Little Missy

A Childrens' Story by Janalee Faucher

Copyright © 1997, Janalee Faucher. All rights reserved.

This is a true story about a little girl named Missy, who once lived in Singapore.

Missy had no dad, and her mum was very poor. They had nothing, not food and not even a place to live. When Missy was very small, her mum was caught stealing food, and she was taken away to jail. Missy was left all alone, scared and hungry. She hoped and prayed that a kind stranger would help her, but people walked right past her. They were too busy laughing and playing and eating to notice little Missy at all.

Missy was so hungry that she bravely went into a shop that sold bread and biscuits. Missy looked at the shopkeeper with big hungry eyes, and prayed that she would be kind. The shopkeeper said, "Oh you poor little girl!" and she took Missy to her flat above her shop. "You may live with me and I will be your new mum." the shopkeeper said.

In the shop, Missy had food every day and a soft place to sleep. Everyone who knew Missy praised her. "Missy is such a good girl," they said. "She is so loving to her mum, and so friendly and kind." Missy began to forget about the days when she had been so hungry and scared.

And then one day Missy's new mum put all her belongings into a removal van . . . all her belongings except for Missy. The van drove off and Missy waited and waited. Surely her mum wouldn't forget her? Surely her mum loved her and would not leave her all alone? Mums do not leave their children, do they? But her mum had done exactly that. Missy's mum never came back.

A construction crew tore down the shops, and Missy had no home at all now. She slept on the muddy ground. Ants crawled on her, and bugs bit her soft skin.

Every day, she searched for something to eat. Some days she could only find a mouthful of rice or a bite of chicken. Somedays there was no food at all, and her tummy hurt so much that she cried. Sometimes when she begged for food, people were cruel to her. They hit her with sticks, and threw rocks at her. One man kicked her very hard, and broke her bones. She could not go to a doctor, because she had no money, so she lay very still for many days while it mended, hungry and hurt and crying with pain.

Years went by, and every day was the same as the one before it. Missy thought it would always be this way, and she was almost right. But one night a woman who was visiting in Singapore saw Missy begging for food and she was filled with sadness for this poor little girl. She asked everyone she knew, "Can you please, please help Missy?" And one person said, "Send her to me and I will give her a home forever and ever." So the woman put Missy on a plane to America.

Today, Missy lives in a home with a loving mum. There is money for a doctor when she is sick, and there is food every day. There are toys and playmates and a soft bed to sleep on, and there is love and kindness always. Missy's mum promises her every day, "I will never leave you." Missy believes her. She knows that she is safe at last. She knows that this mum truly loves her.

Missy is a cat, a little cat who grew up in Singapore. Missy is no different from the cats that you see every day in Singapore, the sad little cats who live in constant hunger and fear, the cats who search every day for food and kindness and maybe, maybe, a loving mum or dad.

Missy is a real cat, and this is her true story. I know because I am the person who sent her home.

The End

To read more about Missy, please see Missy's Story.