After the Fierce and Fearsome Storm. Lost Barrel, Found Barrel.

The storm rioted on for a whole day and did not simmer down till the middle of the following night. By the time the crew had slept off their fatigue they were ravenously hungry and wondering what on earth they would do without Gnarly Muffins.  Captain Jack B. Black called a meeting on the deck, where the sun was shining so innocently.
       "We are low on provisions and water, and must put into port within a week. G-Thump, report."
       "We lost a barrel of water during the storm, Cap'n, and a barrel of sauerkraut... and we have no more biscuit." G-Thump looked mournfully at Butterchunk, whom he knew was NOT the culprit in the depleted biscuit rations.
       Sharkey glared under his thick brows at Brunhilda and Snarfetta.  "We need a new cook."
       The entire crew looked at the girls then.
       "Oh, FINE," Brunhilda stood up and stalked toward the galley. "Come, Snarfetta.  Let's see what sense we can make of this."

       Meanwhile, miles away out in the middle of the water floated a barrel of sauerkraut.  It found a beach and washed up and waited.  Some way farther out floated a loose log with a languishing Gnarly Muffins straddling it.  The cat, very... shall we say, upset... and woozy, straddled Gnarly Muffins.  Unfortunately for Gnarly Muffins a frantic cat is not the most pleasant thing to have on your back during an already uncomfortable sea voyage on a log.  If Gnarly Muffins were as smart as that barrel of sauerkraut, which he was not, he would have realized that a floating log meant he was close to land.  Boodlemeister (who was a good deal smarter than the barrel of sauerkraut) saw the island first.
      "Rrraaa!" Boodlemeister said, which translates as: "Turn to the starboard, mate, land ho!"
      "I know, Boods," Gnarly Muffins croaked. "I'm thirsty too.  And hundry.  And wet."
      "Rrrraap, raa, meow!" Which means, "And daft.  LOOK STARBOARD, you pantywaste."  And by some miracle of nature Gnarly Muffins looked to his right. 
      "Is that a barrel of sauerkraut?  I'm delirious."
      "Mrrr."  I would translate that but what the Boodlemeister was saying here would not sound nice nor politically correct.
       "Boodle, we're saved."  And soon they washed ashore, and right after they drank out of the tributary (far out of the backwash, of course) Gnarly Muffins opened the sauerkraut and tucked in.  Boodlemeister said,"pft," to the sauerkraut and with a soggy flick of the tail stalked off into the bushes to sleep and dream of fat mice (of which, fortunately for him, there were plenty on the island).

They Lose a Cook and a Cat to a Storm

Fizzy Bottle slouched around on the deck.  His watch, middle of the night.  Fizzy Bottle was so lazy and dumb he did not see the roiling clouds on the horizon, and stood with his back to that horizon the entire watch.  Boodlemeister slept nearby on a coil of rope.  Boodlemeister could sleep anywhere, any time.  Boodlemeister was even fatter than Butterchunk.  This was partly the fault of Gnarly Muffins, who fed the Boodlemeister not only fish heads but also bits of potato and biscuit. Giving cats potatoes and biscuit of course was forbidden by the Captain, and therefore Gnarly Muffins did it anyway.
       One would think that the solid weight of the Boodlemeister would have proved an indemnifying factor in the Sad Tale I am about to relate.  However, soon the deck began to pitch and the wind to blow wildly.  Fizzy Bottle took this as a sign that his watch was over and went to fetch Gnarly Muffins, his replacement for the four hours before dawn.
       Fizzy shook Gnarly Muffins and when he shooed him away dumped him out of the hammock onto the weaving floor. The thud woke not only Gnarly Muffins but also the Bo'sun whose hammock was next to that of the cook.  Bo'sun opened an eye and glared at his shipmates momentarily.  But he popped out of bed (Gnarly Muffins was still moaning about his butt and rubbing his eyes).
       "That is a mother of a storm brewin', mates.  Never mind th' confounded watch, you idiots!  Cap'n!  Sharkey! G!"  The Bo'sun threw on a shirt and scampered aft amongst the barrels, dumping crewmembers on the floor as he ran.  Crew lurched out of bed and hammock, and soon all were wildly hoisting anchor and unfurling and battening and all that. Brunhilda and Snarfetta cowered in their bower with Butterchunk, until of course they simultaneously noticed an absence and cried out, "Boodlemeister!"  Only a missing cat could lure them out on the deck at a time like this and indeed, they were not wanted. Two little girls have a way of getting underfoot - literally - on a dark and stormy ship. The Whiskey Witch rocked to and rocked fro, the wind cracked and spat at the ship like a wild cat, and poor Boodle clung to the rope with his claws.  He only looked a little thinner wet.
      "Boodle!!"  Screamed the girls. The pirates needed the rope but they could not pry that cat loose.  Finally came Gnarly Muffins, who somehow grabbed the cat and....
       They all saw it happen.  The wind swept in, picked up Gnarly Muffins and flung him overboard port with the cat.  Then they all looked at Fizzy Bottle who stood nearby and who weighed about 200 pounds less than Gnarly Muffins (and Boodlemeister).
       I am sorry to say that the girls both cried, "Cat overboard!" and "BOODLE!!!"  and burst into tears.
       The scowling Captain, dark skin gleaming in the wet, glanced at the girls and bellowed, "Man overboard!"  All hands rushed to the port side and scanned the water but it was hopelessly dark and the waves were coming in twenty meter surges.  They threw out ropes and at last one of them tossed a tube out just in case Gnarly Muffins should somehow find it in the dark. They went back to saving the ship from the storm, a dreary and tiring business. The young ladies weepily went back below deck to comfort themselves with Butterchunk and Petunia.