With a round moon hung above, the stage turns bright as the narrator–a good-looking tomcat with black and white stripes–pleasantly introduces his friend Jennyannedots, a Gumbie cat to us. From his vivid description, we can draw a hazy outline of this mystery cat who has a tiger’s stripes and a leopard’s spots, and always sits drowsily around the house. The tomcat then strides to the vintage iron box with metallic silver sheen, out of which the Gumbie cat comes with a big yawn.
Three little cats sitting on a podium behind the stairs now sing about Gumbie’s concern for the mice, shaking their heads and pointing to Gumbie as she trots toward her fellows. When Gumbie complains about the mice’s uncivilized behaviors, four rats with pointy mouth show up and sit in a line, learning tatting and crocheting by copying what Gumbie shows them.
The black-and-white-striped cat sings again, looking at Gumbie affectionately, while Gumbie archly pulls a hair from him, watching it drifting down with her head spinning around and around. Then the three little kittens come into center stage, telling the story of how Gumbie helps cockroaches develop good habits. After taking off her heavy coat, Gumbie strikes a pose on the stage and then march solemnly through the troop of roaches who are blowing the ‘trumpet’. When the cheerful song rings out, Gumbie and those roaches tap dance together, after which the troop steps into a good formation, waving those cooking utensils as if they are real weapons. Then the agile cats, the mouse scout and the beetles join to the tap dance on the stage together, and the four-minute scene concludes.
