Vera MacIssac and Stacy O'Neil, the twins from the valley, Roberta and Jill, Donald and Trevor and one or two mothers sang happy birthday to Paula Anne Tupper. They all wore a hat, and they all had a balloon. There was kool-aid and cake with icing of blue, musical chairs and presents in wrapping, while under the table a Ragcat was napping.

Now, "What is a Ragcat?" you may or not say? Well, it's just like a cat whose fur is astray. It's tail has been bitten and it walks with a limp. It's mangy and dirty but smart as a whip.

This little Ragcat was Paula Anne Tupper's. It followed her home, it was only last summer when Paula said, "Maw, can I please, can I keep her?" Her mother said "Yes", and that's just how it got there under the table where feet were a'danglin’, kicking the Ragcat whose paws started batting, whose claws caught a leg and started the screaming. The twins took a leap at that cat and went reeling. Then up went the cake and it stuck to the ceiling.

"Run for your lives", yelled one of the boys. The knocking and bonking and all of the noise alerted a neighbour who called up the police. They were there in a flash with a dog on a leash.

"Now, what is the problem?" the policeman did say. "It's nothing", said Paula Anne Tupper too late. For the dog saw the cat and he made a quick dash into the living room where suddenly crash! The table, the kool aid, and all of the guests were rolling around in a wonderful mess.

The Ragcat was angry, she hissed at the dog who was barking, and snapping, and slipping along through the mess in the carpet. The party was ruined. The mothers were frantic. The officer too, but the Ragcat she bounded from floor to the table. She was at an advantage, from there she was able to spring through the air like a kid on a bed. With her claws out to grab, she was on that dogs head.

Well, the dog he went crazy. He let out a howler. He howled for a minute, then howled for an hour. He leaped and he bucked and put on quite a show but, no matter, that Ragcat just would not let go. Then finally the officer pulled on the leash. He dragged that dog out of the house to the street.

"Hooray," said the mothers.

"Hooray", said the kids. “Let’s open the presents," and that's just what they did.

Then they cleaned up the carpet and cleaned off the table, scraped the cake from the ceiling, and re-lit the candles, while off in the corner that Ragcat was dreaming of all the commotion and all of the screaming and all of the fun that she had with that dog while all of the children broke into a song for Paula Anne Tupper whose birthday you bet was a birthday nobody would ever forget.