Some cats sleep curled in a ball,

Oscar sleeps in a sprawl.

 

Most cats are quiet when they doze by the fire;

Oscar sounds like a choir.

 

His whiskers twitch, his ears flick

His tail goes pit-a-pat.

 

He's dreaming of his other lives,

When he's The Moonlight Cat.

 

 

When the moon is up, Oscar cleans his paws,

Stretches his claws,

and says, 'I'm going out.

There may be something about.

 I wouldn't want to miss it.'

 

I open the door and wave him goodbye.

'Have fun,' I say, and he closes one eye

As if he knows a secret.

 

What does he do out there in the night

When the moon is riding high and bright?

I know he’s got something up his sleeve…

And I think it’s a game of make-believe –

But Oscar won’t admit it!

 

 

 

 

The quarter moon rides on the clouds, billowing to and fro.

"A pirate ship!" says Oscar, "Look lively! Yo ho ho!"

 

He smiles and twitches an ear-ringed ear.

"I'm Cap'n Oscar Moonlight, the fearless buccaneer."

 

He shades his eyes with a paw and peers round and about.

"There's Spanish gold hid somewhere, and I mean to have it out!" 

 

The gold is under the lily leaves, feeling rather shy.

It whispers *"Cuidado del Gato!" and winks a fishy eye.

 

A flick of a tail and it's gone, among the twining roots;

"Eow!" says Cap'n Moonlight, "well bless my old sea-boots!

 

A cat can't get his paws wet, for all the gold in the sea.

I shall give up being a pirate; it's not the life for me"

 

He strikes the Jolly Roger and puts his cutlass by

Off with his golden earring, (but not the patch on his eye)

 

"Farewell to my peg leg and parrot, farewell to my baccy and grog,

I'm a-going to be a land-cat, instead of an old sea-dog.

 

 

*This is Spanish for "Beware of the cat!"

 

 

 Halloween Moon

 

It’s Hallowe'en, and through the mist

The moon peers, ghostly white

A will o' the wisp, a phantom,

Gliding through the night.

 

Shadows haunt the trees

All the world is black.

"The garden's full of spooks!"

Says our fearless cat,

 

“Let me get out and at 'em!

I’ll give ‘em a surprise!”

He puts his head through the catflap.

Just then, the screech-owl cries.

 

Where is our bold brave Hero?

Is he out there in a brawl?

No. He's underneath the sideboard

And he's crouched down very small.

 

He says "I've just remembered -

can't think how I forgot;

Spooks are not really nasty,

They're a charming, friendly lot;

 

But very shy and nervous.

I might give them a fright

If I go out in the garden……

So I'll stay here, out of sight.”

 

 

 December Moon

 

Oscar salutes the Christmas moon;

"Round as a pudding,

Bright as a balloon,

It's carol-singing time!"

 

Up on the fence goes Oscar,

"I’ll give them 'Silent Night'”

He thinks he nearly knows the tune

But he doesn’t get it right.

 

Windows open on every side;

The neighbours are all awake.

"Oh no! It’s ‘Noisy Night’," they cry,

"Go home, for goodness' sake!"

 

Pennies rain down all around

"Luckily, most of them missed us,"

Says Oscar, dashing for the door

"I'm stopping inside for Christmas!"

 

 

 Hunter's Moon

 

Rat-ta-ta-ta-TUM!

The autumn moon

 is round as a drum

ta-ta-TUM!

Close to the ground

With never a sound

Creeps Oscar, the mighty hunter!

 

Rat-ta-ta-ta-TUM!

Booms the jugle drum

ta-ta-ta-TUM! Ta-ta-TUM!

You'd better go inside,

You'd better go and hide

Here comes the mighty hunter!

 

He's prowling about

He'll soon find you out

You won't here him coming

Says the drum.

 

Like a phantom in the night

He will give you such a fright

When he springs from the shadows,

ra-ta-TUM!

 

Is he here? Is he there?

He could be anywhere

'Run, run away,' says the drum.

By the tree, by the wall, anywhere at all.

You won't know 'til he pounces,

ra-ta-TUM!'

 

 

You lie flat against the ground

And you think you can't be found...

But ‘You can never hide from Oscar!' says the drum.

Rat-a-TUM!

 

 

 

 

Limbo, limbo! The carnival moon

Dances through the branches of the tree

They're all dressed up in the garden tonight

Carnival time - it's a wonderful sight

Come on! Let's go and see.

There's a butterfly, a Beefeater and Little Bo Peep

Look! An Astronaut, a cucumber, a chimney sweep

And who's that over there?

 

Samba! Rumba! It's Oscar the clown,

Somersaulting, vaulting through the air.

Watch him dance along the wall -

Do you think he=s going to fall?

Has he got no fear at all?

Does he care?

 

Tightrope walking! Oscar the clown

Never has a harness or a net.

He has no need of things like that,

Because he’s not a scaredy-cat,

And he’s never fallen yet.

 

Danceband, handstand, over he goes!

Keeping to the rhythm, Cha-cha-cha!

Now he's standing on one leg

While he juggles with an egg -

There's no scrap of doubt about it -

He’s a star!

 

 

 New Moon

 

The new moon is a promise,

A sliver of light, a door in the night

That no-one can see through.

 

Up in the tree, Oscar watches

Watches the door in the sky,

Will the wind blow it shut?

Will it open wide?

What is it like on the other side?

 

The stars hold out a promise.

Could I jump from a star,

To the magical door?

Could I go through?

 

 

 Finale

He’s a pirate, a hunter, an expert on spooks,

A clown, and the lead in a choir.....

When Oscar’s asleep

In a fidgetty heap

In his basket by the fire.