Tigger nudged Mungojerrie, “Miaowk, if only my brother were here. He would love to meet those plump pigeons!”

A third Guinea Pig stepped forward.

“Squeak, squeak, if you could all pay attention. My name is Virginia and I am your tour guide for today. Please call me Ginny. This large shed is the centre of our operations, and we have spread into lots of the adjoining areas, where our highly skilled workforce are based. Most of us are escaped or abandoned pets, although we have quite a number of second generation members.

“We heard how the humans need to do more recycling and decided that we could help by checking the neighbourhood bin-bags and discarded heaps, to see what could be retrieved and perhaps reused.”

Ginny indicated several heaps of what appeared to be small colourful plastic and diecast vehicles. Many were broken and most were devoid of their original paint-work.

“Squeak, as you can see,” continued Ginny, “we are intrigued by tiny colourful artefacts. Our team are trained to dismantle them, but then we hit problems. Too much talking and squeaking ensues and not enough reconstruction.

“We end up with heaps of wheels, mounds of body-parts, conglomerations of figures and loads of interior seats and steering wheels.

 

“No-one can remember what parts go where, what needs fixing, what needs discarding. And the teams sit around, crunching seeds and sipping Guinea Pig tonics, and nothing gets done. They are all too engrossed with what their ancestors did in bygone ages, previous foraging trips, who they met, and what Dave the White Rat said when he found the rarest example of a die-cast pot of gold!”

“So our tour,” continued Ginny, “is somewhat of a cry for help and assistance. If any of you fellow denizens of the environment can suggest a way forward, we would love to hear from you.”

Tabitha was the first to speak. “Mewp, mewp, our Ginger Nuts clan have a brilliant Young Master, and his skills and expertise are often at our disposal. The main problem is one of communication, since although we understand his language, he rarely understands ‘CAT’!”

“Mirrawacow,” continued Tigger, “our Dearest Auntie Denise quickly appreciates his latest design ideas and can suggest subtle enhancements.”

“Miaowkins, piaowkins,” added Mungojerrie, “we shall study our Old Master’s internet sites and attempt to memorise the structure and assembly of the die-cast toys.”

“Squeak, squeak, that’s very useful,” said Ginny, “and with your help we can perhaps start to reassemble the parts with some degree of accuracy.”

Just then, another Guinea pig, who had been listening in an adjoining shed, joined the group.

“Squeak, whistle,” he said, “that sounds great, but how are we to recycle, recirculate and generally reuse the huge heaps of stuff we have collected.”

“Mewp, mewp,” said Tabitha, “we need a wider distribution system, to see where the finished products should be left and who would appreciate them.”

“Mirrawaccawacca,” continued Tigger, “perhaps the Foxes and Grey Squirrels could be encouraged to help. They have much wider ranges than ourselves and if the squirrels could identify suitable drop off points, the stronger foxes could carry and transport the products.”

Everyone agreed.

Even the pigeons, who were momentarily distracted from their bowls of grain.

Ginny led the party through to the main sorting and potential construction room. This was a fascinating place and Ruby introduced herself to various teams of Guinea Pigs who were rooting through precarious heaps of die-cast parts.

Mungojerrie watched intently for some time. “Miaowkins,” he said, “I think, with some research, us felines could advise which parts to bring together, to provide a list of pieces for reassembly into an attractive vehicle. We may not identify the original idea, but the plan should succeed in making a useable result.”


“Mirrawaccau,” continued Tigger, “I know where our Young Master keeps his enamel paint pots and we could bring them over, so that the finished vehicles could be cleaned and repainted.”

Over the next few weeks, good progress was achieved. The Guinea Pigs felt that a cloud of overbearing depression had been lifted and they took readily to the cats’ advice.

Small dexterous paws proved much more effective than a paw full of claws, but since no-one had the biological advantage of an opposing thumb, discussions ensued to see if anyone knew of cooperative Monkeys in the locality.