The Adventures of Periwinkle and Stinky

 The first day of autumn arrived quietly in Florida.

Periwinkle sat by the Teleportation Tunnel while waiting for Stinky's arrival.  As she waited, she watched a breeze move through the palm trees outside. Autumn in Florida was different from the places with colorful falling leaves and chilly mornings like where Stinky lives,  but she liked it just the same. Suddenly, the Teleportation Tunnel started to shake and, with a WOOSH, out popped Stinky. Periwinkle greeted him with whisker kisses, big hugs, and paw pats.  Stinky returned the kisses, hugs, and paw pats and was excited to spend the day with his fiancé.

“Happy Autumn Equinox, Periwinkle!” Stinky said. “Happy Autumn Equinox, Stinky!” Periwinkle replied. “Let’s enjoy the first day of fall together.”  Of course, Periwinkle had lots of info on the Equinox. "The equinox is the day when daytime and nighttime are almost the same length. After the Autumn Equinox, the days gradually start getting shorter and the nights get longer as we move toward winter. Since I live in Florida, autumn is a little different here. We don't suddenly wake up to a yard full of red and orange leaves like you do, but that doesn't mean we can't celebrate fall!

Stinky said, "Your house looks kind of fall-ish with the leaves and pumpkins."  Periwinkle said her Mom liked to decorate and that everything was fake but still looked festive.  Of course, Stinky had to jump up high to see the trees and leaves better!

Periwinkle showed him the fireplace and they decided to take a photo together.

Periwinkle disappeared and returned with a bag that she handed to Stinky.  "Go put these on, we have another fun thing to do today!"  Never wanting to displease Periwinkle, he took the package and changed.  He returned with a big smile.  "I know what we're doing!  We're celebrating Meow Like a Pirate Day!"  Periwinkle laughed and said, "You're right!  I know it was Saturday but it's too much fun for us to pass up!

Periwinkle put on her pirate garb too.

Since they couldn't actually sail on a pirate ship, they asked Chat GPT to create a pirate story for them.  Here's what it came up with....

The Tale of Captain Periwinkle & First Mate Stinky

**Periwinkle:**
Arrrrr, mateys! Gather 'round and listen to the tale of the most fearsome pirate cat to ever sail the seven seas!  That would be **Captain Periwinkle Purrbeard**, of course!  I woke up this morning, put on my finest pirate hat, gave my whiskers a mighty twirl, and announced:
“ARRRR! Today be **Meow Like a Pirate Day!”  There was only one problem. I needed a first mate andd there was only one cat crazy enough for the job...
**STINKY!** 😹

**Stinky:**
ARRRRRR! That's **First Mate Stinky No-Tail**, thank you very much!
And before Captain Periwinkle says anything... YES, I KNOW A PIRATE SHIP IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A CAT WITH A TAIL. But I don't have one. That just makes me an **extra special pirate!**
I climbed aboard Captain Periwinkle's imaginary ship, the **S.S. Whisker Wobble**, and shouted: “Raise the anchor!” Periwinkle looked at me.  “Stinky... we don't have an anchor.”
“Oh. Raise the sails!” “We don't have sails either.” “Walk the plank!” “We don't have a plank!”
I thought about that for a moment. “Then what DO we have?” Periwinkle proudly pointed to a cardboard box.“Our treasure ship!”

**Periwinkle:**
A fine vessel indeed! We climbed into the mighty cardboard ship and sailed across the living-room ocean. We dodged the dreaded **Couch Reef**. We sailed past the **Blanket Islands**.
And then... WE SPOTTED TREASURE! 💰🐾 A shiny little toy mouse was sitting at the other end of the room. “TREASURE AHEAD!” I cried.

**Stinky:**
I immediately jumped out of the ship. “ARRRR! I'M GOING AFTER IT!” “Wait, Stinky!” Captain Periwinkle shouted. Too late. I charged across the room like a pirate who had just heard the dinner-bowl being filled. I grabbed the treasure. Then I heard... **CRINKLE.** Oh no.
The treasure was hiding underneath a mysterious crinkly bag. I froze. Periwinkle froze.
The bag moved. We stared at it. “ARRRRR...” I whispered. “ARRRRR...” Periwinkle whispered.
Then suddenly—
**WHOOSH!** The bag fell over. I jumped three feet into the air. “SEA MONSTER!!!”

**Periwinkle:**
I bravely rescued First Mate Stinky from the terrifying crinkly sea monster.
Of course, after I rescued him, he claimed he had planned the whole thing.
“It's part of pirate training,” he said. Mmm-hmm. Sure, Stinky.
Then we celebrated our successful voyage with the most important pirate activity of all...
**A SNACK!** Because every good pirate knows: No treasure hunt should ever happen on an empty tummy.

**Stinky:**
ARRRR! And so ends the greatest adventure of **Captain Periwinkle Purrbeard** and **First Mate Stinky No-Tail**! We may not have a real ship. We may not have a real ocean. We may not even have a real treasure chest. But we've got whiskers... We've got paws... We've got imagination... And we've got SNACKS!

So from the S.S. Whisker Wobble, we wish all our fellow kitties a very...

# 🏴‍☠️🐱 **HAPPY MEOW LIKE A PIRATE DAY!** 🐱🏴‍☠️

**Periwinkle:** “ARRRR!”

**Stinky:** “ARRRRRRRR!”

**Periwinkle:** “Stinky, that's enough.”

**Stinky:** “ARRRR!”

**Periwinkle:** “I said enough.”

**Stinky:** “...arr?”

The two held paws and giggled as they read the story.  Stinky said, "I hope our friends enjoy the story too!"  Periwinkle agreed it was a fun story.

As evening arrived, the sky turned shades of gold, pink, and orange. “Stinky,” Periwinkle said, “ that talk of snacks made me think, why don't we celebrate the Autumn Equinox at the beach?” Stinky's ears perked up.“The beach? I'm in!”

Paw in paw, they headed down to the beach for a beautiful afternoon together before Stinky had to go home. The sun was warm, but a pleasant breeze came off the ocean. Waves rolled gently onto the sand, and the sound made both cats stop and listen. Periwinkle walked along the edge of the beach, investigating everything. and Stinky followed behind her, his little tailless body doing an enthusiastic wiggle with every step.  Periwinkle found a nice spot and set out the snacks she brought with her.

They enjoyed their snacks and sat on the blanket holding paws, whisker-kissing and paw-patting.  Soon it was time for them to leave the beach.  They got back to Periwinkle's house and Stinky spent some time visiting Periwinkle's fursibs and her Mom.  He told her Mom he appreciated the fall decorations and hoped to come back and help with Halloween decorations.  Her Mom said that would be great and he promised he would.  With one last whisker kiss, he stepped into the Teleportation Tunnel and, with a WOOSH, started his trip home.  Periwinkle put away the picnic items and decided to take a nap in a sun puddle.

Graphic by Barb from Cats-astropic Events