Bailey Bunny and the Farmer’s Cat: Chapter 2

 Chapter 2: In Bailey Meets the Malevolent Ma’dam Miu

Of course, in Bailey’s mind, it was not just any cat: it was The Cat. Even though she had never seen such a creature, Bailey realized what it was as she felt a chill like a winter wind travel across her back. She’d heard stories of the farmer’s cat, how it patrolled the garden, ever watchful for intruders. In all the stories, cats were smaller than foxes, but no less dangerous, and far more cruel.

Panicking, Bailey glanced over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of her predator, then looked for the gap in the fence, only to realize she had lost track of it in her mad dash.

Bailey's heart thundered in her chest as she weaved through the vegetable patches. Stupidly, Bailey realized the weight of the ungainly button was surely hampering her, but she was too terrified to spit it out. The long, orderly rows of plants seemed endless, and the dying light of the setting sun cast long shadows everywhere she looked. 

Finally, she spotted a wooden structure, with a huge, shadowy hole in the front. Blinking, Bailey realized it couldn’t be the same hole she’d used before, but she was desperate. Darting through the massive hole, Bailey found to her dismay that it did not lead to escape. To her, it seemed as though the whole world had gone dark, and the walls of the wooden fence seemed to be pressing in around her. 

Of course, as you’ve probably guessed by now, what Bailey thought was a large hole was in fact an open door, and what she thought was part of the fence was actually a sturdy little woodshed. You might think that Bailey was foolish to trap herself there, but I don’t suppose you’d fare much better if you were a rabbit who was silly enough to disobey your parents and trespass in the first place. After all, for a rabbit, holes and shadows are usually signs of safety, and Bailey had never heard of a woodshed before, not even in stories.

Inside, the air was cool and filled with the scent of must and rust. Bailey hid behind a stack of chopped wood, her breath short. With a soft thump, the cat brushed playfully against the door of the shed, and with a teasing flick of her tail, shut it behind her. “Got you! You’re trapped, trespasser!” hissed the cat as she pranced on her white paws.

Bailey was still panting, close to fainting, but now that the chase had paused, she had a moment to study the cat more carefully. It was a snowshoe, with long, tufty hair. Bailey had never seen nor spoken to a cat before, but she guessed correctly that this cat was female.   

Burying her face, Bailey tried to press herself behind the woodpile to escape notice, but as the cat approached she knew she’d been spotted. Darting from her hiding place on the opposite side of the firewood, Bailey circled around it and made for the door, but as she pressed her paws against it, she discovered that it was shut tight.

With no other option, she dropped the stolen button and whispered in a trembling voice, "Please, Miss Cat, I know I shouldn't have come here. My parents told me never to enter this garden. I... I promise I'll never come back again!"

The cat paused, her ears perking up. Lazily, the cat turned and strolled jauntily towards her prey. “My name is not ‘Miss Cat!’ It’s terribly rude to call me that, without so much as asking my name! Aren’t you an ill-mannered little thing, little Miss Bunny!”

Bailey started as the cat took its first step toward her, and circled around the woodshed again. The cat grinned wickedly as it watched Bailey’ vain attempt to escape. Her head spinning, Bailey hid behind the wood pile again. “So…so sorry, ma’am. I don’t want to be rude. You can tell my mama to spank me for having bad manners, if you’ll just let me go! Uh, my name is Bailey? W-what should I call you? ”

The cat sniffed, then licked its paws, enjoying the drama of it all. “Spank you? Oh, darling, I’m afraid that’s far too lenient a punishment for a wicked trespasser…Oh, and you may call me Ma’dam Miu, little Miss Bunny.”

Tears welling in her eyes, Bailey scraped at the ground underneath the wood pile, only wanting to dig a hole and bury herself from sight, but the floor was hard and unyielding. “Please, Miss–Please Ma’am Miu! Please, let me go back to my family. If one spanking isn’t enough, I’ll tell them to spank me for trespassing! And…and you can spank me too, if you want to.”

Bailey covered her face behind her paws, now starting to weep freely, offering up her tail and hoping that would be enough to satisfy her tormentor.

The cat purred at the sight. “Oh, my, my, my! Three spankings? Well, I must admit I like the sound of the idea of hurting you. Let’s see…”

Dropping the playful act, Ma’dam Miu sprang on Bailey and scratched her twice, once across her lower back and once across her haunches. “Why don’t I start by punishing you for your rudeness, and then see how I feel afterwards?”

As the poor bunny felt the sharp claws tear at her back and haunches she darted around the woodshed once more before she collapsed, sobbing and trembling, in the middle of the floor. As the world seemed to be spinning around Bailey’s head, she couldn’t even make an effort to hide anymore.

