Catfighter

...repaired old networks:

"Whether there will be a whale or not is unknown. But small fish are everywhere!"
"Hey, what are you doing there?" Shlynda, a skinny, cheeky cat from the other end of the village, called out to them.

— We're going to sea. We need a junior sailor. The catch will be split evenly.
"No way!" Shlynda chuckled. He twisted his paw near his temple.

Cats love fish. But they don't like water. Rumors that Kotauskas and Afanasy were planning to catch a whale in an old boat quickly spread throughout the neighborhood. Neighbors whispered and giggled.
— Only in our village do we have such psychos...

"Hey, Afonya, have you written your will? " Kotauskas couldn't resist firing his harpoon gun. The curious onlookers scattered. The third crew member was never found.

“It’s okay, we can handle it together,” said Kotauskas.

There was a pile of all sorts of junk piled up on the bottom of the boat: empty cans, bottles, a barrel, a samovar, a boot...

“We need to throw this junk out,” the captain ordered.

"No need to throw anything away. I'll salt the herring in the barrel, the jars will do for sprats and sprats..."

— What about the samovar?

“Let’s drink tea,” said the sensible Afonya.

— And the boot? I understand—two boots…

— The samovar needs to be heated up!

— What are the empty bottles for?
— For fresh water. And for mail: in case of a shipwreck, we'll throw a bottle with a message into the sea.
The first mate was putting on his best clothes, and the captain was proudly writing the name “WHALER” on the side.

When it got dark, Kotauskas commanded:

— Lights out. We sail in the morning!

In the darkness, Afonya tripped over the life preserver and thought, "Why do we need two? If someone falls overboard, one will be enough. But if two fall at once, nothing will help... Better yet, take a barrel for the fish!" And he threw the life preserver overboard. In the darkness, he didn't notice that it was tied to the railing with a rope.

When the cats approached the yacht at dawn, they gasped: instead of "WHALE BOAT" on board, they read "CATTOY" - with a thick life preserver in the middle...

"Wow!" Shlynda exclaimed as he wandered along the shore. Lately, it's become fashionable to say "wow" instead of "meow. "
Kotauskas tried to tear off the circle, but it was firmly stuck to the fresh paint.

"Leave it, Captain," said Afonya. "'Kotoboy' is a wonderful name. There are many whalers, but we are the only ones!"
"Okay," Kotauskas nodded and threw the second circle over the other side. For symmetry.

A fresh breeze filled the sail. And the "Kotoboy" cut through the waves like a knife through butter. The captain stood on the bridge, clutching the rudder tightly in his paws and his pipe in his teeth.
“I’ve been wanting to ask for a long time,” said Afonya, “why do you need a pipe if you don’t smoke?”

— I'm breaking bad habits...
— Did you smoke?

— No. I was swearing. And when you have a pipe in your mouth, you can't swear right away... Try it, I recommend it.

“I don’t swear anyway,” said Afonya.

"Masthead-topsail-topsail!" Kotauskas suddenly shouted. Because his pipe had fallen out of his mouth. And the pipe had fallen out because there was a mouse, or rather, a baby mouse, sitting on the deck.

"Have we already set sail?" the mouse asked. And, receiving no answer, he added: "Schuster. The cabin boy."
"Where did you come from?" asked Afanasy.

— From the boot.

Shuster explained that he'd been living on a boat for a long time, dreaming of a real life at sea. And when the cats chose his boat and began preparing to sail, he realized this was his chance…

"That's why I didn't like that boot from the start. I should have thrown it overboard."

“Well, it’s never too late,” Afonya noted.

— Throw the landlubber overboard!..

“I’m not a rat,” Shuster squeaked.

That would have been the end for the little mouse. But Shuster proved worthy of his name—and a second later he was already perched atop the mast.

“Clever,” Afonya scratched his head.

