THE ADVENTURES OF PERIWINKLE & STINKY: PART CCLXXVIII

A Surprise Guest

Stinky is extra excited for today’s adventure, as he has a surprise for Periwinkle and for a special friend of theirs. He is waiting by the teleportation tunnel when he hears the familiar whoosh, and Periwinkle comes tumbling out into his waiting paws. He gives her a quick whisker kiss, grabs her paw and immediately leads her back into the tunnel.

They arrive at their destination in record time. When they emerge, Periwinkle looks confused. Waiting for them is their friend Teddy from Two Spoiled Cats. She runs up to him and gives him a big hug and then exclaims, “What a nice surprise. Are you joining us on our adventure today?”

“I am not exactly sure. Stinky sent me a note with coordinates for my tunnel and asked me to meet him here. He didn’t tell me anything else.”

Stinky shouts, “Happy Birthday, Teddy! I thought it would be fun to surprise you on your birthday with a trip to Mardi Gras in New Orleans to celebrate. Today is Fat Tuesday, and I couldn’t think of a better way to party.” 

Masks, Beads & a Crown

Stinky tells Periwinkle that he hopes she doesn’t mind returning to Mardi Gras. She claps her paws together and says, “Of course, not. That trip was three years ago, and it was oodles of fun.”

Stinky gives her a hug and says, “Thanks.”

Stinky then gives Teddy a king’s crown and a mask to wear and gives Periwinkle a mask and beads. He also has a mask and beads for himself. “Stinky, these are new masks. Thank you. Hey, we can play with the peacock fevver that is on mine when we get home,” exclaims Periwinkle. Stinky giggles and agrees.

 

 

As they are getting on their masks, Periwinkle notices something different about Stinky. “Stinky, did you get new sneakers? Those are really bright!”

“Oh, yes,” Stinky replies. “I got them for special occasions. Do you like them?”

Teddy says, “Well that yellow may be a little girlie, but I think they are pretty cool.” Periwinkle laughs at that and tells Stinky he looks great.

Just then Periwinkle spies a fence covered in beads and starts bouncing up and down and runs toward it. “Stinky, we need more beads!” she shouts. 

 

 

Stinky very politely tells her that someone has decorated their fence and that the beads are not for sale.

Periwinkle begins to pout but then sees something else that has her excited. “Stinky, do you remember how we took a memory photo with that giant mask when we were here before? Let’s take another one with Teddy.”

Stinky agrees with that plan, and the three tabbies run up the stairs to the balcony where the mask is located. 

 

 

Krewe of Excalibur

After they take their photo, Stinky explains that the parade today is presented by the Krewe of Excalibur. 

“Is there more than one parade, Stinky?” asks Periwinkle.

“Yep, I never realized that, but the parades have been going on for days and days already. There are more than 80 krewes, and many have their own parades. This is the last one for 2025.”

“Stinky, do you know anything about the Krewe of Excalibur?” asks Teddy.

“Well, it was founded in 2000 and has 250 members, both males and females. It was named for the sword of King Arthur. They have 20 floats, and the procession is lead by costumed knights on horseback. Instead of beads, they give out decorated dragon eggs and wooden shields. 

“Here’s a photo of their coat of arms.”

“That’s cool. Look at the dragons!” says Periwinkle. She adds, “We need one of those, Stinky.”

“We sort of already have one. That’s basically what the logo we put on our posts is.” Periwinkle thinks about that for a few minutes and agrees that will work. 

Parade Time

Teddy gets a place of honor on the first float.

 

 

Periwinkle and Stinky bounce up and down and wave and shout at Teddy as the float goes by, “Happy Birthday, Teddy. You are King for a day!”

All three tabbies have the opportunity to ride on a couple of other floats and hand out the decorated dragon eggs.

 

 

 

 

As the parade is coming to an end, Periwinkle says that her tummy is beginning to rumble, and asks if they can get a snack. Stinky replies, “Oh, I have a better idea,” and he takes Periwinkle’s paw and tells Teddy to follow. Moments later they arrive at Cafe du Monde. Stinky tells Teddy and Periwinkle to get a table and he runs to talk to the counter person. He returns to the table. A few minutes later a waiter arrives with a huge cake.

Happy Birthday, Teddy!

Periwinkle and Stinky shout, “Happy Birthday, Teddy. We love you!”

Stinky explains that he didn’t order a traditional King Cake but asked to have Teddy’s cake decorated in the traditional colors. 

The tabbies all remove their masks so they can dig into the yummy cake.

 

 

Once the tabbies have gorged themselves on cake, they realize that sadly it is time to head home. But before they leave, Periwinkle & Stinky give Teddy a card they made for him.

 

 

The tabbies spend several minutes paw hugging and saying their good-byes. Then Teddy enters his teleportation tunnel and Stinky and Periwinkle enter theirs. With simultaneous whooshes they are all off home.

Periwinkle stops at Stinky’s house to say, “hi,” to his parents, visit with his fursibs, and wish Dad Tom good luck on his knee replacement surgery the following day. Once she has done that, she and Stinky spend several minutes whisker kissing and paw hugging. Then with a final blown kiss and wave, Periwinkle enters the teleportation tunnel and is gone in a whoosh.

Stinky looks for a sunpuddle to nap and dream of Periwinkle.

The End

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