Ma’dam Miu chirped in the manner cats do when they are stalking birds. “Tee, hee hee! Still trying to run away, thou hair-brained hare? I see you haven’t learned your lesson yet. Now, listen carefully, Little Miss Bunny. I don’t know how your Mamma or Pappa punish you at home, and, frankly, I don’t care! You are in my garden now, so I’m going to punish you as I see fit! To start, let’s see if you can hold still and take your spanking like a big girl. First, lie on your face and stick out that fuzz-ball you call a tail. Go on, now!”

Her mind numb, Bailey rolled onto her tummy and lifted her bottom into the air, expecting to feel the cat’s claws tear her to shreds at any moment. Instead, Ma’dam Miu began to bat at her prey playfully, without using her claws. The first two smacks landed on Bailey’s bottom, but to Bailey they felt more like heavy blows than a spanking. In reality, Bailey’s terror was confusing her: the smacks frightened her far more than they actually hurt. Bailey hopped forward and twisted in circles instinctively as she felt each smack. Finally, the cat batted at Bailey’s face, then both froze as Ma’dam Miu nipped Bailey at the base of her neck. 

Ma’dam Miu flashed her needle-like teeth. “You’re a slow learner, aren’t you?” 

Then, to Bailey’s utter shock, Ma’dam Miu pressed Bailey’s face against the fluffy fur of her chest and purred, as if Bailey was her kitten.

Ma’dam Miu nuzzled against her prey. “There, there, my dear little darling. And let that spanking be a lesson to you about running away, you bone-headed bunny.”

Feeling strangely comforted, Bailey lifted her head and let Ma’dam Miu lick her behind the ears, until her hair lay flat smooth. “Th-thank you for s-spanking me, M-Ma’dam Miu! D-does that mean you’re letting me go?”

Ma’dam Miu took a moment to lick her lips as she considered this suggestion. Then she bit and snatched Bailey up by the scruff of her neck. “Mew hoo hoo! Nope! Thowwy, thweetie!”

As Ma’dam Miu launched into her dramatic, well-rehearsed monologue, the fact that her mouth was full diminished the menacing effect the cat was hoping for (though Bailey was so terrified, she didn’t notice). “I’m taking yoo’th to Maff’ster Muwah’kami! He’ll know juth’t whah to do wiff’ yoo! Maff’ter will be tho’ pwoud of me’ff, he’ll p’wobwee cook you into th’upper, thomehow, and then giff’ me th’ome!” [Translation: “I’m taking you to see Master Murakami. He’ll know just what to do with you! Master will be so proud of me, he’ll probably cook you into supper, somehow, and then give me some!”]

Ma’dam Miu pawed at the door to open it. “Yoo will wue the day yoo tweth’path’d in my domain’th! Fo’ I am Ma’dam Miu Muwah’kami! Maff’stah of all I th’ee! Queen of th’ Garden’th! Empress’th of th’ Fahm’stead! Goddess’th of the…Univer’th?” [Translation: “You will rue the day you trespassed in my domain! For I am Ma’dam Miu Murakami! Master of all I see! Queen of the Gardens! Empres of the Farmstead! Goddess of the…Universe?”]

Ma’dam Miu’s eyes went wide as she batted the door with both her paws. For some reason, the door wasn’t obeying her royal command to open. The cat’s jaw went slack, and Bailey plopped softly to the floor, still trapped against Ma’dam Miu’s chest. 

Ma’dam Miu, Queen of the Garden, Empress of the Farmstead, and Goddess of the Universe, threw back her head and caterwauled. “Mrowl! Open up, right now… please?”

Forgetting all about her prey, the cat leapt for the round door knob, suspecting it had something to do with making doors open, but she couldn’t get a good hold on it and came tumbling back down. “Master, I’m trapped! Lemme’ out!”

Realizing she was free, Bailey ran a circle around the woodshed, before realizing she was not actually free. Not sure what else to do, Bailey pressed her nose into the corner, as if putting herself in timeout.

Meanwhile, Ma’dam Miu was progressing from denial, to anger, to bargaining, and finally to depression. “Nyah! I’m going to die! I’m a stupid, stupid pussy cat! I’ll starve to death…unless…”

Her eyes rolling in their sockets, Ma’dam Miu rounded on her lost quarry, arching her back. “Unless…I eat the rabbit!” 

Bailey hunched her shoulders as she overheard the cat’s tirade, but her little heart was ready to give out. She couldn’t run a step further. Closing her eyes, Bailey prayed for it to end quickly.

