Orange IS the NEW Black!

When witches go riding.
And black cats are seen.
The moon laughs and whispers
‘Tis near Halloween

I have loved this quote for as long as I can remember and with a passion for anything and everything to do with Halloween, I always wanted a black cat and was beyond thrilled when Minnie B came to live with us – even though she can get into the occasional spot of mischief which is usually when she wants to grab my attention or else she’s pestering for a few of the cat ‘treats’ I keep hidden away.

But, I remain smitten with her and now that she has been created in 12th scale by the talented Pearl from Literature in Miniature – She is the inspiration for this All Hallows Eve tale.

At first Minnie B had been very excited to have received her special invitation to the party at Nicole’s House for this All Hallows Eve but as the day arrived and even with the promise of lots of delicious cake – she was not her usual happy self.

As I was carrying boxes of paint and glue from my shed at the bottom of my garden, I spotted her sad little face as she perched upon the old corbel stone alongside her cherished invitation and even though I still had so much work to do for another All Hallows Eve project – I had to stop and see if there was anything that I could do to cheer her up.

“What’s happened Minnie B?” I asked as I put down my boxes of paint and glue.

“You look so unhappy! Have you forgotten that today is the day of the Halloween party at Nicole’s House? And why the sad face? You have been getting so excited about going to this party for weeks now!”

“Well, I was excited until I saw that book you have been reading; you know, the one about how all black cats become unlucky when they grow old and they can get the nasty eye too” she said.

“A book about an old black cat with a nasty eye?” I asked feeling puzzled. “I read a lot of books Minnie B but I really can’t remember ever reading this one!

Are you sure that you haven’t got this book mixed up with another one or has Murphy been trying to scare you again?”

“Oh no he hasn’t!” She quipped.

“I have seen this book on your desk and it even has a picture of an unlucky old black cat with the bad eye on the front of it!”

And then, I remembered!

She must have seen the book that I have been reading about old superstitions and which tells us about the customs of black cats and the symbolism of the evil eye throughout our history.

“Oh Minnie B! My book isn’t about black cats with a nasty eye who become unlucky when they grow old!

My book is a collection of very old stories about why we do certain things such as not walking underneath a ladder or getting upset when we break a mirror and saying ‘Bless You’ when someone sneezes and this book also tells us why we believe a black cat is a lucky cat.”

“So, I’m not going to become an unlucky cat with a nasty eye then?” she asked as she slowly stretched out her front paws and her fluffy tail began to sway once more.

And when I saw the return of that confident glint in her copper-coloured eyes, I replied “Minnie B, I think that you are already one of the luckiest cats in the world as everyone loves you, including Murphy and have you forgotten that Nicole asked you to be the special guest at her party?”

“Hmmm, I haven’t forgotten but I don’t really want to go to Nicole’s party looking as I always do as everyone else will be wearing their special costumes and I’d love to be able to dress up too.”

“Well, how about wearing a hat?” I asked “You’d look fabulous and I know just the person to ask if we could borrow their hat for this party?”

And so with the clock ticking and daylight fading fast, I raced off to my shed in search of this amazing hat created by Kat the Hat Lady and which I knew would be just the thing for Minnie B.

And, joy of joys, how truly magnificent she looked in this straw confection of orange ribbon decorated with diamante and topped off with a glorious and huge golden dragonfly.

I was so thrilled to see her potter off happily to the party knowing that she would have the most wonderful time, even though I was a little jealous at the thought of her tucking into all of that mouth-watering cake and yummy candy I knew Nicole would have lovingly made for all of her guests.

Although I didn’t see Minnie B after the party had finished – I heard that she was a great hit with everyone there; even if she had eaten too much of Nicole’s Toffee Apple Candy Cake and had left with a gift bag stuffed with even more candy and chocolate!