A young boy playing in the backyard encounters a strange woman. He awakens and discovers he's changed.
Kid Kat
“You rotten little pest,” a voice boomed in my ears. I leapt from the porch and hit the ground and ran as fast as I could. The porch light glistened off the mist covering the lawn and reminded me of grandma’s silver blanket. I leaned into my turn, eyes wide and heart pounding in my chest. I rounded the corner of the garage and a bottle exploded with a deafening crash somewhere above me. Shards of sparkling glass rained down and I took a deep breath and ran faster.
I skidded to a stop when I realized I was in the woods after dark. Maybe a cat with all its animal instincts would have been okay, but not me. I was a ten year old boy, or used to be. Now I had four legs, paws with claws, whiskers on my face, and a tail that kept twitching and dancing behind me.
It all started earlier today when I was in the backyard playing in my space-mobile that I built with two refrigerator boxes. A lady wearing a long gray cape and a hood walked up to the fence next to the alley and waved for me to come over. I didn’t move at first because Mom told me about being careful with strangers.
“Excuse me young lad,” she said and smiled. “I got turned around and can’t find the library.”
“I know where that is,” I answered. She sounded and looked friendly enough, and there was the fence between us so I walked over to within a few feet of the fence. “You go down this alley for three blocks and you’ll see it on the right.”
That’s when I saw it. It was a huge, purple, ugly boil right on the end of her nose. I knew it wasn’t polite to stare, but I had never seen anything like it. I was worried the thing was ready to jump off her nose and eat mine. I took a few steps back and forgot all my manners.
“Wow that is really…gross,” I blurted out and instantly covered my mouth for saying something rude.
She snarled and threw her hood back and her hair swirled about her head like a black tornado. Her eyes glazed red and her hands made funny gestures as she mumbled under her breath. There was a bright flash and POW, everything went black.
I came awake and looked around and I was in a dark hallway. I felt funny and glanced down and I had four, furry feet. I got scared and hissed and ran down a hallway and through a living room and then a kitchen. My four feet hit the linoleum and they stopped working. It was like trying to run on ice and I fell over and slid on my side and bounced off the baseboard and came to rest next to a white refrigerator. I raised a hand to my face and stared at a brown paw. I’m really a cat, my mind screamed.
I carefully got to my four feet and just stood there. I was scared and confused and didn’t know what to do next. For some reason I decided maybe running in circles was the answer. The problem was my four feet still didn’t work on the slippery floor. During the third sloppy circle I noticed a little girl standing by the kitchen table. I put on all four brakes and skidded to a stop to get a better look. She wore a tattered blue dress, dirty white shoes and the biggest, brown eyes I had ever seen.
Her round face was crinkled into a smile, which suddenly turned into a frown when the sounds of footsteps echoed in my ears. Before I could even turn around, her face went pale and she ran from the kitchen and through the living room, red hair flowing behind her.
"I told you to stay in your room,” a grumpy voice bellowed. “This has gotta end soon.”
I quickly crawled on my stomach and hid under the kitchen table. I glanced out and saw a huge man with long, greasy hair. There was an awful smell coming from him reminding me of a garbage can not emptied all summer long. His face was fire engine red and his breath wheezed as he stared into space. He shook his head and sweat from his nose went flying across the room.
“Kids,” he said and coughed and hacked like he had a huge hair ball lodged in his throat.
I decided the first thing I needed to do was get out of the house and find out how to get changed back to myself. Afterwards, I could maybe come back and help the pretty red-haired girl. I carefully crawled as fast as I could across the linoleum. I guess I wasn’t as fast as I thought, because I had to dodge a huge foot from the troll-like man. I trotted into the living room and turned and he glared at me for a few seconds then leaned against the counter and went into another coughing fit.
I shrugged my furry shoulders and padded down the gloomy hallway. The next instant I bounced off the wall when it sank in that I was a cat. I became dizzy as fear and confusion struck again, especially with the idea of never being a kid again. I sat down and rubbed my face with a paw and tried to think of what to do. There had to be something good about being a cat. I had razor sharp claws and night vision. I could pounce with lightening speed and deadly force. Maybe I could use these to help me get out of the strange house. Once out, I could find the boil-nosed witch. I dearly hoped that after I apologized she would zap me back to the two legged Jacob I used to be.
I continued down the hall and was surprised I didn’t make a sound and then I remembered cats could be really quiet. The first door I came to I heard muffled crying and I stopped and put a paw on the door and scratched.
“Go away,” the little girl cried out. “I lost my cat and don’t want another one. I just want to leave.”