Ma’dam Miu spat and spluttered as she crept towards the trapped bunny, before she froze with horror. “Yes! It’s the only way…but…I have no kitty bowl! How am I supposed to eat without it?” 

Mewling with despair, Ma’dam Miu retreated back to the door and scraped at it with her claws, before collapsing onto the floor. “Look at me! I can’t even catch a baby rabbit without screwing up! My noble ancestors would be ashamed of me! I’m the one who deserves to be spanked! I’m a bad, bad pussy cat!” 

With an effort, Bailey forced her eyes open and glanced at the cat. “Um…there, there Ma’dam Miu? We all make mistakes. I’m sure we’ll be alright.”

Suddenly remembering she wasn’t alone, Ma’dam Miu nestled in the corner, next to Bailey. “Really? Do you mean it? Do you really think Master Murakami will come to save me? You don’t think he hates me, for being a stupid, pathetic, useless cat?”

“Well, I’ve never met any other cats, but you don’t seem as bad as all that.”

“Really? Well, do you think Master Murakami will spank me with a rolled-up newspaper?”

Bailey narrowed her eyes. “What’s a rolled-up newspaper?”

“It’s horrible! I saw Master Murakami use it to spank the dog once!”

Bailey swallowed, still not sure what a rolled-up newspaper was, except that it was something she never wanted to be spanked with. “Well, has he ever spanked you with a rolled-up newspaper before?”

Ma’dam Miu hissed. “Of course not! He only spanked that stupid dog with it a few times when he was a puppy for going to the bathroom inside the house. Can you believe dogs don’t know how to use a kitty litter box?”

Completely lost, Bailey nodded her head, trying to imitate the soft tone of voice her mother always used when she or Benny got a boo-boo. “Well, Ma’dam Miu, if he’s never spanked you with a rolled-up newspaper before, why are you so worried about it now?”

The cat rolled her eyes. “Because, when he spanked the dog, he called him a bad, bad dog. And I’m a bad, bad kitty cat. I can’t even catch a rabbit without fouling it up!”

Bailey cocked her head. “But you’ve caught me, after all, and I have no idea how I’ll ever get away from you.”

There was a pregnant pause. Finally, Ma’dam Miu pressed Bailey against her chest and started purring. “Good point, Little Miss Rabbit. Say, what was your name again?”

Unable to relax for a moment, Bailey accepted the embrace outwardly. “I’m Bailey Bunny.”

“Bailey? Didn’t you say you’ll get a spanking from your parents once you get home? So, why do you want to go home so badly? Aren’t you afraid of a spanking?”

At the thought of going home, Bailey’s ears perked up. “Oh! Well…That’s a strange question, now that you mention it. I suppose I am afraid of getting a spanking, but somehow, I’m not afraid of my Mama and Papa, even though I know they’ll both be giving me a spanking. I suppose it’s because I know that they love me, even when they punish me. In fact, I want to go home more than anything.”

Ma’dam Miu mewed, thoughtfully. “I never thought of it that way. You know, I’ve been afraid of getting spanked with a rolled-up newspaper ever since I was a kitten, even though Master Murakami has never once spanked me. But it sounds like you’ve gotten plenty of spankings, and don’t mind them that much. Are spankings not all that bad?”

Bailey drooped her head. “Oh no. Spankings are terrible! Sometimes, it feels like they go on and on, forever. And if I ever get home safe, I’m surely going to get the worst spanking of my entire life, and probably more than one…But as long as I’m home safe, I won’t mind. In fact, I hope both my parents spank me every day and every night for an entire season!”

Ma’dam Miu growled once, then started purring again. “You’ve given me a lot to think about. The way you talk about your parents reminds me of how I feel about Mr. and Mrs. Murakami. Do you think I should ask Master Murakami to spank me with a rolled-up newspaper, for being a foolish cat?”

Bailey tensed as she felt Ma’dam Miu lick her head. The cat’s tongue was rough and scratchy.  “Well, I’ve never been spanked with a rolled-up newspaper. But I know I deserve to get spanked for being a foolish bunny. If you feel guilty, maybe it will help you feel better?”

Ma’dam Miu yawned. “You know, I really think it might! In that case, I’ll ask Master Murakami to spank me as soon as I see him again…And Bailey, I hope you find a way to escape from me. I’ll be sad if I have to eat you, Bailey.”

Dreamily, Ma’dam Miu rested her head on the rabbit’s back. Bailey knew that she was still the cat’s prisoner, but for the first time since her ordeal began, she found she could control her breathing, and felt her thumping heart start to calm. “I hope so, too. I’d be sad if you had to eat me, Ma’dam Miu.”

Outside the woodshed, night had fallen, and all was quiet.

[End of Chapter 2]