A tale of two nouns

Plural noun
Same plural noun
Plural noun
Plural noun
Plural noun
Plural noun
Plural noun
A place
Adverb
Adjective
Noun
Plural noun
Plural noun

OK,ready?

It was the best of _____, it was the worst of _____, it was the age of _____, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of _____, it was the season of Light, it was the season of _____, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of _____, we had _____ before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to (the) _____, we were all going _____ the other way — in short, the period was so far like the _____ _____, that some of its noisiest _____ insisted on its being received, for good or for _____, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

— from Penguin Classics Mad Libs, by Roger Price and Leonard Stern.

So, according to my sister,

It was the best of cats, it was the worst of cats, it was the age of dogs, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of mushrooms, it was the season of Light, it was the season of matrices, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of dice, we had mice before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Tuscany, we were all going slowly the other way — in short, the period was so far like the pretty book, that some of its noisiest books insisted on its being received, for good or for trains, in the superlative degree of comparison only.