Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Stark there lived a benevolent King and Queen. One day a pussy cat came to the castle door. The pussy cat told the King and Queen that his name was Hughie and that he was looking for a home. The King and Queen were delighted and offered Hughie to stay as long as he liked. Hughie grew up to be a handsome cat and traveled around the kingdom being admired by all the inhabitants of the Kingdom and chasing after the birds and lizards.

One day the Queen came to the King and said Hughie needed to settle down and have a home of his own. The King agreed and ordered his carpenters to add a special room onto the castle. On hearing this, Hughie was so overjoyed that he yawned and fell asleep on the chair.

This might have ended the story except the room was built on land that the villagers, Birds, Raccoons, Skunks and Possums, who lived near the castle, looked upon as theirs to use and enjoy. In this group was a band mischievous Raccoons who lived in the woods near by and in the past raided the castle for Hughie’s food. They were not going to take this lying down.

To put an end to the Raccoons stealing of the food, the King decided that the new room was to be locked at all times. Hughie would be given a special key to the door so only he could enter the room. As the time came near for Hughie to move into his new home the King instructed Hughie on how to use the key.

Unknown to the King the Raccoons found out about the class and watched as the King instructed Hughie.

The day finally came and Hughie moved into his new home. That night, the King went to bed knowing that Hughie and the food were safe.

The next morning, to the Kings surprise, Hughie was there fast asleep but the food was gone. The King checked the door to make sure the door was locked and then woke Hughie up and asked him what happened to the food. Hughie said he didn’t know anything about the food, yawned and went back to sleep.

The next night the same thing happened. All the food was gone and when questioned Hughie would just yawn and look at the King in his bored way and go back to sleep.

On the third night the King decided to stay up and watch. Unfortunately the King was very tired from working on state business all day and soon fell asleep. Once again in the morning all the food was gone. Determined to stay awake the next night, the King finally found out what was going on.

As Hughie was being taught how to use the door, the Raccoons learned how to enter the room without the key. They would reach under the door edge with their fingers and pull the door open. There was the leader of the band of raccoons in the room, headed straight for the food. The King jumped up from his hiding place, with broom in hand, and chased him out of the room.

The next day the King had the carpenters fix the door. Thinking that that would end the problem, the King went to bed knowing that the food was safe.

The Raccoons were not ready to give up on getting the food. Next to the door was a screened window which they easily removed and entered the room. The King was furious and had the window fixed. The King said to the Queen, "Enough is enough". The only solution to the problem is to capture the band of outlaws. The King called in his Captain of the Guard and ordered him to set a trap.

The next day the trap was sprung, the food was gone and no Raccoon. "How could this happen," said the King? The Raccoons had cut a hole in the side of the trap, reached in and got the food.

The following night, the Raccoons broke the door in and gained entry into the room.

With a new trap set, the King was assured that the culprits would be caught. Just as assured, the Raccoons cut another hole in the trap and got the food. But to make a point that they would not be put off, the Raccoons filled the trap with stones.

This time a reinforced trap was set and the first outlaw was caught. The King was ready to send the culprit to the block, but the Queen pleaded their case and the King agreed to release the Raccoon after a stern lecture on the pitfalls of stealing and the agreement that they would stop the raids.

This lasted for at least three days before the Raccoons were at it again. This time the whole band was captured and brought before the King. The Queen once again pleaded their case. She pointed out that the land that was used for the room was considered the peoples property and used by all the inhabitants of the Kingdom. The King, being a benevolent King, agreed not to send the Raccoons to the block, but to banish them from the Kingdom. To compensate the people for the loss of the land, the King agreed to provide a weekly food ration for everyone.

Peace reined over the Kingdom, Hughie had his room, the people (Birds, Raccoons, Skunks, and Possums) did not go hungry, and the King was able to go to sleep knowing that his food stores were safe.

End of Story.