Toponymy of London Streets

Anastasia Savunova

On Downing Street there lived a cat. His name was Larry. He was about 6 years old. He was taken from an animal shelter ‘Battersea Dogs and Cats Home’, because one day CCTV cameras  noticed a big rat running in the Prime Minister’s house. And as he was keen on catching rats, his destiny was obvious. Larry caught his first rat when David Cameron and his family were on a holiday trip.

But soon after that something happened. People said that Larry should be fired from his job. He hasn’t caught any mice since September. And once the Prime Minister even saw a rat in the hall. And imagine! Larry didn’t take any notice of the rat and was peacefully sleeping on the settee. And after several attempts to wake him up, he just yawned, looked lazily at the rat and went back to sleep. And people said that this incident became the reason of Larry’s dismissal. However, Larry was not to blame. Here is the true story of poor Larry. 

One fine day Larry went for a walk and met his old friend-cat Freya, who belongs to the British Chancellor of Exchequer, George Osborn. She was very happy to see him. Freya invited Larry to her house and offered him to have a little snack.  They ate a lot and were full, but the food tasted strange. After the feast Larry felt sleepy, so he said that he has to hurry to go home. They said goodbye to each other and Larry left. As soon as he reached his settee, Larry fell asleep. The next day everything went as usual. But then that nasty incident with Cameron happened and, unfortunately, Larry showed himself not from his best side. Larry was wandering along the empty corridors of Downing Street 10. It was Saturday, you know! Then all of a sudden he heard Freya talking to some other cat. They were outdoors next to the litter bins. Freya said that thanks to her cunning character she would soon take Larry’s position. At that time one of Cameroon’s secretaries peeped into. She was a nice lady who liked pets and she herself had five cats at home. So she brought Larry some milk and stroked him. And, you know, Larry felt better. By Monday he had caught five fat rats and a small mouse. He was so tired that fell asleep. Imagine his surprise when at nine o’clock sharp on Monday he was awaken by loud applauses addressed to Freya, who was sitting in the entrance hall with five fat rats and a small mouse in front of her. David Cameroon was praising her and stroking her. The same day she was appointed the Chief Rat-Catchers of Downing Street.

           That’s how, because of cat intrigues, Larry lost his profession. I hope, that thanks to my story, people will learn how everything happened and Larry will be rehabilitated.