DA WEDWINK BEGINZ!!!!

The sun has set over the tops of the pyramids, and a cool evening
breeze whisks away the heat of the day. The moon rises and elongated
shadows of palms stripe the sand of the desert; the three great
pyramids are outlined against the moonlight sky and stand as silent
sentinels. Silently, a large, glittering sphere settles to the desert
floor just between the legs of the Sphinx. Out of it steps a number
of lean and muscular black cats with large, luminous eyes, and each
with a single gold earring in their right ear: these are Bast's temple
cats and they appear ageless to most eyes. One cat moves away from the
others, and walks with the air of one who is in charge. This cat walks
over to the small stucco building which houses the security guards for
Giza. In the front are uniformed, younger guards joking and talking;
in the rear office, dressed in kaffiya and djellabah is a much older
man, who is clearly their supervisor; he is drinking mint tea from a
small cup. The cat walks in, ignoring the guards who try to shoo him
away, and heads for the back office. The cat jumps up on the desk and
stares into the older man's face. The man smiles, and extends his
hand; the cat rubs his face on the man's hand and softly mews for a
few minutes. "I see," replies the man, while putting some sweets on a
plate for the cat, who eats them, then jumps off of the desk. The cat
pauses, turns and looks directly at the man. Some would say that the
cat's eyes sparkled at that moment; others would not. "Thank you for
your blessing" he says to the cat, who leaves the building. The man
walks into the front office: "The army will be conducting secret
maneuvers tonight in and around the Sphinx. Make certain that no one
comes within 1000 meters of the area until the sun has risen; this is
to include even our security forces; radio this to all personnel." He
stands there until all of his guards have acknowledged his orders.

The cat returns to the Sphinx, where all of the other cats are busy
arranging the area. Some are using what might appear to be
leaf-blowers to move the sand - but there is no electricity here and
these machines are silent. Under the sand appears an ancient floor of
blue lapis lazuli polished to a sheen by years of padded feet walking
on it, and it can be now seen that it is inlaid in gold and silver
with hieroglyphs. Some of the temple cats scatter flower petals on the
floor; others place blue and gold cushions in an orderly fashion;
while others yet place torches made of palm fronds around the
perimeter; the area now glows in a soft light. On each cushion they
have placed a Jasmine blossom and a Bulgarian Rose for each kitty to
smell, wear or eat as they please. Two of the older cats move to one
edge and roll what appears to be a small, shiny steel ball; it
shimmers in the night and grows larger and larger; suddenly it is
transformed into the statue of Bast. The cats ring the base of Bast
with flowers; the night becomes alive with the scent of Jasmine and
Bulgarian Rose; others light incense which wafts the fragrance of
amber and frankincense. The lead cat looks over the entire area: "Tell
Miranda-banda that all is ready."

A small helicopter with a kitty-pilot flies in, and unloads a tent,
which is quickly erected out of sight of the statue of Bast. From the
helicopter, the FluffyKitz kitties unload kitchen equipment, food and
wine into the tent, and a group of french-meowing kitty-chefs from
Taillevent disembark and with Rebecca, Tabitha and Amelia, begin
setting up the catering tent, while others set up cushions around low
tables for the reception in a separate area with a view of the
pyramids. Amelia and Tabitha turn to Rebecca "Yu better get dressed
now, or yu'll be layte. We'ze OK wif dis."

It is now an hour later, and Darius, Anaïs' uncle arrives; he walks
over to the temple cats and they gently headbutt. "Is everything
ready?" asks Darius. "Yes M. Lechat, it is." "Good", he replies, and
not a moment too soon - as the first guests begin to arrive. Out of a
'porter steps Inspektor Chat-Closeau and a white Persian, his wink,
followed by Countess VonKatzenplatz from the Orient Eggspress
adventure. Suddenly 'porter after 'porter twinkle as the community
kitties arrive.

Meanwhile, Cleo, Samantha, Rebecca, Harri and Pitoonya are putting on
their finishing touches. Anaïs opens a red leather box, and takes out
the bewinking collar for Tiger. It is a thick rope, woven of hundreds
of threads of white gold; the clasp is rose gold, and in the center is
mounted a scarab, the royal beetle-symbol of the Pharaohs carved out
of lapis. On its wings are engraved the two hieroglyphics for "cat";
the scarab is surrounded by a rose gold mounting; on the back of the
mounting is engraved "To Tiger: All uv my luff, Alwayz, Anaïs". She
places it on Pityoona's pillow. She turns to Harri, smooths her fur
and adjusts Harri's flowers: "Harri, now you go offur to Tiger so he
can putz hiz collar on yur pillo, an yu walks wif him an da
groomsmen-cats, OK?" Her uncle Darius softly knocks, and asks: "Anaïs,
are you ready?"

