Sunday morning was Tam’s favorite morning of the week. Sunday morning was the time when The News of Stockholm issued its Sunday Edition, a ten-page special that covered arts, events, cartoons, puzzles and such. It was delivered to Oluffsen family 8 a.m. sharp, and Tam was always standing by the front door one minute later. He had a few quiet hours to spend with the paper before the Oluffsen family woke up (nothing is sweeter than sleeping in on a lazy Sunday morning, don’t you think?), and he did not want to waste even a single minute.

This Sunday, as usual, Tam was standing by the front door at 8:01 sharp. The delivery boy just pushed the paper through the tiny door slit, and it still smelled of the street and of the fresh black ink spread across its giant pages. Tam loved this smell and would often dream of living at a press where he could watch curious pictures in papers all day long.

The paper was too heavy for Tam to bring all the way to the living room. Instead, he would spread it open on its front page and would turn page after page carefully, taking time to examine every picture, marveling at the world captured in each image.

The front page of this Sunday’s edition had a picture of the Swedish Queen smiling into the camera. Tam liked to see the Queen, because her eyes had a twinkle and she always looked like she knew what Tam was thinking. “Good morning, Your Majesty”, said Tam and carefully turned the page.

The next page had a picture of a tall tuxedoed gentleman dancing with a pretty lady in a white lace gown. The photographer captured the pair in motion, just as they were finishing their lovely waltz. The lady’s face was away from the camera, but you could guess how beautiful she was by the look in the gentleman’s eyes. Tam noticed how happy the gentleman looked, and how gallantly he wore a pretty black bow around his neck.

Tam looked at the picture for a few more minutes, then jumped up, grabbed a piece of twig that fell from a nearby broom and whirled with it in a skillful pirouette.

“Tam?!”

Tut was standing next to the paper, looking perplexed and hungry. “Are you all right Tam?” he asked. “Yes”, abashedly answered blushing Tam and followed Tut into the kitchen.

After lunch that day, when the Oluffsen family left for their afternoon walk, Tut and Tam were climbing the living room curtain to sit on the window sill and watch the tiny people on the streets below. When they reached the sill (Tam first, weary Tut few moments later), they found they were not alone – cat Marquis was already there, napping in the afternoon sun, his noble coat shining under the warm sun rays.

I must say that Marquis and our heroes had a silent agreement going something like this – “don’t trouble trouble until trouble troubles you”. They tried to stay out of each other’s ways, Tut and Tam cautious of the cat’s long sharp claws, Marquis considering dealing with our friends as petty nuisance time that he’d rather spent napping.

That is why, as soon as Tut saw Marquis stretched out on the sill, he turned around and started descending back to the living room floor. Tam, however, was standing still, his eyes glued to a pretty red velvet bow round the cat’s neck.

When Tut realized Tam was not following him, he puffed and panted his way back to the window sill, grumbling that this was the last time he was ever coming back for Tam. As soon as he saw Tam’s intense look, he realized what was about to happen.

“No, Tam! Let’s go back before he wakes up!”

“Tut, you have to help me get it! Quick!”

Tut knew that it was no use talking Tam out of trouble, for trouble and Tam were best friends. Still grumbling, Tut came up to Tam and asked: “So how are we going to get it?”

Tam smiled and pulled out the twig (his dance partner from this morning) that he carried all day tucked away under his caftan belt. He motioned Tut to follow him, tiptoed closer to unsuspecting Marquis, twisted the twig into the bow knot, and untied the knot with one crafty move.

Next thing we know, Tut grabbed the bow, Tam grabbed the twig, and our heroes scurried away and down the curtains faster than the fastest winds. Cat Marquis twisted his left ear, stirred his right whiskers, and rolled over on his other side. The sun was shining.

In their tiny den right behind the living room fireplace, Tut and Tam were reliving their great adventure. Tut was sitting cross-legged on the floor, watching Tam. Tam was waltzing with the courageous twig, red velvet bow wrapped around his caftan like a cape of a gallant prince.

This morning Tut woke up earlier than usual. He stretched out and yawned in his warm cozy bed, which, if you look closely, was nothing else than an eyeglass case, furnished by cotton and soft pieces of cloth. In fact, after Tut got the new bed, dad Gustav was looking for his case that whole week. Not finding it, he went to the store and bought a new one… That’s how Tam got a warm and cozy bed too, leaving dad Gustav only shrug with a perplexed look.

But back to our story. This morning Tut woke up earlier than usual. He stretched out and yawned in his warm cozy bed, after which he immediately thought of eating something tasty. I must say that Tut and Tam lived in the living room, right behind the fireplace, but sometimes Tut wished they lived closer to the kitchen – he would not need to go that far for breakfast every morning.

Tut lay in his bed for a little longer, because it was too early to go to the kitchen – the Oluffsen family was still at home. As soon as Tut heard the front door closing, he came up to Tam’s bed and quietly started to wake Tam up. At that exact moment, Tam was dreaming about the Swedish Queen, whose picture he saw in the paper the night before. He dreamed that the Queen was smiling at him and thanking him for all the wonderful discoveries that he, pioneer and voyager Tam, had made. All of the sudden the Queen somehow spoke in Tut’s voice: “Tam, wake up! Wake up! Morning is here and it’s time for breakfast”.

Tam loved Tut very much, but this morning he wished Tut wasn’t so partial to delicious breakfasts. Tam would never know now what wonderful discoveries he, pioneer and voyager Tam, had made and he could only guess.

Grumbling a little bit on this exact matter, Tam followed Tut into the kitchen. Mom Erika was surely in a hurry this morning as the table was showing the signs of a hasty breakfast – pieces of thinly sliced rye bread huddled on a plate next to bright sunny round of Swiss cheese with holes and a small mountain of freshly picked cloudberries shadowed over a mug with milk… A mug with milk!! Milk!! Only Tut’s favorite thing in the whole wide world!! Faster than you could say “Tut and Tam”, Tut jumped on the round of cheese, hopped from the cheese to the cloudberry mound, and from there straight into the milk!

Whoosh!!

Poor Tut did not realize that the mug with milk was full to the brim! “Ta-a-a-a-a-m!” was all Tam could hear, but it was enough for him to know that Tut was in trouble – he could not swim.

Mustering all his gumption and wit, Tam searched the kitchen table for something – anything – that could help poor Tut. A breakfast bun? No, a bun wouldn’t work – it would only soak the milk in and get soft. A slice of lime? No, lime wouldn’t work – it would only drown to the bottom of the mug. Desperate, Tam was trying to remember his physics teacher Kin Kin and his lessons, during which Tam would dream of far away adventures and wonderful discoveries instead of learning the properties of milk.

At last, Tam saw a long silver spoon buried into the mountain of cloudberries. Faster than the cat Marquis chasing after the naughty mice, Tam ran to the mountain, pranced up, dug out the spoon and submerged it into the milk.

Whew!!

Just in time, as Tut’s green velvet caftan was starting to weigh poor Tut down to the bottom of the treacherous mug. Tut grabbed onto the spoon, climbed up, and sat down on the curled mug handle. He was smiling.

“That was a whole lot of milk” Tut said. He clumsily came down the handle, walked up to Tam, and gave him a milky hug. At that exact moment, Tam felt happier than the most wonderful discoverer, pioneer and voyager in the whole wide world.