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Cinderfella

Chapter 1: Mouse in the House

"PEPITO! PEPITO!! Where's our dinner you worthless good-for-nothing," barked an angry voice. Pepito, a poor orphaned Dalmatian pup age 18, was in the kitchen making chicken and dumplings on the stove and was rushing to the oven to get the dinner rolls out. At last, he got them out; then he put the food on a cart and pushed the cart out of the kitchen and to the dinning room. There at the table, Pepito's stepfamily sat down ready to eat. First, there was his stepfather. Pepito's mother got married to this tyrannical Dalmatian after the boy's father died. Pepito was kind and he understood why his mother had to do what she did but it was upon an untimely end when Pepito's mother died in a car accident that the stepfather's true nature was revealed: cold and cruel. The stepfather was greatly jealous of Pepito's good nature and beauty compared to the stepfather's own awkward son, Antonio, and two daughters, Felicia and Cecilia. The stepchildren were just as mean and awful as their father and they delighted in tormenting poor Pepito.

Pepito was just about to sit down and eat with his family when... "Just a moment, young man," the stepfather said sternly, "You have work to do in the kitchen. Clean up all the pots and pans you used and clean the floor." Pepito didn't say anything but Antonio stuck his foot out and Pepito had the poor misfortune to trip over that one foot. "Watch it, you clumsy oaf," Antonio said as though Pepito had fell on him and he slapped Pepito. Now any good parent would give a strong word to a spoiled brat like Antonio. But the stepfather just looked at Pepito and said, "You ungrateful boy. I let you stay in this family and this is how you repay me?!" Just then, Pepito felt a throbbing on his cheek when the stepfather slapped him on the face.

In the kitchen, Pepito cleaned the dishes all night long, but he never complained and he remained as kind and gentle as ever. There were some mice Pepito took care of whenever he wasn't busy and he rescues them from the stepfamily's cat. The stepfamily had started eating at 7:00 pm and it was 11:30 pm when the food was all gone and Pepito was given only the scraps. Pepito sighed as he sat down on the floor and ate what little the stepfamily had not eaten. The mice came out of their holes and ran up to their friend. To Pepito's surprise and thankful nature, the mice had brought the pup some cheese they've managed to snatch away from the mousetraps. "Thanks guys," Pepito said as he nibbled on the cheese, "Little food is better than none." Speedy Gonzales, one of the mice who lived in the house with Pepito, was a brown mouse with a white shirt and pants, a red bandana, and a sombrero came up to the Dalmatian. "Why do you allow yourself to be bullied by that tirano?" the little mouse asked. "Because I made a promise to my mother that I would look after this house and this is all I have left of her and Papa," Pepito said as he started to wash the dishes in the sink and the mice helped by drying them and placing them in the cabinets.

At last, the dishes were clean, but it was late. Pepito went up to his room in the attic, had a quick shower, and fell onto his bed to enjoy what little hours of rest he had left. It was around 6:00 am when the sun shone through Pepito's bedroom window. Pepito reluctantly got out of bed and got ready to do his chores. Just then, Speedy came rushing into the room and he zipped up the leg of a table next to Pepito's bed chattering like crazy. There was another mouse with him and Pepito had to calm them both down to see what they were trying to tell him. "Now Speedy, what's all the fuss about?" he asked. "There's a new mouse in the house, Señor Pepito," the little mouse squeaked. "Oh, a visitor," the Dalmatian said, getting out a box from a drawer in the table, "She'll need a dress-" "No, señor. It's a he," Speedy corrected Pepito with a laugh. "Oh," Pepito blushed and got out a shirt, "Well that does make a difference." "Sí señor," Speedy said, "But we've got to hurry. He's caught in a trap." "What?" Pepito gasped standing up and rushing out the door with the mouse clothes in his hands, "Why didn't you say so?" Pepito quickly rushed down the stairs with Speedy close behind him. After a couple of steps, there was a bunch of other mice were gathered around a mousetrap cage. Pepito knelt down and opened the latch to see a frightened brown mouse shaking all over. "Oh, the poor thing's scared to death," Pepito said with pity in his voice and lowered the cage in front of Speedy, "Speedy, maybe you better explain things to him." "Sí, sí, Pepito. Sí, sí," the mouse said as he walked into the cage and towards the new mouse. But the new mouse was still unsure about the strangers and tried to make a stand by holding up his fists. "Hola, señor," Speedy said but the new mouse tried to take a swipe at him, "Take it easy, amigo. These mice like you.. Señor Pepito likes you too. He's nice, very nice." The new mouse smiled a little and then lowered his fists as he saw Pepito giving him a kind smile. "That's better, sí?" Speedy asked as he led the mouse out of the cage. The new comer nodded with a big smile on his face. "That's better," said Pepito as he fitted the clothes on the mouse, "There, a perfect fit. Now, for a name: Jerome. But for short, we'll call you Jerry." "You like it, Jerry, sí?" Speedy asked. Jerry thought for a moment and then nodded with a smile. "Now, I've got to go. Make sure he stays out of trouble, Speedy, and don't forget to warn him about the cat," Pepito said as he went on his way down stairs to begin his daily chores. "Sí, Pepito," Speedy said giving a thumbs up to the Dalmatian, "So, Jerry, you ever seen a gato?" Jerry looked confused for he never could understand Spanish words. "Gato?" he asked. "You know? A cat? Mean and sneaky? They jump out at you and then eat a mouse.. MEOW!" Speedy explained and acted just like a cat when he made those cat noises, scaring Jerry half to death. "You understand now, Sí?" he asked the collapsed mouse. Jerry nodded, giving a thumbs up.