The Adventures of Milo and Otis (子猫物語)

Except for the activity up in the hayloft...

the farm was pretty quiet that morning.

The noise upstairs didn't disturb the dogs that slept in the barn.

They could sleep through anything.

But a lot of the other animals were awakened...

by all that scurrying overhead.

Some of them just accepted it.

Some were pretty annoyed.

And a few quietly plotted revenge.

But the mood was very different up in the hayloft.

The farm cat...

had just given birth to her first litter.

She was determined to be a good mother...

and never yell at her kittens.

But that approach would not last very long...

because Milo, one of her kittens...

was trouble from the very beginning.

As soon as he could walk...

he began wandering to the edge of the hayloft.

"Milo, dear," his mother said, "that's not a good idea!"

"Come back here, Milo!" she yelled.

The first animal Milo met outside of his family was Otis...

one of the barn puppies.

"You're a strange-looking cat," Milo said.

"Oh, I'm not a cat. I'm a dog," Otis replied.

Milo tried to figure this out and said...

"Oh, all right, a dog. I understand.

But really, deep down inside, we're all cats, right?"

"Uh, no," Otis barked. "No. Deep down inside, I'm a dog.

I'm a dog."

Nevertheless, as if they knew how much they would need each other...

Milo and Otis...

became best friends.

Pretty soon, it was the beginning of a big day for Milo.

The kittens were now big enough to leave the hayloft...

and see the world beyond the barn.

As usual, Milo got into trouble.

He was the first to start calling out for food.

"Milo, finish your breakfast...

or the puppies will get it!" his mother yelled.

It seemed to Milo she yelled a lot.

"Milo, did you hear me?"

"Oh, and Milo, I've told you again and again...

please, don't walk on the chickens."

"Now listen carefully," Milo's mother said...

once again, trying to speak softly.

"This is the dock, and down there is the river.

Now, you must never, never go too close to the edge of the dock.

Everyone understand?"

"What's too close?" Milo asked. "Is this? Is this too close?"

"Milo, get back here," his mother demanded.

But Milo, he was swept away by the river.

And his mother had to go after him.

"All of you, back on the dock," she ordered.

"Right now. And behave while I'm gone. Milo, Milo, I'm coming!"

"Oh, Milo!" his mother said.

"Look at you. Are you ail right?"

"Yes, " Milo meowed.

"Do you think you can follow me back to the shore?"

"I think so," Milo said.

"Ail right, be careful," his mother ordered...

and began swimming.

"All right."

"Ail right. I'm not going to yell," his mother said.

"I'm just glad you're all right.

Now dry yourself off, like this...

and follow me back home."

"Can't we swim back?" Milo asked. "That was fun."

"Milo! Get over here!"

The months passed, and the farm was humming...

with the sounds of summer.

Milo and Otis grew big enough to play outside by themselves.

Milo had some new hiding places he couldn't wait to try out.

Otis sniffed around the yard for a while.

"You're in the pipe, Milo. Try again."

"How does he do that?" Milo wondered. And he tried another spot.

"Oh, not the old puss-in-boots trick," Otis groaned.

"Cat's in the can!" Otis shouted.

And Milo slipped off to another hiding place.

It wasn't easy fooling a dog's nose.

Otis started following his trail immediately...

and found him again.

Milo tried a harder spot.

But Otis found him there too.

Now, Milo needed a brilliant idea. Aha!

He thought of a place where Otis could never sniff him out.

It worked.

But Milo wondered if it was really worth the trouble.

The following day, the henhouse was in an uproar.

Milo and Otis went to see what all the commotion was about.

Suddenly, one chicken's voice rang out...

"Okay, you lot!

Clear out! Clear out!"

And all the hens left in a clucking flurry...

because that was Gloria talking...

a young chicken who had scratched and pecked her way...

to the top rung of the henhouse.

Gloria had a good reason for wanting to be alone.

"There it is, fellas," Gloria cackled. "My first egg.

Keep an eye on it, Otis...

while I spread the word."

Otis took the egg-watching assignment very seriously.

- "Did you hear about Gloria?" - "Oh, the egg? So it finally happened."