I knew something was wrong here, but wasn’t quite sure what. The foul smelling guy in the other room wasn't a good person. I had a feeling the little girl was maybe in some kind of trouble. I had to get out of the house and tell someone she was here. I put a paw on the door and gave her a silent promise that I would return to help. I went back into the living room and the smell from the guy was awful and made my stomach feel queasy.
He stood at the sink, still doing his funny fits of coughing and hacking. Using my natural cat like stealth I crept past him and noticed the door behind him had some type of opening at the bottom with a piece of cloth hanging in front of it. It wasn’t much bigger than me and I decided it must have been made for a small animal—like me.
I pushed my head through to make sure there wasn’t anything scary waiting for me. Even though there were no lights, my cat eyes allowed me to see and I could tell it was some type of laundry room. I noticed two small bowls by the far wall; one with food and the other looked to be water. I went to the water, gave a quick sniff, stuck a paw in it, licked it off and began to drink. After getting water all over my face, I ate some of the cat foot, but it wasn't as good as a Whopper or Hershey bar. It was dry and tasteless like eating a handful of dirt and I had to lap up some more water. The whole thing was goofy but kind of funny. No hands, no fork.
A sudden scratching off to my left caused me to jump three feet in the air. I landed quietly and spit and hissed at the intruder. Then I giggled when I noticed my deadly intruder was only two inches tall. He sat on his haunches and gave me a whiskered little smile.
“So how you doing fur ball?” he said with a voice that was deeper than what I would have expected from a mouse.
“Not bad cheese biter,” I answered before it even sank in. “Wow, you can understand me,” I whispered in awe, as if it was the greatest secret in the world, right up there with where I kept my lawn mowing money.
“Of course I can. We’re both animals,” he said and began laughing.
“Uh, I’m new at this,” I told him. “Come to think of it, that’s probably a good thing.”
“How do you mean,” he asked around chuckles.
“Because normally a cat would jump on you and have a tasty meal.”
“Hmmm, good point. My mistake.” He scratched his chin with a tiny foot and tilted his head. “I am curious as to why you’re new to this. You don’t look like a, uh, kitten. And what’s your name?”
“My name is Jacob, and don’t tell me it’s a funny name for a cat.”
He shook his head vigorously and sat quietly as I told him what happened. When I finished, I felt surprisingly better and waited for my listener to respond. I couldn’t believe I waited for a mouse to tell me what he thought about my problem.
“A big boil?” he asked.
“Really huge.”
“And ugly?”
“Stop a tidal wave,” I said with raised brows.
“Told her the boil looked terrible?”
“It slipped out,” I said in my own defense. “Uh, then I might have laughed at her a little.”
“Hmmm,” is all he said and rolled his eyes. “The question is, uh, excuse me cat, are we day dreaming?”
“My name’s Jacob, and don’t tell me it’s a weird name for a cat.”
“Don’t worry, I heard you the first time.” He took a deep breath and made a gesture as if wiping off a grin. “Like I was saying did you get this way for a purpose or were you in the wrong place at the wrong time?”
“I need to find the witch,” I said, thinking how this mouse was quite smart. “Then scratch her on the head until she turns me back into my real self.”
I got up and paced in nervous circles around the mouse. The thought of being a cat forever, even though kind of cool worried me and my heart pounded in my chest. I heard tinkling of glass in the kitchen and then a soft voice.
“Anything else?” the little girl asked, followed by a loud sniffle. “Anymore cleaning?”
There was such sadness in her voice like someone stole all her dolls and ripped their heads off. I hunched my shoulders and felt bad as it sounded like she was probably in a mess the same as me.
“No,” the gruff man said, his irritating voice causing my ears to ache. “Get back in your room. And keep that cat out of here. I don’t know how it got back in.”
This guy wasn’t so smart and must have forgotten about the little door. Anger flared suddenly and I wanted to charge into the kitchen and attack the mean man. I figured I could do some serious damage with my four sets of sharp claws. I would jump on his back and scratch him until he said he was sorry for being so awful. Yet, I knew I wasn’t a hero and the first thing to do was getting back to being Jacob.
“I gotta get out of here.” I felt like the walls were slowly closing in on me, and I covered my face with my furry paws. I figured if I counted to ten I would wake up and see it was nothing more than some crazy nightmare from eating too much candy.
“One, two, three, I don’t wanna be. Four, five, six, in this fix. Seven, eight, nine, I think it’s time. TEN, TEN, TEN, be home again.”
I opened my eyes and I was still in the small room. The mouse stood a foot from my face. He had his front paws on his hips and was tapping one of his feet as he stared at me.
I rolled my cat eyes and sighed. “This isn’t a dream," I whispered.
“I knew that,” he said and snickered. "Oh, I think I have an idea.”
“Tell me, tell me,” I said between clenched teeth, trying not to hiss.
