute smile.”

“So she’s actually the Lock Ness Princess, then, George?”

“Well, I would say so,” said George. “It’s very beautiful, Scotland,” said George, “especially the lochs and the glens and the heather. Even though I’m a grandfather clock, I would love to walk out in the open air and visit the lochs and listen to the birds in the trees.”

“Yes,” said Mog Og, “it sounds lovely. I get sick of Jasmine shouting every ten minutes, Cuckoo! Cuckoo!”

Jasmine Feathersprings, the cuckoo clock, was on the wall in the dining room. Mog Og wasn’t so keen on her. They didn’t see eye to eye. He’d told her several times to put a sock in it and to shut up. If he slept on the armchair in the dining room she’d suddenly start shouting, “Cuckoo! Cuckoo!” He couldn’t understand why she should keep squawking. It made him so mad. Mog Og knew that Milly liked Jasmine and George liked Jasmine, but he had other ideas. He just wanted to shut her up so he could get some sleep. He felt a bit bad about disliking her. The first day she came to the house he was fast asleep in the dining room and suddenly he had been woken so rudely by Jasmine yelling, “Cuckoo! Cuckoo!” Of course she was a cuckoo clock, and that’s what cuckoo clocks do. It is how they tell the time, but whenever the cuckoo sprang out yelling, “Cuckoo! Cuckoo!” Mog Og jumped up to try and catch Jasmine.

Jasmine wasn’t very happy. She said Mog Og was a very bad-tempered, ugly cat.

That was how Mog Og was first introduced to Jasmine, and it was a bad start. Jasmine had not spoken to Mog Og since. Mog Og wanted to apologise, but Jasmine didn’t seem to want to speak to him.

However, she did talk to George a lot - every day, in fact. And she also spoke to Milly every day. In fact Milly was glad that Jasmine was so loud and boisterous. Jasmine was from Cornwall. She was handmade in Tintagel and spoke heartily of Camelot and King Arthur, the Lady of the Lake, Morgana, Guinevere and, of course, Merlin. Jasmine spoke of the Cornish countryside and how relaxing it is.

Mog Og was very interested in Cornwall - it sounded like a place you could get a very deep sleep.

Jasmine believed Cornish pixies existed. She said they dressed in green and danced around mushrooms. Mog Og wondered if pixies like cats. He wanted to meet one. He made a mental note to look for wild mushrooms next time he went on holiday. He hoped the family would go camping in Scotland, rather than Wales, next time.

Then Mog Og fell asleep again, and he dreamt about looking for pixies in Cornwall and looking for the Loch Ness Princess in Scotland. George also fell asleep again. He was snoring.

Milly was talking to Omega Horizon. She was talking about Mog Og going up to the Hyde Park area with Barney and Popcorn and meeting the posh lady cats.

“He’s met a lovely lady cat called Coconut,” said Milly to Omega Horizon. He seems to be infatuated with her. He says she’s very elegant with a lovely voice, but he’s worried about the alley cats. They’ve got fleas and can’t stop scratching. He feels so sorry for them.”

“George,” Milly asked, “is Jasmine feeling OK? She said Mog Og jumped up and tried to pull her feathers off. I think that it is very mean. Mog Og seems concerned about the alley cats, but not about clocks.”

“Well,” said George, “as you know, cats don’t like birds. Because Jasmine is a cuckoo, he isn’t very keen on her, Milly.”

“Oh, dear!” said Milly. “What do cats actually like, George?”

“Well,” said George, “they don’t like birds and they don’t like water.”

“They don’t like water!” said Milly. “Well, that is silly. No wonder the alley cats have fleas if they don’t like water. I suppose they never have a bath. But Mog Og says he goes dancing in the rain.”

“Well,” said George, “there are lots of large trees in the garden and he probably dances mostly in the shelter of the large oak trees. If he doesn’t dance in the shade of the trees, he must be a very unusual cat, as they generally don’t like water.”

“Aren’t cats strange?” said Milly. “They don’t like water and they don’t like birds, and they sleep most of the time and then go out at midnight.”

“Oh, yes,” said George. “In Egypt, cats are worshipped. There is a cat goddess called Bastet, and there are lots of cats in Egypt.”

“What’s Egypt like, George?”

“Well, it’s very hot, there’s lots of sand and there’s pyramids and temples and pharaohs.”

“I bet Mog Og would love Egypt - especially if it’s hot.”

“Oh, George, what exactly are scarecrows? I heard Mog Og saying he is going to fetch the scarecrows to Jasmine.”

George started to laugh - a deep hearty laugh - until tears streamed from his eyes.

“Oh, that is so mean of Mog Og to say he’s fetching the scarecrows to scare poor Jasmine to death.”

“What are they?” said Milly, feeling worried about an army of scarecrows coming to the house.

“Well,” said George, “they are mostly made to scare birds from fields. They are like people, but they have straw for hair, a carrot for a nose and nothing for a brain. They usually wear someone else’s clothes. They are quite scary, but they can’t walk or run very far, and I think they are scared of cats as cats can bite their trouser legs.”

“But I don’t think an army of scarecrows will be on their way. I think it’s Mog Og being a bit mean, but I’ll have a word with Jasmine and settle her mind. I’ll also tell Mog Og to tell any scarecrows on their way here to go back to Cornwall.”

“Oh, George,” said Milly, “you are a diamond. I think if you talk to Mog Og, he’ll realise he’s being a bit mean.”

Then suddenly Milly heard George snoring. He was having an afternoon nap.

Milly was very impressed with how much George knew. He seemed to know everything about history and geography. George had studied hard at clock school, and he had gained a masters degree. He had a secret compartment at the back of the clock, which contained manuscripts about the history of the world. George had read them all several times, but no one else had ever read them. He had another secret compartment, and this one held a time viewer which could be used to view scenes in history. So George Midnight was indeed very knowledgeable, as all the other clocks had found out - and they were all very impressed.