Here, Kitty Kitty! (Chick tract)



Here, Kitty Kitty! is a Chick tract whose description is "Bad boys had mean plans for Betsy's kitty. Will help come in time? A great salvation story for children."

Synopsis
In this adorable 2006 Halloween-themed cartoon with Peanuts-inspired artwork, some adorable little kids decide to engage in some adorable ritualistic sacrifice.

Little Betsy's mean brother decides that he and his friends need to kill her cat so that they can cast a spell on the kindly Christian teacher, Miss Johnson. When Miss Johnson catches Betsy crying over her cat's impending doom, Betsy explains the whole sordid plot. Miss Johnson scoffs:


 * Miss Johnson: "But spells won't work on me, Betsy."
 * Betsy: "Why not?"
 * Miss Johnson: "Because Jesus protects me!"

She then seizes the opportunity to witness the good news about Jesus to Betsy, in adorable cartoon format.

Betsy is saved, but she's afraid that her cat may be lost already when she finds an empty cage and is confronted by her brother and his scheming friends. Luckily, Miss Johnson shows up in the nick of time and lets the boys off with a stern warning: "You don't have to do spells to get good grades... Don't do witchcraft... Do your HOMEWORK!"

Commentary
Bashing Halloween is an annual activity for Jack Chick, perhaps because he hopes that homeowners will hand out tracts instead of candy to the mobs of grateful children. Halloween entries from other years include Boo!, Happy Halloween, The Little Princess, The Devil's Night, and The Trick.

The really interesting point here is not the fairly mundane "Let me tell you about Jesus" story, nearly identical in every tract. Rather, the thing to notice is how seriously Chick takes the whole mythos of magic, witchcraft, and ritual sacrifice.

The teacher says, "Spells won't work on me... because Jesus protects me!" Spells won't work on the teacher anyway, with or without the protection of Jesus, because magic is not real. However, it is a frequently repeated theme in Chick tracts that not only are Jesus, heaven, and hell real, but so are witches and magic. To Chick and his ilk, accepting one set of superstitious beliefs seems to require accepting a bundle of other beliefs for which there is no evidence.

Panel-by-panel transcription

 * 1) (Open with two boys and Betsy talking) Boy1:Have we got everything we need? Betsy: Let's see.
 * 2) Boy2: I've got candles. Betsy: I brought chalk. Boy1: Well... I got my book of spells... Then I guess...
 * 3) (Bully enters the scene) Betsy: ...We're all set. Bully: No, You're NOT! You forgot the most important part. Boy1: What?
 * 4) Bully: A black cat! And a knife!
 * 5) Betsy: That's my Fluffy! Bully: It's a black cat! And we need it.
 * 6) Boy1: Come on, Betsy, don't ruin everything! Don't you want the spell to work?
 * 7) Betsy: But I LOVE Fluffy! Bully (out of frame): Look, Halloween's tomorrow night.
 * 8) Bully: Don't be a baby! or Bad things are going to happen!
 * 9) Bully: So, Betsy, are you with us or against us? Betsy: With you.
 * 10) Bully (out of frame):We'll keep the cat in this cage 'til the moon comes up tomorrow night.
 * 11) (In Class) Boy2:Psst... Stop crying, Betsy! Miss Johnson will hear you.
 * 12) Miss Johnson: Betsy... You stay after class. I want to talk to you. Besty: Uh, OK. Boy2(thinking):Oh NO!... What is she gonna do?
 * 13) Miss Johnson: What's the matter, Betsy? Why are you crying? Betsy: They're gonna kill my kitty.
 * 14) Miss Johnson: Who's going to kill your kitty? Betsy: My brother and some other guys.
 * 15) Miss Johnson: Why would they do a thing like that? Betsy: Cuz we're gonna cast a spell on somebody on Halloween night.
 * 16) Miss Johnson: Who are you going to cast a spell on? Betsy: YOU, Miss Johnson!
 * 17) Miss Johnson: But spells don't work on me, Betsy. Betsy: Why not?
 * 18) Miss Johnson: Because Jesus protects me! Betsy: Who's He?
 * 19) Miss Johnson: Jesus is God's Son! He made the universe... And He loves me. Betsy: WOW! Miss Johnson: And he loves you too!
 * 20) Miss Johnson: And he did something very important for you. Betsy: For me? What's that?
 * 21) Miss Johnson: First, everybody does wrong things... Betsy: Even you, Miss Johnson? Miss Johnson: Even me.
 * 22) (Entrance to Heaven, a disheveled boy trying to enter) Narrator: God calls all bad things `sin'. And he won't allow any sin into heaven. Angel: NO!
 * 23) (Outside classroom) Betsy: God won't let me in... just as I am? Miss Johnson: NO, you've got to get clean first.
 * 24) (Walking home) Betsy: With soap and water? Miss Johnson: No, Betsy. He has a much better way!
 * 25) (God Sending Jesus to Earth) Narrator: God loved Betsy so much, He sent His Son to become human - just like you and me.
 * 26) (Walking home) Miss Johnson: His name is Jesus. And He taught us how to love and forgive. Betsy: Even my mean brother? Miss Johnson: Even him!
 * 27) (Jesus carrying the cross) Narrator: God has to punish sins, but Jesus said: Punish me, instead. He took our punishment so we don't have to.* *Rom. 15:3 Isaiah 53:4-6
 * 28) (Walking home) Narrator/Miss Johnson: But taking everybody's sin on Himself cost Him His life. Bible Quote:"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 Betsy: OHH... Then what happened?
 * 29) (Jesus is taken from the cross to the cave) Miss Johnson: They hurt Him terribly, Betsy... And he died. They buried Him... But then...
 * 30) (Shiny Jesus emerges from the cave) Miss Johnson: Three days later, a miracle happened... Jesus rose from the dead! He shed His blood to wash away our sins, so we could go to heaven.
 * 31) Miss Johnson: Do you want to go to heaven? Betsy: Oh Yes, Miss Johnson! Miss Johnson: Well, Betsy... Jesus is the only way to heaven.
 * 32) Miss Johnson: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..."* Want to pray, Betsy? Betsy: YES! Jesus I believe you died for me. Please forgive my sins, and take me to heaven. *Acts 16:31 Narrator: God heard her... And then...
 * 33) Betsy: I feel so clean! God forgave me! I'm going to heaven!
 * 34) (Later) Miss Johnson: Where are they going to cast the spell? Betsy: In your backyard... When the moon is up.
 * 35) Miss Johnson: Why are they casting the spell? Betsy: To get better grades! Thanks for walking me home.
 * 36) (Betsy's yard, empty crate in foreground) Betsy: OH NO! Where's Fluffy??
 * 37) Bully: How come you're not dressed like a witch?? Betsy: I don't want to! Where's Fluffy? Bully: You'll find out!
 * 38) Bully: I thought you'd chicken out... So I took her!... And there's nuthin' you can do about it! Betsy: Oh God! Please save Fluffy!
 * 39) (Night, Miss Johnson's back yard) Bully: The moon is up... We'll sacrifice her NOW! Betsy: NO! Bully: Hold the cat still!
 * 40) Miss Johnson (with flashlight): STOP right there! Bully: It's Miss Johnson! What are you going to do to us??
 * 41) Miss Johnson: Shame on you! Betsy, take your kitty! Betsy: Oh Fluffy! Thank you, Jesus! Miss Johnson: You don't have to do spells to get good grades... Don't do witchcraft... Do your HOMEWORK! Boys and Bully: Ok, Miss Johnson. We're sorry! Betsy: It looks like we both got saved this Halloween, Fluffy.