A black cat, two inventive brothers, and a childhood prank that could have gotten us expelled from school
By Ovi Catanescu, based on my memories and those of my brother, Adi
The Owl Never Forgets.
During our childhood in Brăila, Romania, the courtyard of our apartment building was the setting for many of our adventures.
But our activities were by no means limited to that courtyard. We had friends throughout the neighborhood, and sometimes our mischief took us much farther.
Among our neighbors was Mrs. Basturea.
She was a teacher at our school, a stern woman who didn't exactly enjoy the friendliest relationship with the neighborhood boys.
She also had a grown son whose nickname was “Whale.”
The Basturea family owned a black cat and a small Spitz-like dog that had a habit of chasing children.
I remember that the dog once bit our friend Bebe Pătrașcu.
Bebe, for that matter, had a remarkable talent for finding himself in all kinds of trouble. Adi also remembers another occasion when a young horse kicked Bebe near a cafeteria, sending him flying into a pile of sand.
But let's get back to the cat.
The Sipos Brothers’ Balcony
Two of our friends were Tibi and Doru Sipos, both older than Adi and me.
They lived on the ground floor of our apartment building, next to the families of Bebe Pătrașcu and Metaxa.
We lived on the first floor, in a different stairwell.
The Sipos brothers' apartment had an extraordinary advantage for boys who were always up to something: a balcony facing the street.
From there, it was possible to come and go without being seen by the people in the inner courtyard.
The Sipos brothers' mother was a nurse, and there were syringes in the apartment.
Naturally, we discovered an entirely different use for them.
We filled them with water, hid on the balcony, and squirted unsuspecting pedestrians.
Especially girls!
The thin streams of water reached all the way out into the street, while we remained hidden.
To the people walking by, the water seemed to come out of nowhere.
To us, it was wonderful entertainment.
That balcony became one of our favorite headquarters for mischief.
But one of the most unfortunate incidents connected with the Sipos brothers' apartment involved Mrs. Basturea's black cat.
The Black Cat
I no longer remember exactly how the cat ended up inside the Sipos brothers' apartment.
But I do remember that this was where the incident took place.
The cat was black, and we came up with the cruel idea of changing its appearance.
We shaved the fur off its tail until it looked like a rat's tail.
But we didn't stop there.
Using melted tar, we attached ink bottle stoppers to its paws.
Whenever the poor cat tried to walk, the stoppers struck the floor, making a strange clattering noise that frightened it even more.
To us, in the thoughtlessness of childhood, it was a joke.
To that poor cat, it must have been a terrifying experience.
Afterward, the cat was released through the Sipos brothers' balcony onto the street.
Fortunately, as far as we remember, it recovered completely and suffered no lasting harm.
But the uproar that followed was something else entirely.
Mrs. Basturea’s Outrage
When Mrs. Basturea saw what had happened to her cat, she was furious.
And she had every reason to be.
There was quite a commotion, but she had one problem.
She didn't know who had done it.
And as far as I remember, she never found out.
For us, the fact that Mrs. Basturea was a teacher at our school made the situation even more dangerous.
If the truth had come out, I'm convinced we would have been expelled.
So we made sure to avoid any direct confrontation with her.
I don't know whether Mrs. Basturea ever suspected us.
I only know that nobody managed to prove who was responsible.
Looking Back
Today, after all these years, I realize just how cruel that incident was.
There is no excuse for what we did to that cat.
We were children, but that doesn't change the fact that the animal suffered because of us.
Fortunately, the cat recovered.
We escaped without being discovered.
And Mrs. Basturea probably spent a long time wondering who had tormented her pet.
Looking back, I realize that some of our childhood pranks were funny, others were dangerous, and a few, like this one, were simply cruel.
Back then, we didn't always understand the difference.
Today, I do.
And that is precisely why even the stories we're not proud of deserve to be told.
Because they, too, are part of our childhood.
The Owl Never Forgets.