Then, one day, someone took Mittens to live somewhere else. I was so sad to see her leave, but happy that she’d always have a warm bed to sleep in and yummy food whenever she wanted it. Living in a nice, warm house was Mittens’ dream and it was coming true.

After she left, I sulked around. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t even come out when the man came who fed us. After a while, everyone thought that I had left. Then, one day, I was thinking about how Mittens’ dream came true, and I decided that it was time to help make my own dream come true. I would become a real life pirate.  I would find my own ship and I would sail the seas.

Finding a ship shouldn’t be hard. I lived in Florida which is surrounded by a lot of water. There had to be boats somewhere. The next morning, I packed up my few things and headed out towards the closest water that I knew of. When I got there, I followed a man who looked like he might be a sailor. I was right! He led me right to the biggest boats that I had ever seen.

I walked up the dock. The further I walked, the bigger the boats became. Some of them were big enough to have entire cities on them! I wasn’t interested in a boat that big. I wanted a smaller boat, one where I wouldn’t get lost every time I tried my paw at swashbuckling.

I decided that I had better head back the way that I had come. Sure enough, the boats kept getting smaller, but they were all pretty big. I was about to give up by the time that I got to the end of the dock. All of the ships were just too big for this pirate cat. Then, right there, at the very end of the dock was the perfect pirate ship! As I stood there watching, they even lowered a gangplank. This was the ship for me.

Keeping my eyes on the gangplank, I slowly approached the boat. This was the part that I wasn’t sure about. I couldn’t just take over their ship. That would be like the bad pirates that I had heard about. I didn’t want to be one of those. I wanted to be the kind that swished swords as they sang sea shanties. That kind didn’t seem like they would just take over a ship. I guessed it was time to talk to the captain.

I had perfect timing. As soon as I got to the end of the gangplank, the captain appeared at the top. He was a tall man with a big, bushy beard that was as white as the ocean spray. His face looked like it had been in the sun for days, but he had a twinkle in his eyes that gave me the confidence to walk up the gangplank towards him.

When I reached the top, he smiled down at me while I saluted him.

“Why are you saluting me?” he asked.

“You’re the captain of this fine ship, aren’t you?”

“Yes, yes I am.”

“Then you deserve the respect of a simple salute.”

Sadie could have sworn that the man blushed beneath his rugged tan.

“Well then, Miss, what can I do for you?”

“I would like to officially join your crew as a pirate. I will swab the decks, swashbuckle, sing sea shanties, and wear a fancy hat. I would prefer not to wear an eyepatch though. Those are hard to see through.”

“Have you ever been to sea? It can be a rough life.”

“I have not, but my life up until now hasn’t been easy.”

Sadie told the captain about her life in the schoolyard and how her friend, Mittens, had followed her dreams and now it was time for her to do the same. The captain nodded often, listening to her tale.

“That does sound rough. Well, Miss…I’m sorry, what is your name?”

“Sadie, sir.”

The captain smiled. “Well, Miss Sadie, if you’re sure you want to do this, we would be happy to have you. Come aboard.”

Sadie smiled and picked up her bag. She took one last look around and then marched up the gangplank, ready to start her life as a pirate.