“You have to make noise like someone is at the door. I've seem it before. That guy will come and see what's going on. When he opens the door, run outside as fast as you can.”
It sounded like a good idea and I glanced around the gloomy laundry room. A broom handle was propped up in the corner and I tilted my head and thought how to get the handle next to the door to do some tapping so the big ogre of a man would come and check it out.
I quickly discovered cat paws weren't really good for grabbing a handle. Each time I stood on my hind legs and tried to grab it I slipped and smacked my jaw on the handle. After the fourth try, my jaw hurt and my paws were sore. My pride was also bruised with the way mouse was rolling around, along with his irritating squeaky laughter.
I stopped for a moment and glared at him with dangerous cat eyes. “I wonder if I were to uh…bite your tail, maybe you would squeak loud enough to bring the guy out here.”
He let out one last high-pitched squeal and rolled over and stood on quaking back legs. “Sorry. You looked so silly smacking your, uh anyway, sorry.” He stared at the broom handle and rubbed his whiskered face and suddenly his eyes lit up. “Hey, I got it.”
“Oh no,” I moaned and put a paw to my head. The story about cats having nine lives wasn’t that clear to me, but if so, I didn’t want to lose three or four because of bad ideas from a giggly mouse.
“Don’t look so worried,” he said. “This is going to work. The way the broom is leaning in the corner, all you have to do is use your body and push it so it falls in front of the door.”
“Oh mouse,” I said excitedly. “You are a smart little fellow.”
I walked to the broom and got my side against the handle and pushed. It slid along the wall and I kept pushing until it rested across the door. Right next to the door was a washer and dryer which I jumped onto. I liked the way my muscles felt when I used them for the short leap. I couldn’t help it and stretched my front legs by leaning forward, and then stretched my back legs the same way, marveling at the sheer power. I hunched my back and let out a loud sigh and stretched some more.
Mouse cleared his throat and said, “If you’re done feeling cool, I suggest you try and reach the handle.” He stood on his hind legs, leaned against the wall with one leg crossed over the other and tapped his foot. So un-mouse like, I thought.
I reached out a paw and pushed the handle away from the window and let it fall back. It made a bang, which I hoped was loud enough to get the guy to come out. I waited a minute and when nothing happened, I reached out and hit the handle again. I figured if I kept banging enough the guy would have to come out.
“You know mouse,” I said, as I continued my work. “This could happen fast.” Bang went the handle. “So do me a favor.” Bang. “And watch the girl for me. There’s something not right here. But the first thing is to get out of this house and then see if I can come up with some help.” Bang. “And thanks.”
“Your quite welcome,” he said and hunched his shoulders every time the handle smacked the window. “You just be careful and bring help. I don’t like that guy either. He’s worse than a…mad, hungry cat.” I looked down and he was giggling and then he winked, which I was sure was un-mouse like. I laughed and tried to wink back but my two eyes kept closing at the same time. I was about to complain when I heard the sound of feet approaching.
“Alright, keep your shirt on. I’m coming.”
Footsteps pounded the floor and I pushed the handle so it would fall back into the corner. It traveled out and magically stood upright for a second then fell back against the window. Bang. Great, this was going well. If he saw the broom leaning up against the door he would know the noise had been coming from inside. I pushed again and almost fell off the dryer and the footsteps got closer and closer, as the handle went out and once again came back towards me. I cuffed it a good one and let out a little hiss and it flopped into the corner as the door knob slowly turned. I jumped down between the dryer and the wall and backed up into the shadows. The door flew open and a blinding light flooded the room.
“It’s probably those bratty neighborhood kids again,” he grumbled. He stood at the door for a few seconds and then whipped it open. “Aha, caught you little grubbers.”
While he was looking left and right, I took a deep breath and shot out of my cubby hole and bolted between his legs and out the door. I hit the porch and jumped the four steps to the ground and headed for the corner of the garage.
“You rotten little pest,” he screamed.
And that’s how I got to where I was—in the woods. Fear caused my hair to bristle and, I didn’t have a clue on what to do next. At least I was out of the house, but as I looked around into the shadows I wondered if it was a good or bad thing. Every time I inhaled, my nose was flooded with all kinds of strange odors. I wondered if this was why animals acted weird sometimes as all the smells confused them to the point of running around in circles.
Everything was so different. The brush was thick and three times my height, well as a cat. I just stood there and listened and smelled. The longer I stood there the easier it became with the idea that I was a cat. I was still scared and confused, yet there was a feeling inside telling me it would be okay. My tail seemed to have grown a life of its own and whipped and snapped behind me. It looked like a fuzzy snake and I hissed a few times and turned in circles and pretended to strike at the annoying snake.
“Whew, you’re one tough cat.”
