How the Kitten Learned to Jump on the Trampoline
Mňouka the kitten learns to jump on the trampoline with courage, care, and a little help from Rabbit Ušáček and Owl Kulíšek.
Once upon a time there was a little kitten named Mňouka. She had soft fur, white paws, and a tail that wiggled every time Mňouka got an idea.
And Mňouka got ideas all the time.
One sunny morning, Mňouka went into the garden. There stood a gigantic round thing.
It was black, springy, and had a net all the way around it.
“Meow?” said Mňouka. “What kind of giant spider bed is that?”
Rabbit Ušáček hopped into the garden.
“That is not a spider bed,” he laughed. “That is a trampoline!”
“And what do you do with it?” asked Mňouka.
Ušáček jumped onto the trampoline and went:
Hop!
And then once more:
Hop hop!
And suddenly he was high up like dandelion fluff.
Mňouka opened her eyes wide.
“I want to try too!”
She climbed onto the trampoline. Carefully, she put down one paw. Then the other. The trampoline rippled beneath her.
“Ooooh,” she whispered. “It is soft like the belly of a teddy bear.”
Mňouka tried a small jump.
Hup.
It was so small that even the daisy almost did not notice it.
“That’s all right,” said Ušáček. “Every big hop begins with a little hup.”
Mňouka tried again.
Hup.
Hup.
Hupity hup!
Suddenly she jumped a little higher. Her ears bounced, her whiskers quivered, and her tail made a funny hook in the air.
“Meow! I’m flying!”
But then she landed on her bottom.
Bumph.
“Ouch,” she said quietly. “Maybe I am not a jumping cat.”
From the tree came the voice of Owl Kulíšek, who slept only halfway during the day.
“Hoo, Mňouka,” he said wisely. “Whoever falls softly can stand up quickly.”
Mňouka got up, dusted off her paws, and frowned like a brave tiger.
“Then I will try one more time.”
This time she bent her paws.
Hop.
Straightened her back.
Hop hop.
Looked ahead.
Hop hop hop!
And then she jumped so beautifully that the sunshine shone right on her nose.
“Can you see me?” she called. “I am Mňouka, the jumping cat!”
The rabbit clapped with his ears.
The owl blinked.
The daisies swayed.
And the trampoline went:
Spring!
Spring!
Spring!
Mňouka jumped up and down, but she was careful. She did not jump near the edge, she did not do wild somersaults, and she always waited until she was alone on the trampoline.
Because even brave little kittens know that the best fun is safe fun.
When evening colored the sky pink, Mňouka climbed down, tired and happy.
“Ušáček,” she said, “today I learned how to fly.”
The rabbit smiled.
“Not fly, Mňouka. Jump.”
Mňouka looked at the trampoline, then at the sky, and meowed softly:
“That is almost the same thing.”
And from that day on, Mňouka went to the trampoline every sunny day.
First she made a little hup.
Then a bigger hop.
And finally the biggest:
HOPITY HOP!
Good night, little jumper.