Grokks wasn’t an ordinary cat. Sure, one of his ears was torn, his pelt was scratched up, his claws were long and filled with grime, and one of his eyes seemed to be swollen shut, but there was more to it than that.
He could grant wishes. That was mostly due to him being the offspring of a long line of enchanted cats, but hey, it made him different.
The part on granting wishes was very complicated and oddly specific. The said cat could only grant up to one wish a month, and before they did that, they had to choose whom to grant the wish to.
Now, this person doesn’t have to be the bravest hero in the world, or, completely pure of heart. This person simply has to begin eating any type of thing that qualifies as food. And Grokks just had to be able to smell that food, and that person would get a wish. He was also only permitted to roam in forests, so he didn’t grant that many wishes. Grokks could also grant himself a wish so when he was about seven years old, he granted himself the ability to teleport himself wherever he wanted.
On a particularly strange day, Grokks was fishing in a river in Yellowstone National Park. He reached his claws in, and, quick as a flash, scooped up a fish. He began gnawing on it unceremoniously.
Then suddenly, he heard music. Someone was playing guitar, and it was coming from a section of trees across the river.
Whoosh! He teleported across. He wedged himself in between some bramble bushes and peered into the trees.
A man sat on a tree stump in front of a green tent and was facing a campfire. In his lap sat a guitar, and he was strumming away at it. Grokks was so busy appreciating the music that he didn’t notice when he reached into a bag of potato chips and ate one.
Grokks noticed the scent and saw the chips. Oh! He thought. Time to introduce myself. He walked into view.
At first, the man didn’t notice Grokks at all. Then he saw the ugly excuse for a cat. The man gasped at first, but then regained himself and cleared his throat.
Grokks tilted his head. That was a much more dignified response than some other people had had.
The man returned to his guitar playing. Grokks opened his mouth.
“Hi.”
The man stopped and looked at the cat.
“Hold on, what?” the man said.
“I was talking to you,” Grokks rasped.
“…I didn’t really think animals could talk,” the man responded, scratching his beard. He drank some water from a dark blue canteen that looked like a grenade.
“Not all of them, anyway,” Grokks said. “I do owe you a wish right now.”
That got the man’s attention. “Say what?”
“Are those chips yours?”
The man looked down at the bag. “Yeah.”
“Then I owe you a wish, yes.”
Then the man laughed. “So, you’re Grokks! Well then, I want to leave this forest!”
Grokk’s eye narrowed until he realized who the man was. “Uncle Adam?”
“So, you finally recognized your favorite uncle?” Uncle Adam laughed again. “You remember when my sister put the curse on me? Well, now I want you to lift it! Teleport me out of this forest!”
Grokks stuttered for a moment, then had a sudden flashback. Three years ago, when Uncle Adam was still a cat, a large, powerful, grey-furred cat, he knocked over a broomstick, which crashed into a tree, and eventually broke a window. He set a large tree filled with squirrels and birds alight with fire. His sister put a curse on him which turned him human and bound him to Yellowstone National Park.
Grokks knew he wouldn’t be able to grant his wish. Frankly, Uncle Adam wasn’t a very good man, and he didn’t use his powers correctly, and once he destroyed an entire city block… (his mother had to lift the ground to make it look like an earthquake, and had to mind-wipe most of the inhabitants.)
Grokks flicked his tail while trying to think of a solution. A similar thing had happened with his cousin, his brother, his second brother (he had four), and his uncle’s brother (Dang, a lot of his relatives were evil!). Grokks then had an idea. “Ok then,” he said to his uncle. “Out we go.” Grokks placed one filthy paw on Uncle Adam’s shoe, and vorp! They were on the road to Yellowstone, the big sign reading Yellowstone National Park right behind them.
“Woohoo!” Uncle Adam whooped. He ran for the edge of the road, to a large grassy field, but instead crashed into a gooey, invisible barrier.
“So, there we go!” Grokks rasped. “I got you out of the forest! Now you have the roads and the forest to wander through.” Uncle Adam reared around, furious, and opened his mouth.
“You just expanded my curse slightly?”
“Well, it depends on how you put it.” Grokks croaked. “I made it so that the roads that extend to Idaho, into Oregon, and a few California highways are all in your wandering area.”
Grokks grinned. “That’s a lotta space to wander, eh?”
Uncle Adam fumed “You little…why—”
Then he leaped at Grokks, a rock in hand.
When he was just inches away from Grokks, whoosh! Instantly, Grokks found himself in a completely different part of Wyoming. Quite different, in fact. So different that he was quite literally face-to-face with a huge wall of water about to descend on him.