"Take me as a cabin boy—I can do everything. I know all the sails, and the sea commands, and—"
“Rats and women on a ship bring misfortune,” Kotauskas snapped.
And then the yacht was rocked by a blow. Carried away by the pursuit of Shuster, the captain forgot about the helm. And the "Kotoboy" crashed into a rock.

Water quickly filled the hold.

— Topsail, topsail, topgallant! If we don't plug the hole, the ship will sink in a quarter of an hour!

"This is bad," Afonya muttered. "Cats can swim. Poorly, but they can. But diving—no cat can. "

"I can go underwater and repair the hole," came a voice from the mast. "But for that, I need an air bell..."

• What, what?

"No time to explain. I need an empty can, some strong rope, and something to plug the hole with!"

A minute later, the brave little mouse was diving into the water in an upside-down jar.

The water stopped rising. Shuster was hauled up. And all three began bailing out the water from the hold with tin cans. They worked until the cans scraped against the bottom.
"I'm as wet as a mouse!" said Afonya.

“And I’m wet as a cat,” Shuster replied.

"You're a good boy." The first mate glanced at the captain. "Captain, maybe we should hire him for our crew? We're short-staffed anyway..."

"Okay, consider yourself hired. As a junior seaman. A third of the catch is yours."

The cats and the mouse sealed their paw-shake. Shuster proved an indispensable member of the crew. He was the best at climbing the mast and handling the sail. He was knowledgeable about nautical charts. He also knew how to play the harmonica.

"It's a shame there's no guitar," the first mate sighed. "You and I would..."
"I see a fountain off to port!" Shuster shouted, leaning out of the observation basket.

"It's a whale!" said Kotauskas and turned the yacht around.

The Kotoboy had been sailing in the indicated direction for three hours. The whale was nowhere in sight. However, the multi-deck passenger ship Ivan Tarutin appeared directly ahead.

"There was probably a fountain on the liner," Afonya said. "They have pools and fountains and a light show with fireworks and..."

The first mate didn't have time to finish. The yacht suddenly tilted and began to rise. A plume of steam shot up into the air a few meters ahead.

"It seems we've landed on a whale! Topsail, topsail, topsail..." muttered Kotauskas.

Luckily, everything turned out alright. The whale sank into the depths, and the "Kotoboy" slid smoothly into the water.

"I heard whales are big," Shuster squeaked excitedly. "But like this?!"
And then the whale surfaced again, right next to the yacht. Its huge eye gazed with interest at the crew of the "Kotoboy"...

"I felt like he was looking into me," Kotauskas later said. "I swear I'll never hunt whales again. Because whales are our brothers!"

The captain even considered sabotaging the harpoon gun. But he was talked out of it. What if they were attacked by an octopus? Or a great white shark?

“I thought he wished us good fishing,” Afonya said.

“And he winked at me,” Shuster boasted.

Afonya hadn't been darning the old nets in vain. The next day, a school of cod was caught in them. Within a couple of hours, the barrel, as well as all the cans and pots in the galley, were filled to the brim with cod. Kotauskas skewered several fish on a harpoon, like shish kebab on a skewer. But the fish still weren't gone. What to do with them?
"Let go. You can't catch all the fish!" said the first mate, who was in charge of the preparations. The return journey was pleasant. Afanasy brought the samovar onto the deck. The crew drank tea. And the cod smoked in the smoke from the samovar. The entire village greeted the fishermen.

"It's about to start," muttered Kotauskas, clenching his pipe between his teeth. "Where's the whale? Your cod looks a bit small! Topsail, topsail, topsail, topsail!"

But he was wrong. The local newspaper published a photo of "Kotoboy" on a whale. Apparently, one of the liner's passengers managed to snap a photo. So the cats were greeted as heroes. Local poet Vas'kin even composed a slogan: "KATABOY, WE ARE PROUD OF YOU! "
And the cats on the pier waved the poster in unison.

The captain's stern heart trembled.

— First mate, what are you going to do with your share?

"We need to feed our fellow countrymen!" said Afonya.

“I’m like the others,” Shuster responded.

