Rose and Sir Thomas led them into the park and over to the “Whip the Tail” ride. It was a huge cat’s tail that swung back and forth lazily from side to side. It had cars that ran back and forth inside. As the tail went from one side to center, the cars would come closer to the root of the tail. Then it would push the cars out as the tail swung to one side. The faster the tail swung, the further the cars were pushed out into the tail.

As they approached, the tail stopped wagging and the cars were lined up side by side near the root of the tail, where it was attached to a HUGE cat like structure that housed the ride operator and the machinery that ran the ride. The cars were open with a little door on the side and carpet on the floor. As they entered the car, the operator would fasten a leash to the collar, to prevent them from falling out of the ride and then he shut the door.

Millie, Rose, Salazar and Blinky rode in one car and Sir Thomas, Honey, Burt and Jasmine rode in the other. The operator was a big brown cat that had white and black spots all over him. He was the same size as Sir Thomas and was very efficient at hooking them up so the ride could begin.

“Enjoy the ride,” He said to each as he fastened the leashes to their collars and closed the doors. He trotted on all fours back to the operations booth and hit the button to begin the ride.

Slowly, the tail began to swish back and forth. They little cars rode silently out on rubber wheels over the tracks and back again to the operations booth. Faster and faster the tail swooshed back and forth and further and further out they would ride with each pass. The tail was not straight, but a little crooked and it sloped up in a gentle rise and then back down again and once again rose up into a steep incline. As the tail swished back and forth faster and faster, the g-force pushed them all to the back of the car and then to the front as it moved back and forth inside the giant tail.

The top of the tail had skylights and windows in the side so that they could all see the brightening sky as the sun slowly rose over the horizon and the rest of the amusement park as they rode higher and higher through the tail in the speeding cars. The flashing of the scenery overhead and to the sides was exhilarating and a little disorientating, but rather fun, as the tail accelerated till they were traveling out to the tip of the tail for a few trips and then began to slow and stop.

“WOW! That was fun!” Jasmine said and they all agreed as they laughed and giggled as they went to the next ride.

The next ride was, “The Falling Cat,” and looked dangerously scary as the car was a cat, but there was a track it rode on that went up and down a hill and then straight up and cork screwed down again to the ground. Like the travel of a cat climbing a tree and then jumping down and flipping around to land on its feet.

This was a mysterious looking ride, as it looked like a cat that was black and not much bigger than the instant traveling machine. Inside, the operator had to fasten them into seats that held them tightly in a sitting position. Then the seats rotated till they were facing down and their feet touched the belly of the cat machine.  The seats were situated so that everyone could get a view out the front of the “Machine” cat’s eyes as the ride progressed.

“I don’t know if I am going to like this ride,” came Blinky’s quivering voice.

“It is purr-fectly safe Blinky.” Said Sir Thomas, “As a matter of fact, it is one of my favorites,” his voice nearly a purr.

About that time, the ride began, “I don’t knoooooooooooow about this!” Blinky screamed.

The mechanical cat fairly leaped the hill into the straight up climb as the view out the “cat’s eyes” looked up into the sky. It felt like the cat was pitching from side to side as it’s claws dug into the tree and propelled it up to the top. Then it felt as if the cat leapt off the tree as it cork screwed down to the ground. Everyone was screaming as it hit the ground with a little bump and then continued to bound over the little hill and jump on the tree as it climbed again. When it twisted off the tree, you could see the mechanical cat looking at the ground as the body twisted around seemingly in mid-air to position for the landing. Bump. The ride was over…..

Everyone was excitedly jabbering as they were released from their seats and exited the ride. Blinky’s eyes were batting a fast tempo as she nearly squealed with delight, “I have to agree, Sir Thomas that was a fun ride!”

“I am glad that you liked it Blinky,” Sir Thomas said as he led them to another ride.

Throughout the day, they watched the binary star as it traversed the sky, and they rode ride after ride, stopping to enjoy a few snacks at the little walk in restaurants along the way. When the twin star sat and the huge yellow sun was near setting, they were all about exhausted from the fun that they enjoyed during the day. The last ride was, “The Leg Rub,” which could be seen throughout the park as it was a very high ride and ran completely around the park. It began with the line of cars, gently caressing a fur covered leg as you ascended a gradual circular rise around a giant feline leg. The fur would actually rub against you as you rode around and around the leg. Once the cars reached the top of the leg, it swooped down a huge incline that reached nearly from one end of the park to the other. It swung around each corner in its journey and did about every acrobatic maneuver imaginable as it traversed the park from corner to corner and back again. It lasted a good long time and was refreshing as the breeze cooled everyone down from the warm day.

Sliding smoothly into the terminal, everyone departed the ride and agreed that this was the most fun they have had in a long time and they really loved Catatonia and wanted never to leave. But it was getting late and everyone was tired and knew that it was time to go home. So they followed Sir Thomas to the Instant Traveling Machine and got ready to embark on their ride home.