僕の好きなことのひとつはお散歩。何よりもこれが大好き！基本的には朝と夕方の２回。パパとママの家族になってから半年くらいは、ずっとお家の中で過ごしてたから、お散歩がこんなに楽しいものだとは知らなかった。それまでは、窓から眺める外の風景には興味があったから出てみたいなと思わなくもなかったけど、「どうしても」というほどでもなかったの。だから、玄関先までちょっと出てみることはあってもその先までは行ったことはなかったんだ。
ある日、パパの案で僕をお散歩に連れ出すということになったんだ。健康のためでもあるし僕も楽しいだろうからって。それで、ママはハーネスとリードとスーパーヒーロー首輪を買ってきた。まあ、スーパーヒーロー首輪は別として、他の２つはいらないんだけどな。ママは無駄使いしちゃったね。初めてのお散歩の日は、少し怖くもあったけど、すっごくエキサイティングしたなぁ。見るものすべてが新鮮でいちいち匂いを嗅いでまわったよ。
お散歩中に楽しいのは、空中を飛んでいる虫とか地面を動いている虫を追いかけること。蝶々や蜂とか蜘蛛やアリとか。夕方のお散歩のときは、蛾を追いかけて、上手く捕まえられたら食べるんだ。これまた、おいしいんだよね。僕の好きなミオ・チキン以上かも。ムカデと遊んだこともあるよ。そのことをママに話したら、ママは僕の耳がペターってなるくらいの悲鳴をあげた。ママの一番嫌いな生き物なんだって。「あんなにたくさん足はいらないでしょ。」ってママは言うけど、僕にとってはそこが面白い。
小さな穴を見つけて手（前足）を入れてみるのも楽しい。なんかの巣だと思うんだけど、何が出てくるか見てみたいし、すごくワクワクするのさ。この間の雨上がりの日に、ある小さな穴に妙に興奮してセッセと掘ってみたんだ。ここほれワンワンとばかりにね。でも、特に何が出てくるでもなく、パパに怒られただけだった。僕の両前足半分くらいは土の靴下履いたみたいになっちゃった。パパは「汚い！」って言って僕をすぐ家に連れて帰り、僕の足は洗われて元の真っ白にもどったよ。ちゃんと自分の舌できれいに洗えるのに、パパはホント僕を赤ちゃん扱いしてる。
僕のお散歩はリード付きでいつもパパが一緒なんだ。なんだかカッコ悪いよね。しかも、リードは僕の走りを邪魔するから、せっかく蝶々とか蜂とか見つけても逃しちゃうんだよね。一人でお散歩できたら楽しさ倍増なんだろうけど、パパやママは絶対にそうさせてくれない。「車がビュンビュン走ってて危ないの。」って言うんだ。僕は「ちゃんと気をつけるから！おねがい！」って訴えるけど、パパとママは「ダメダメ！お外に慣れている猫ちゃんでも車に挽かれたのを何度も見てきたの。絶対に一人でお外はダメ！」って言うんだよね。
最初のころは、パパやママがどこかから帰ってきて玄関のドアを開けたときに、サッとすり抜けることに成功してたんだ。でも、さすがに何度も同じ手には引っかからないよね。パパとママは玄関を開ける前に、買い物バッグやリュックを自分達の前にやり、僕の背丈の位置でそれを盾みたいにして玄関から入ってくる。まるで、水流でもせき止めるかのような格好でね。僕がクスクス笑って、「変な格好！近所の人が見たら笑うんじゃない。」って言ったら、ママは「いいの！ジュノーくんは、逃亡前科が何度もあるからね。」だって。人聞き悪いな。
でも、なぜだろう、上手く逃亡しても近くの駐車場でパパやママが追いつくのを待ってしまうのは。自由に歩いてタッタターって走り回りたいとは思うけど、そんな日は夢のまた夢なのかなぁ。
One of my favorite things is a stroll. I love this more than anything. Basically I go out two times a day, morning and evening. Spending my life only inside for about six months after becoming son of my daddy and mommy, I didn’t know that a stroll was such great fun! So I never desired to get out until my first stroll though I was interested in the scenery that I watched everyday from the window. Once in a while, I felt like going into the scenery, but that's all. I just tried stepping out from the entrance, but I never stepped forward from there.
One day my daddy got an idea for taking me out for a walk, for good health and my pleasure. Then my mommy bought a leash, harness and a super hero collar for me. Except for the super hero collar, I don't think the other two things are required though. Mommy wasted money. My first stroll outside was a little bit scary, but really exciting! Everything I saw was fresh and I sniffed around everything.
During taking a walk, I enjoy chasing flying bugs and crawling bugs, such as butterflies, bees, spiders and ants. On the evening stroll, I eat moths when I could capture it. Actually this is yummy! Maybe it might be better than my favorite Mio Chicken. One time I played with a centipede. When I told this to mommy, she screamed so loudly that my ears became flat like helicopter blades. Centipedes are the creature that she hates terribly in this world. "Such too many legs shouldn't be needed", she mentions, but they interest me.
It’s also enjoyable to find a small hole and put my paws into it. I think that small holes must be something’s nests. I’d like to see what creature shows up from the hole and I get thrilled with it. After rain on the other day, I was excited at one hole and dug it very hard. Drill, baby, drill! But nothing came out and I was just scolded by daddy. Both of my legs looked like wearing mud socks. Daddy said, “Dirt!” and took me home immediately to wash my legs. My legs’ color returned into original one, pure white. I can wash my legs by myself with my tongue. Daddy always treats me as a baby.
My stroll is always along with my daddy and I have to wear harness with a leash. That is too bad and not cool at all! In addition, the leash interrupts my run and I miss flying bugs very often. If I could take a walk by myself, my pleasure would be doubled, but daddy and mommy never let me do so, saying, "Cars are zipping. It's dangerous for you." I appeal to them, "I'll be really careful, so pretty please with sugar on top!" However they say, "No, no, no! We've seen many times that even outdoor cats who are familiar with their territory were hit by a car. You can’t go out by yourself! Never ever!"
In the earlier days, I succeeded in sneaking out when my daddy and mommy came back from somewhere and opened the door. However they were not cheated by my same trick many times. Before opening the door, they put their bags or backpack in front of them like shields at the position of my height, then enter the home. They look as if they stem a stream of water. I snicker and say, “You guys look funny! Neighbors must be laughing you if they see you.” Mommy says, “That’s fine. You have fugitive records.” I don’t like the words.
Nevertheless I don’t know why I wait for my daddy and mommy catching up with me at the nearby parking lot even though I could run away from my home. Although I want to hang around freely and run as much as I want, maybe that is beyond my wildest dreams.