mom and left the yard? Mom. Mommy! Where are you?
ACT II
Scene 4.
Daytime. Cat burglar gang hide-out.
Lord, Melisa, Toy.
Lord. Toy!
Toy. Yes, boss.
Lord. Where is the puppy?
Toy. I could not take him here. We were attacked.
Lord. Who dared to do it?
Toy. Khorkov with his animal tormentor gang.
Lord. Khorkov?
Toy. Yes. They threw a round-up.
Melisa. They got some nerve! As if we didn’t pay them well!
Toy. It’s the mayor’s order, to clean the city of stray animals.
Lord. We had an agreement with Khorkov, not to touch our guys, take dogs only.
Toy. They took five cat burglars: Syava, Honeypot, Chick, Demian and Desman.
Lord. Cats are not meant to be caged. Melisa! Reach out to our lawyer, have him post a bail.
Melisa. I’ll get right on that.
Lord. Who else did they take in the round-up?
Toy. They caught some stray dogs and the puppy’s mother.
Lord. His mother? Greta? How about that!
Melisa. Now she won’t be able to protect her son.
Toy. They were all sent to the animal control center.
Lord. And where is the puppy? What was his name again?
Toy. The puppy’s name is Yumi. I don’t know where he is.
Lord. Then get to know. Find him! Time is money. Take the sausage while it’s still fresh.
Toy. I got you.
Lord. Go and take this black sheep of the dog family to me. Or else I will scrap you both.
Toy. I will do it, Lord. Yumi will be here soon.
Toy leaves.
Melisa. You are too tough on my son, Lord.
Lord. Melisa. When Toy grows older, he is going to be my right hand cat, my consigliere. He’d better start temper his character now. Otherwise he will be destroyed.
Melisa. Why would you need this puppy?
Lord. Yumi is my only chance to take vengeance on his father for my brother’s death.
Scene 5.
Daytime. Wasteland.
Yumi, Titmouse, little mice.
Yumi. How terrifying. Mom. It is so terrifying to be alone.
Yin. Yumi, don’t you cry.
Yang. Don’t you cry, Yumi.
Yumi. Bad people took my mom away.
Yin. They are Khorkov and Corkscrew. From the animal tormentor gang.
Yang. I recognized them at once as well.
Yumi. Where are you, mommy?
The titmouse comes flying.
Titmouse. They took your mother to the animal control center.
Yin. My, my!
Yang. Yes, Greta got the short straw.
Titmouse. It’s a spine-chilling place. No one has ever returned from there alive.
Yin. Stop scaring him.
Yumi. It’s my fault.
Yang. There is no telling, Yumi.
Yumi. I didn’t obey my mom. I left the yard and we got into trouble.
Titmouse. When it’s done, it’s done.
Yumi. What am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go?
Titmouse. Crying will not mend matters.
Yang. We better do something! Here, help me.
The little mice, Titmouse and Yumi bring all their weight to bear on the stone, try to budge it and clear the entrance to Yumi’s home.
Yin. Oh.
Yang. It’s heavy.
Titmouse. We will never be able to budge it.
Yumi. I have no home any longer. And I have no mother.
Titmouse. Stop crying.
Yang. We can’t give up for nothing!
Yin. We will work it out somehow, Yumi.
Yang. I have an idea!
Titmouse. Go ahead, little mouse.
Yang. We should tunnel our way.
Yin. Tunnel our way! That is a great idea.
Yumi. What is a tunnel?
Yang. Let me show you.
Yang digs up the ground under the stone, Yin helps him, and then Yumi joins them too.
Yumi. It’s no go.
Yin. Yes, what an upset.
Titmouse. The reason is that the ground is all frozen and hard in winter.
Yumi. What are we supposed to do now?
Toy comes in, the little mice run a safe distance off, the titmouse flies to the thickets of bushes. Toy steps up to Yumi.
Yumi. So… They took my mom. I was left alone on the street.
Toy. You are not alone, Yumi. You have friends.
Yumi. Friends?
Toy (to the little mice). Hey, tadpoles! Come here.
The little mice come a little bit closer.
Yumi. Yin, Yang, don’t be afraid. It’s Toy. He knows where meat nuts grow.
The mice come even closer. The titmouse flies up to them.
Toy. Don’t be afraid. A soldier will never hurt a child.
Yang. What kind of soldier are you? You are a cat burglar.
Yin. You steal food from supermarkets for Lord.
Yumi. Ah, now I see! So you wanted to teach me how to steal too?
Toy. Cards on the table. Yes, been there, done that. Guilty.
Pause.
Toy. I planned to rob the supermarket and then shift all the blame on you, Yumi.
Yin. I called it. Such a rascal.
Toy.