"Is she staying at home with it, or is she going back to work?"

"You want me to kick it back to you, Otis?" Milo asked.

"Now stop that!" Otis said. "I kicked it by accident.

We can't start playing games with the egg. Now, just leave it alone."

"Look, this isn't funny," Otis said. "Gloria gave us a job to do."

"How long do we have to stick around this henhouse?"

"Until Gloria comes back.

Maybe you don't realize it, Milo...

but this is a major day for me...

because, well, maybe you don't realize that...

this is the day I've become a watchdog."

Naturally, the sight of a dog and a cat watching an egg...

brought the usual string of gawkers...

and thrill-seekers.

Some strange noises brought Milo out of the henhouse.

What was all this about?

"Hey, could you cut that out?" Milo said.

"Hey!"

But the bird just ignored him.

"Hey!

Your singing stinks. Will you quit it.

Hello in there."

"Otis, Otis, Otis, Otis. Come here, Otis," a frog croaked.

"What is it?" Otis said. "I'm supposed to be egg-sitting."

"Otis, it's your cat buddy. He's got the whole farm crazy.

Do something, and quick. Otis, come on."

The frog was right.

At that moment, Milo was teasing a crab that was waddling through the farmyard.

But this time, someone got the best of Milo.

"He deserved it," the frog croaked.

"Hey, he's my friend, " Otis said.

"He still deserved it."

The trouble with guarding an egg is you have to...

always be on guard.

And outside, Milo and Otis suddenly remembered, "Ah!

The egg!"

"Freeze!" Otis barked.

"Touch that egg, and you're dead meat!

I mean it, punk!" Otis growled.

"Just try something.

Make my doggy day."

"Lighten up. I didn't touch...

your cruddy egg, " the hedgehog grumbled.

"Huh, probably rotten anyway."

Milo wanted just one more look at that weird animal.

The noise attracted a group of local snoops...

looking to dig up some scandal.

But Milo's attention was focused somewhere else.

"Milo," Otis said...

"I think we're having a baby."

The chick dried itself off, looked at Otis and cheeped...

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy?"

"Oh, no, I'm not your mommy, " Otis said. "Your mommy's a chicken."

The other animals told Otis he'd better take the chick to Gloria, and quickly.

Which he did. But the chick kept coming back to Otis.

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy."

"I told you, I'm not your mommy, " Otis said again and again.

"Now go back to Gloria.

Do you understand? You're a chicken, not a dog. A chicken."

"Woof, " the chick peeped. "Woof, woof, Mommy."

Once again, they tried to make the mixed-up chick join the other chickens.

"You want to be a dog?" Otis barked. "Here's what you've got to do.

You've got to be a rough, tough...

mean-fighting dog, like this."

The chick didn't like the sound of this at ail.

"Okay, puppy," Otis ordered. "Your turn. Give it a try."

"Mommy, chicken mommy, " the chick peeped, and ran to Gloria.

"Oh, it worked," Otis thought.

"I'll miss him. I'll miss him.

But at least he finally found out that he is a chicken."

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Otis asked.

"Sure. The dock is right this way, and you've never seen the river.

Come on, " said Milo.

Otis had a feeling there was trouble ahead.

"Wow, look at this thing, Otis," Milo said.

"Do you think we can eat it?"

"Who would eat something that looks like that?" Otis replied...

and continued on to the river.

And then it happened.

When Otis was just sitting on the dock, wasting time--

Otis dried off and came back to settle the score...

with that thing.

Milo, meanwhile...

had stumbled on an excellent hiding place.

He was sure Otis would never be able to find him this time.

"Surprise!" Milo shouted.

"I finally fooled you!"

"Milo," Otis barked, "get out of there...

before something happens."

But something did.

"Quick, jump in! This'll be fun!" Milo shouted.

Otis didn't know what to do.

"Hey, this is great. Come on! Hurry up, Otis! Come with me."

Maybe Milo was having a terrific time, but Otis was pretty scared.

He knew he had to rescue Milo...

so he ran alongside the river...

trying to keep up, and without much success.