A Kadoatery Tale

     I don't like it here. It smells. It smells really bad. And, everyone is crying. Crying and crying and crying and they just won't stop. Maybe there is some sort of gas in here because I'm starting to cry also. There must be some sort of fumes in this building. I don't cry. I'm a tough Kadoatie.

     "FEEDING TIME!" the caretaker shouted. I didn't like feeding time. Strange people would come in and shove foods into our mouths. The caretaker of the Kadoatery would hang signs on our cages (yes, cages) and then everyone would see what we "wanted" (but actually no one wanted what was actually on the sign) and run off to wherever to get the certain food. Then, they all file back in and give us the food. Not a good thing at all. Especially poor Mr. Snugglekins. They fed him his owner. He has a Draik as an owner and someone gave him a Blue Draik Egg. He almost died from shock. He didn't eat it. Too big for his small mouth anyway.

     Then, a rush of people flooded into the small building. A lot of the Kadoatie started to cry due to the smells of all the foods at once. Beats me why they do that - it's just food. A young boy with blonde hair came over to me and looked at the sign. "Okay…Dakoatie…you want a Strawberry Nimmo Ice Lolly…" The boy then reached into his pocket. "Ah-ha! I got it!" He pulled out a melted Strawberry Nimmo Ice Lolly and put it in the cage.

     If I could talk, I would have said, "I don't eat junk food. I'm on a diet." But, I couldn't talk. So, I just grabbed the Strawberry Nimmo Ice Lolly with my small teeth and spit it off to the side.

     The boy stared at me for a second and went off. Good, I didn't want him here anyway. I looked at the other Kadoatie sitting in their cages, some nibbling at their food and others looking at it in pure disgust.

     Did you know Kadoatie can talk to one another? Yes, we can. We have our own secret language that only we can understand. It's strange - we're talking English but no one hears it. Only the other Kadoatie

     I looked at the Strawberry Nimmo Ice Lolly and then remembered. "Hey, Abracadabra!" I yelled down. A Green Kadoatie looked up at me with a questioning look. "You want a Strawberry Nimmo Ice Lolly?" I asked, knowing he had a thing for any food item that had a strawberry flavor. He smiled and nodded.

     It was on. With my small paws, I pushed the Strawberry Nimmo Ice Lolly out of the cage. It flew into the air. Abracadabra then stuck his paw out of the cage and just barely caught it. He then slowly brought it back into his cage. "Thanks!" he yelled back at me.

     "No problem!" I replied. "You know I'm on a diet."

     I then rested back into my cage. I guess I couldn't say life at the Kadoatery was horrible. It was okay for a temporary housing. Not horrible. Well, except for that smell. The smell is just…ick…it's the worst thing ever. Foul odor…foul smell…can't wait until I'm back home where everything is fresh and smells like flowers (except the bathroom that smells like the total opposite of flowers).

     Then, I was startled out of my thoughts by a rattling on my cage. I looked up and saw the caretaker, switching the signs. I looked down and saw what I had for that time. Apple Juice. Oh, that's great. Some juice. I can stick to my diet.

     I looked around at all the other Kadoaties, glancing at what they had to eat. Lady Wigglebottom was stuck with Lemon and Guacamole Hot Dog. I knew for a fact that she hated Lemon and Guacamole Hot Dogs. She had it once and almost died she was so sick. The caretaker then draped a sign that said Baby Shoyru Baby Bottle on Mr. Insane's cage. He'd go insane about that one. Angharad, a very small and very whiny Island Kadoatie, was chosen to get a bowl of Enchanting Strawberry Cereal. I would have liked to have that. But, I did have a juice. Even if that didn't do me much good.

     People were looking through the window, seeing if we had changed yet. Then, I heard the door smash open and another wave of people came in, chattering and yelling, looking for Kadoaties Someone was at every cage. A person was feeding Loafy and Fyora, Princess and Sloth, Ioz and Killer, and even Gaston, Boris, and Bookworm.

     Everyone was being fed. All were getting to their bloating point. Well, at least the ones who ate. That was, all except me. No one came near me. First, I sniffed myself. I thought that maybe I smelt. No, that wasn't it. I smelled perfectly normal. Then, I looked down at my sign. "Ah, no…" I said to myself. Cabbage Cupcake. No one would feed me a Cabbage Cupcake. I plopped myself down on the cold cage floor. I cried. I finally realized why everyone else was crying - no one would feed them. That, and of course I still stand by my theory about the gas.

     Then, someone came along, looking up and down the rows of cages. I recognized this person. He was one of those famous Neopians. One of those rich ones who could get anything they wanted. One of the Neopians who had billions of Neopoints stockpiled in their bank. I had seen him in newspapers and even walking through the streets or in shops, trying to score an item and a deal.

     The owner then stared at me. He slowly made his way through the crowds of people and eventually, after quite some pushing and shoving, arrived at my cage. He looked at me and then at the sign. "Hm…a Cabbage Cupcake is worth about eight million points… Can I afford it?" He then pulled out a book from his pocket and with it a black ball point pen. He flipped pages and wrote things down. "Ah, very good." He then looked at me and smiled. "I'll be back in just a little while," he said before he ran through the crowd again and then out the door.

     Many people stared at my cage during the time he was gone. Many remarks were made, most of sorrow and concern. They thought no one would have the money or the heart to feed someone an item that was worth so much money. But, they were wrong. There was someone with the money and there was someone with the heart.

     That person didn't appear for quite a bit. I wasn't sure what he was doing. It was an expensive item so he probably had to haggle down the price a bit. But, he did come. About an hour and a half later after some Kadoaties were fed three or four times, he arrived at the door when the Kadoatery was empty. He looked in the window before coming in. When he came in, all the Kadoaties were silent. It was very unusual for someone to come in when the caretaker was changing signs. The only time it happened was when an owner came. And all the Kadoaties knew when an owner came. The Kadoatie that the owner belonged to would give a chirp that only the rest of us could hear. And then we knew that they were leaving.

     No one chirped. It was an awkward silence as the Neopian walked towards my cage, a green cupcake in his hand. The Kadoaties then started to whisper when they saw what it was. A Cabbage Cupcake. I sat there, still amazed that he had come back. The owner put the Cabbage Cupcake through the bars and flipped the sign around to say that the Kadoatie had already been fed.

     I looked at the cupcake. I had actually never been so close to something of its price. I studied it for a moment before I noticed the owner standing in front of me, smiling. I had to eat it even if it went against my diet. I lowered my head and took a bite. It was disgusting. But I couldn't stop there. I continued to take bite after bite, every time looking at the owner's happy face. Then, I finished. Only a few crumbs were left. I smiled, even though the food had been the most horrid thing I had ever eaten.

     The owner then smiled and left. I was the star of the Kadoatery. All the Kadoaties whispered and yelled out to me. It was an amazing feeling. I had glory and fame. Maybe being in the Kadoatery for a short while wouldn't be so bad after all. I then put on my best face and smiled, taking in all the compliments and praises.

The End