An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (Alternative)

Chapter 1: Fievel

It was another ordinary night in New York. Fievel was reading about the adventures of Wylie Burp, the great dog sheriff of the Wild West. He imagined himself standing on top of a Western saloon, looking down at Wylie Burp as he was hopelessly surrounded by the Cactus Cat Gang.

"And then, the hero Wylie Burp quinted across the dusty street. Hopelessly surrounded by the Cactus Cat Gang he stood his ground, refusing to back down."

Then Fievel leapt down and rushed to Wylie's side. "Have no fear, Filly the Kid is here!" he shouted bravely. "It's too tough, kid." Wylie warned. "Get out while you still can." But Fievel wasn't willing to back out from a fight. "If yer bitin' the dust, I'm goin' down with ya!" he said confidently. With a flick of his wrist, he took out the guns from his holsters and started firing at the cats, one by one.

Seeing that there's no chance of beating him, the cats ran off. Fievel proudly held up his gun and blew off the smoke. Wylie Burp smiled at the little mouse. "You saved my life. I'll never forget this, kid." he said gratefully. Then, he pulled out the golden star badge from his coat lapel. "Here, son. I want you to have one of these." he said as he handed Fievel the shiny star badge. As Fievel admired the star badge, a silhouette suddenly leapt down from the roof.

Wylie noticed. "Look out behind you, kid!" he shouted. Fievel quickly spun around, took aim and fired a shot. Then, a loud voice rang out. "Fievel, your supper's ready!" Fievel immediately snapped out of his daydream. It was his mother calling. He sighed. "Oh, well." he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Fievel!" Mama Mousekewitz called again. "Coming, Mama!" Fievel yelled as he started to run down the street.

The dark clouds drifted through the night sky and thunder boomed, signaling a storm. Through an alley in a quaint, little box house, Tanya, Fievel's older sister was singing a lovely melody.

"Somewhere, out there, beneath the pale moonlight..." she sang.

As she looked down from her window, she could see the moon's reflection on an enormous puddle. "Someone's thinking of me...And loving me..."  Splat!  A big tomato smashed against the wall near her, stopping her. She continued, "And loving me..." Splat!  This time, a squash splatted against the wall. Getting annoyed, she sang louder, "And loving me...!"  Splat! Crash!  Many vegetables splattered near her window. "Shut up!" someone shouted. Tanya groaned in frustration.

She turned to her father. "Papa, they're throwing fruit and vegetables at me again!" she said, annoyed. But Papa Mousekewitz saw this as a way to getting free food. "Keep singing." he encouraged his daughter as he strummed his violin. "Maybe they will throw some fruit for dessert." After he spoke, a tomato whizzed through the window and Splat! crashed right into the wall of the Mousekewitz household. Mama Mousekewitz sighed as she scooped up some tomato onto a platter. "Another night without cheese." she said, disheartened. She really hoped there would be fresh cheese on the table tonight, but it looks like there's going to be smashed tomato...again.

"Yee-hah!" a loud voice rang out from outside. Then the doors burst open to reveal Fievel. Fievel strolled into the house like a hungry cowboy in a saloon. "Howdy, Mama!" he said, adopting a Southern accent. "I come to rustle me up some grub." Mama Mousekewitz took no heed of his accent as she sprinkled some salt on the tomato.

"Where have you been, Fievel?" she asked a bit sternly. "You're late." Fievel was really excited by the story he discovered. "I had to rescue Sheriff Wylie Burp. He was surrounded by the Cactus Cat gang." he said excitedly. But of course, Mama Mousekewitz believed it was her son's imagination acting up again. "Oh, such a tall tale, Fievel." she said, shaking her head. She then grabbed Fievel's tail and turned him around.

She looked at his little palms. "And dirty hands, too?" she said disapprovingly. She tsked. "Go wash." Fievel groaned as he walked to the sink. "Oh, Mama, I just washed...yesterday!" he said. Papa Mousekewitz was concerned about one thing: the condition that they were in. "I thought things would be better in America." he said sadly. "In Russia, my violins were famous. We never went hungry." Fievel smiled mischievously. "Maybe Tanya should sing again." he said teasingly. Tanya wasn't amused. "Very funny." she said crossly. Then a dreamy smile spread across her face. "You'll see. Someday I'll be a big star." she said with a ruminative sigh. "People will come from miles around." "Yeah, to eat!" Fievel said with a silly giggle.

"Mama!" Tanya said, annoyed by Fievel's teasing. "Fievel...!" Mama Mousekewitz was about to scold her son when suddenly, the entire house shook violently. A nearby train was rushing by so fast that it caused the entire Mousekewitz house to shake with a tremendous force. The Mousekewitz family braced themselves as plates smashed to the floor and the candle fell, consuming the entire room into pitch-black darkness.