"Get the barrel to the pier!" Kotauskas commanded.

Several village cats volunteered to help. The barrel of cod was rolled down the gangway onto the pier.
Shlynda approached Kotauskas:

• You know, captain, I agree to go as a sailor!

— The crew has already been recruited. This is Shuster, our junior sailor.

A crowd of hungry cats looked at the little mouse with interest.

"Whoever offends him will have to deal with me!" said Kotauskas.

"And with me!" added Afonya.
"And with me!" Shuster squeaked.

And everyone laughed.

A pre-prepared tablecloth was spread right on the pier. And the feast began. The cats ate so hard their ears were ringing.

"That's a good cod, look how it crackles!" someone remarked.

And the poet Vaskin managed to compose an entire poem. It was as long as a tablecloth. But everyone remembered three lines:

Chest in a vest,

The tail is like a pipe...

This is a glorious cat-slayer!

Someone ran for the first mate's guitar. Shuster pulled out a harmonica.

All night long, the cats bawled about the glorious cat-slayer. And they went home only in the early morning. The crew remained on the yacht.
"Maybe I should get one of those too?" Afonya sighed, watching Shuster crawl into his boot to sleep.

"You'd better look for a felt boot," said Kotauskas. "Next time we'll go to the North Pole!"

When people moved from Kotma to the city, things weren't easy for the cats at first. But over time, they got used to it: some spun wool and knitted socks, some started planting gardens, and some even took up fishing. The sea was right there, after all. And where there's sea, there's fish. And where there's fish, there's a cat!

Shlynda was sitting on the porch of his hut when the first mate from the Kotoboy, Afonya, appeared.

Afonya was dragging a sled with huge felt boots behind him.

"What, did you rob Santa Claus?" Shlynda perked up.

"No, I traded them with Chernysh. He had some left over from his owner."

• Well, what do you need them for? It's summer, after all.

— We're going to the North Pole.

"Ah," Shlynda nodded understandingly. But when the boots passed by, he twirled his paw at his temple.
*The idea to sail to the North Pole arose like this...

Captain Kotauskas suggested going to Iceland for fish because the fattest herring was there. Afanasy countered that the fattest herring was Norwegian. Because Norway was further north. After all, the further north you went, the colder the water, and the fatter the fish.

The argument threatened to break out into a fight. But junior sailor Shuster intervened.*

"The fattest herring is at the North Pole. Because the North Pole is the farthest north!" he declared.
And the issue was resolved.
Kotauskas examined the felt boots carefully. The left one had a hole.

— And you couldn’t find anything newer?

"But it's a size fifty. It won't pinch your stomach," Afonya replied. "And the hole is for ventilation!"

Shuster, who had spent the night in a boot, didn't exchange his boot for a felt boot. He simply brought a wool sock. Kotauskas and Afonya wrinkled their noses in unison:

• Phew! It smells like dog!
  The sock was made of dog hair.
  They prepared thoroughly for the voyage. They dragged along a sled, a brace, and a ton of warm clothes. It all looked a bit odd. It was a hot summer. And the cats sunbathing on the shore giggled:

• Hey, sailors, are you going to Antalya?!
  they laughed
  Kotauskas, who wore a fur hat with earflaps as a matter of principle, tried to ignore them:

• Never mind... But it will be warm at the pole!
  The voyage began well. *
  The wind was favorable, and soon the Kotoboy was out in the open ocean.*

A day passed, then a second, a third, a fifth, a seventh. Kotauskas began to get nervous:

— Franz Josef Land should be ahead, but it’s not there. Yoksel-moksel-taksel-gallant sail!

“So the compass is broken, or we overslept,” Afonya suggested.

"Or maybe we've even overslept the pole, topsail?" Shuster worried.

Anxiety gripped everyone. Kotauskas even slept with binoculars. And lookout Shuster remained perched on the mast—his food was served up there.

