Word: Frolic

 

frolic

[ frol-ik ]

noun

1. merry play; merriment; gaiety; fun.
2. a merrymaking or party.
3. playful behavior or action; prank.

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The party was in danger. The host knew it almost as soon as it started. There were too many conflicts. Too many opinions and everyone wanting to share theirs. And several with no problems telling those people why their opinions were wrong. Even with the good food and good music, the people were causing everything to collapse. 

There was only one thing he could do. One emergency measure the host had with which to salvage the party. He looked around and found the object he needed. It was a small thing. Something that most people would think was just garbage. And yet it was the key to saving the day. 

He went to his closed bedroom door and opened it wide. Then he dropped the item he had retrieved. The crumpled-up piece of paper hit the ground. Nobody even noticed it happen, wrapped up in their own arguments as they were. 

Something emerged from the room. It was small, orange, and furry. A tiny orange tabby kitten. The little animal sniffed at the paper for a moment, then started batting it around. Slowly at first, then with greater energy. He swatted the makeshift toy around, slowly making his way towards the party guests. A moment later, another kitten emerged. An even smaller black kitten that seemed nervous as she sniffed the doorframe. 

The orange kitten pawed at the toy, his black sibling caught sight of it. It was not long before the two kittens were batting the paper around each other and jumping around, and even on top of, each other. They played without a care in the world, rolling around and swatting at each other with the enthusiasm only kittens could muster. 

It was not long before one of the guests caught sight of the animals. She gasped and squealed with joy at the sight. And then a chain reaction occurred. Every single party guest soon forgot what they were arguing about. They were all too enraptured by the playing kittens. 

The orange boy soon disengaged with his sister and went to check out his new admirers. He poked and sniffed the humans, who went wild about it. They extended fingers for the kitten to sniff. The little black kitten soon joined her brother, but moving in a different direction. Both kittens seemed to delight in the new sensations and the attention brought on by the new people. They rolled around, pawing at fingers that were waved in front of them. Fluffy kitten tummies, chins and heads were petted and rubbed. Both human and feline were having a grand time. 

The host let out a sigh of relief. The party was saved. At least for now. Eventually the kittens would grow tired and need to take a nap. And once that happened, all bets were off. Sure the residual joy of playing with kittens would keep everything upbeat and cheerful for a while, but for how long was anyone’s guess. He would just have to hope that the universal truth of kitten playfulness would be able to last the rest of the night.

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Kittens make everything better. I have yet to encounter a situation that would not be vastly improved by the presence of one or more kittens. I dare anyone to come up with such a situation.