The guests have all been seated, and the temple cats are playing
music, simple melodies - strange to human ears - on wooden flutes,
percussion and an instrument not unlike a vibraphone. Tiger, looking
dashing in a dark-grey tux, accompanied by Sammy his bestman-cat and
his groomsmen-cats, Bob and Scooter walk slowly down the aisle
followed by Harri, and are now standing at the front; from between the
front paws of the Sphinx, Anaïs, escorted by her uncle Darius walks
slowly toward the front. She is wearing a simple white gown with
golden threads woven through - more a robe - not quite Egyptian nor
Roman nor Greek, but certainly ancient. She smiles at all of her
community friends as she walks, followed by Cleopatra, her matron of
honor; her bridesmaids Samantha and Rebecca; then Petunia, holding a
bewinking-collar on a white satin pillow; and Nathan the flower-kitty,
resplendent in his flowers. When Anaïs arrives at the front, Darius
headbutts her and returns to his seat. Anaïs turns to Tiger and softly
purrs. They both wait.

--
Purrs,

Mlle. Anaïs
6/4/2005 12:05:16 PM
anais+at+electric-ink+dot+com

Suddenly, from atop the statue of Bast, a pair of glowing green-gold
eyes are seen, and around them the body of a blackcat in
long, flowing blackcat robes. She leaps high into the air once, then
touches softly down to where the bridal party are assembles, eyes
dancing with excitement to be in this magical, ancient site blessed by
Bast Herself. A breeze flutters Miranda-banda's robes and her eyes
glow even brighter as she addresses the group:

Welcome to Giza, my fellow felines, for this is the very place
that was the cradle of feline-human interaction. Millennia ago, the
humans that lived here, the ancient Egyptians, began to cultivate
grain, and since the banks of the Nile were a fertile plain, they soon
had a surplus, which they stored in ganaries. A minor unctionary of
Pharaoh's court was in charge of these granaries, and this uman had a
problem - rats and mice were not only eating the stored grain, but
worse yet, they were causing the grain to spoil with their droppings.
This human - his name is long forgotten, but let's call him Kalid -
was troubled, because every trap or plan to foil the rodents failed.
Discouraged and sleepless, he decided to travel down the Nile on a
religious retreat.

When he reached his temple, he made offerings to the gods, and
then met with his priest. When he told the priest of his troubles, the
priest said, "Follow me." They went into the Temple granary which was
clean and free from rodents. Amazed, Kalid asked "How can this be?"
The priest made a "mewing" sound and from small stone huts came one or
two cats. Kalid jumped back - the only cats he had ever seen were much
larger jungle cats, known for their ability to tear a man limb from
limb. These smaller cats walked over and rubbed against the priest's
leg; he told Kalid that they had suddenly appeared from the jungle
some time ago, and while looking like smaller versions of their
ferocious cousins, these did not harm man. While they spoke, a groups
of rats made for the pile of grain. Out of nowhere, a clowder of cats
jumped them, and before long, the rats were no more. Kalid was amazed,
and begged the priest for a pair of breeding cats. The priest obliged,
and with his blessing, Kalid made his way up the Nile with not one,
but four pair of cats.

A number of years have now passed, and Kalid has now become a
wealthy and powerful member of the Pharaoh's court; nevertheless, he
still keeps his office in the original granary where he started his
civil service career. Late one night, Kalid was writing a report by
the light of an oil lamp when one of his original cats jumped up
on his desk. Some would have been startled, for most humans still
thought they were small lions or panthers, but Kalid was used to them.
Busy with his work, he barely noticed that this cat settled down in a
meatloaf position very close to him, then rubbed its face on his hand.
Kalid was startled, but tentatively rubbed the top of its head.
The cat closed its eyes and began to purr; Kalid continued to rub...

This went on for some weeks, until late one night as he was leaving,
this cat jumped off of the table and began to follow Kalid. Kalid
gently shooed the cat away, but the cat rubbed against his leg. For
reasons we will never know, Kalid bent down and picked up the cat, who
nestled against his chest. "Mewrrrrkkkk" said the cat. Kalid
turned, blew out the oil lamp, and carried the cat home.

In the coming weeks, all who walked by Kalid's home marveled at the
cat sunning itself on the window sill; then the Pharaoh, hearing of
this asked Kalid for a cat for his palace. Well, my fellow felines,
the rest is history, and it all began just feet from where you now
sit...

And now, today, we gather here in this sacred place tonight in honor
of Mlle. Anais and Tiger, who wish to commit their lives together
before all of us.

Mlle. Anais, would you please speak to Tiger, of your committment to
him?