It was the polar day. The sun circled the sky, never setting below the horizon. The sleeping cats were awakened by Shuster's cry:
— The whales are flying! The whales are flying!

"It seems the junior sailor has gone mad," Afonya muttered. But when he stepped onto the deck, he froze like a jellied fish...
“These are killer whales,” Kotauskas said.

“Cap, let’s catch up with them and clarify the course,” Shuster suggested.

"No need," Kotauskas replied. "I wouldn't want Kotoboy to be their landing site!"

Two more days passed. And finally a voice was heard from the mast:

• Earth!
  An island appeared straight ahead, resembling an Easter cake from a distance: stone walls rose almost vertically, and the top was white with birds. The birds perched, circled, and dived into the water from enormous heights. And they screamed. The shriek was so loud you could go deaf even wearing a fur hat.

“This is a bird market,” said Kotauskas.

"Excellent," Afonya rejoiced. "We'll trade something for some bird eggs. I'll make you such a finger-licking good omelette..."

When the Kotoboy moored to the island, the cook-chief mate took the net
"Hello, cormorants!" he greeted.
"You're a cormorant yourself," one said in an unpleasant voice. "And we're guillemots!"

"What do you want?" asked the other.

— I want to buy or exchange eggs...

The first mate didn't have time to finish.

"Oh, Mom," the chick squeaked. "He wants to eat me..."

• Thief! Bird thief!
  Thousands of birds pounced on Afanasy. Guillemots, loons, gulls, cormorants… They beat with their beaks and wings. They pecked from all sides.

*Cats can't dive. And no cat in the world has ever jumped from such a height... But Afonya had no other choice.

PLUNG!..*
Kotauskas was preparing to throw a life preserver when a whiskered head with enormous fangs emerged from the water. Afonya was in the monster's paws, or rather, flippers.
Kotauskas was preparing to throw a life preserver when a whiskered head with enormous fangs emerged from the water. Afonya was in the monster's paws, or rather, flippers.
"Let him go, or I'll shoot!" Shuster shouted, aiming the harpoon gun at the fanged one. "One, two, two and a half..."

"If I let him go, he'll drown," the monster chuckled. "But you put down your harpoon. Haven't I seen ski poles?!"

Walrus Fedot saw ski poles and skis at the polar station where he once spent the winter. There, he was even treated to sweet snow…

“Exactly like this,” Fedot nodded when he was treated to some sugar.

In honor of the first mate's rescue, the samovar was fired up. Afonya got out some sugar and a can of condensed milk. The walrus also enjoyed the condensed milk.

"And why do you need this pole? The herring here is just as good, I'll quickly fill your net with fish!"
The cats thanked them, but refused.

"Look," Fedot shook his mustachioed head. "Winter will come early and be very harsh. If you change your mind, you'll always find me here..."

Fedot's rookery was small, like a berth on a Russian stove. But at least it was private. And beyond the rocks began the beach, where thousands of his fellow seals roared, clamored, and fought.

"It's a family thing for them," said Fedot. "And I'm a born bachelor."

The walrus saw the yacht off into the open sea and waved goodbye with his flipper.

The polar summer was ending. It was getting colder with each passing day. Finally, the Kotoboy hit an ice floe. The sailors were shaking like wasp leaves, and Shust5r's teeth were chattering.

“Eh-eh-h, we didn’t quite make it,” sighed Shuster.

"H-how do you know?" asked Afanasy.

The little mouse pointed to the sky:

— S-see, the North Star is hanging almost overhead! And the frost has gotten worse!

Kotauskas lowered the sled onto the ice and began to untie the anchor.

The village of Kotma stands on the shores of the White Sea. People used to live there, but then they moved to the city. And the dogs with them. But the cats stayed behind. It's a well-known fact that a dog is attached to its owner, and a cat to its home... Later, two brave cats—Kotauskas, Afanasy, and the mouse Shuster—became sailors, and their endless adventures began. They all spoke northern dialects, which is understandable. After much debate, Shuster was finally accepted into the crew.