He could grant wishes. That was mostly due to him being the offspring of a long line of enchanted cats, but hey, it made him different.
The part on granting wishes was very complicated and oddly specific. The said cat could only grant up to one wish a month, and before they did that, they had to choose whom to grant the wish to.
Now, this person doesn’t have to be the bravest hero in the world, or, completely pure of heart. This person simply has to begin eating any type of thing that qualifies as food. And Grokks just had to be able to smell that food, and that person would get a wish. He was also only permitted to roam in forests, so he didn’t grant that many wishes. Grokks could also grant himself a wish so when he was about seven years old, he granted himself the ability to teleport himself wherever he wanted.
On a particularly strange day, Grokks was fishing in a river in Yellowstone National Park. He reached his claws in, and, quick as a flash, scooped up a fish. He began gnawing on it unceremoniously.
Then suddenly, he heard music. Someone was playing guitar, and it was coming from a section of trees across the river.
Whoosh! He teleported across. He wedged himself in between some bramble bushes and peered into the trees.
A man sat on a tree stump in front of a green tent and was facing a campfire. In his lap sat a guitar, and he was strumming away at it. Grokks was so busy appreciating the music that he didn’t notice when he reached into a bag of potato chips and ate one.
Grokks noticed the scent and saw the chips. Oh! He thought. Time to introduce myself. He walked into view.
At first, the man didn’t notice Grokks at all. Then he saw the ugly excuse for a cat. The man gasped at first, but then regained himself and cleared his throat.
Grokks tilted his head. That was a much more dignified response than some other people had had.
The man returned to his guitar playing. Grokks opened his mouth.
“Hi.”
The man stopped and looked at the cat.
“Hold on, what?” the man said.
“I was talking to you,” Grokks rasped.
“…I didn’t really think animals could talk,” the man responded, scratching his beard. He drank some water from a dark blue canteen that looked like a grenade.
“Not all of them, anyway,” Grokks said. “I do owe you a wish right now.”
That got the man’s attention. “Say what?”
“Are those chips yours?”
The man looked down at the bag. “Yeah.”
“Then I owe you a wish, yes.”
Then the man laughed. “So, you’re Grokks! Well then, I want to leave this forest!”
Grokk’s eye narrowed until he realized who the man was. “Uncle Adam?”
“So, you finally recognized your favorite uncle?” Uncle Adam laughed again. “You remember when my sister put the curse on me? Well, now I want you to lift it! Teleport me out of this forest!”
Grokks stuttered for a moment, then had a sudden flashback. Three years ago, when Uncle Adam was still a cat, a large, powerful, grey-furred cat, he knocked over a broomstick, which crashed into a tree, and eventually broke a window. He set a large tree filled with squirrels and birds alight with fire. His sister put a curse on him which turned him human and bound him to Yellowstone National Park.
Grokks knew he wouldn’t be able to grant his wish. Frankly, Uncle Adam wasn’t a very good man, and he didn’t use his powers correctly, and once he destroyed an entire city block… (his mother had to lift the ground to make it look like an earthquake, and had to mind-wipe most of the inhabitants.)
Grokks flicked his tail while trying to think of a solution. A similar thing had happened with his cousin, his brother, his second brother (he had four), and his uncle’s brother (Dang, a lot of his relatives were evil!). Grokks then had an idea. “Ok then,” he said to his uncle. “Out we go.” Grokks placed one filthy paw on Uncle Adam’s shoe, and vorp! They were on the road to Yellowstone, the big sign reading Yellowstone National Park right behind them.
“Woohoo!” Uncle Adam whooped. He ran for the edge of the road, to a large grassy field, but instead crashed into a gooey, invisible barrier.
“So, there we go!” Grokks rasped. “I got you out of the forest! Now you have the roads and the forest to wander through.” Uncle Adam reared around, furious, and opened his mouth.
“You just expanded my curse slightly?”
“Well, it depends on how you put it.” Grokks croaked. “I made it so that the roads that extend to Idaho, into Oregon, and a few California highways are all in your wandering area.”
Grokks grinned. “That’s a lotta space to wander, eh?”
Uncle Adam fumed “You little…why—”
Then he leaped at Grokks, a rock in hand.
When he was just inches away from Grokks, whoosh! Instantly, Grokks found himself in a completely different part of Wyoming. Quite different, in fact. So different that he was quite literally face-to-face with a huge wall of water about to descend on him.