The sudden voice scared me and I jumped straight up in the air and could see over the brush. They swayed in the slight breeze like waves moving across a lake. I landed quietly on all fours and went into an instant crouch. I searched the shadows with my new cat eyes and was amazed on how good I could see in the dark.
A set of eyes a few inches from the ground moved out of the shadows of a rotten log. When the body came into view I saw my caller was a skunk. He looked around nervously and his tail was pointed to the night sky. He didn’t look very big and somehow I knew he was maybe younger than me. Great, a kid skunk, but at least he was a kid.
“Is it safe?” he asked. “You looked like you were ready for a big fight” His tail quivered and shook like an arrow which made me a little nervous, yet I couldn’t help but giggle.
“Yeah it is. I was just practicing. But who would be crazy enough to mess with you. I know you can really stink things up with one squirt.” He kept looking this way and that and acted as if he hadn’t heard me.
“Oh my, whatever was chasing you I hope it has left?” His eyes kept circling in every direction like a pin ball on one of my Play Station games.
“Like I said, can’t you just squirt?”
“Why yes, but I only squirt when my life is in danger. The smell follows me for days and makes me sick to my stomach. I can’t sleep or eat. Plus, nobody wants anything to do with me for the longest time. I guess they worry I might slip or something and squirt again.”
He hung his head and sighed. I’d never thought about it that way, but it made sense. I remembered when the school bus hit a skunk last year and the smell blasted my nose and hurt my eyes for days. But being me, I couldn’t help but maybe tease him a little.
I looked around and acted like I knew what I was doing. “Well, I think we’re alone. I hope anyway. Whew, wouldn’t want to meet him again.”
His shiny fur glistened under the moon. He was different from what I always imagined a skunk to be. His speech was slow like he just woke up from a long nap. His little brown eyes were sort of droopy and watery and never stopped moving.
“So you weren’t running from something?”
“Well, not at the moment.” I wondered how much to tell him and held back a laugh, wondering how much he would believe anyway. “There’s a real mean man in the house I just ran from. I barely escaped with my life. I mean wow, this guy was ugly and his eyes bulged and he snarled a lot. It’s okay though, he didn’t follow me into the woods—I hope.”
“Oh good,” he mumbled. “My name is Stinky.”
His eyes lit up suddenly and he began to dig. Pieces of dirt and grass flew behind him in every direction and I knew I could do that with my four feet. He stopped digging and stuck his nose in the hole and pulled out a big fat grub. I stared wide eyed, as he bit the slimy thing in half and threw his head back and happily chomped the two pieces.
"Wow, do those really taste good? And I’m Jacob.”
“Yes…you told me already. And yes, I like these. Do you want one?”
I shook my head and snapped my tail. Cat or not, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like them. “Uh, no thanks, I’m not into grubs. But thanks anyway.” I was thinking of a nice big Whopper and fries and a thick milk shake.
He got a hurt look on his dark, furry little face and turned his head and swallowed. “I have to eat you know,” he said in defense.
“I know, I know. It’s just I’m a cat and prefer other things. Though it did look kind of cool the way you chomped it in half and then swallowed it. It would have grossed out my Mom, for sure.”
I giggled thinking Stinky would have been grossed out for sure if he had seen me attack my first bowl of chocolate pudding. I saw pictures of it, and Mom had on a bib even bigger than mine. I asked her once if she ever wore a mask and snorkel when she fed me and I got one of those Mom looks saying I might be swimming in deep, deep pudding without a mask and snorkel.
Now I knew what Gramps meant when he said: “We see pigs eating slop, they on the other hand think of it as fine dining.”
“Is there anything around here to eat that isn’t…wiggling?”
Being a cat I wasn’t sure what I wanted, but didn’t think it was grubs. Nor did I have an urge to eat a mouse or bird, a thought that gave me the shivers. Nope, there'd be no mouse for this so called cat, especially after one helped me escape.
Stinky looked around and his eyes lit up and he began dancing, which really looked funny. “Well, there’s the…”
He quit speaking as his body shook and his feet started the crazy dance of the digging skunk. I watched in awe as he rolled his eyes and did another nose-dive into the hole. It looked really crazy and yet still funny. I was a cat in the middle of the woods, watching a skunk dig and dig for slimy grubs. Gummy grubs, the breakfast of champion skunks.
“Mmmmm, that was good,” he said, his tongue licking off juice from his lips. “But yes, I do believe we can make a night of it and enjoy a few juicy berries.”
“Uh, sure,” I said and wondered if cats liked berries. It didn’t matter as the juice sounded good for my dry throat. He tilted his head to the side and stared at me and got a funny grin on his face.
“This way then,” he said and took a few steps and stopped. “I have to tell you, Jacob the garden is protected by a, uh, sort of big dog.” I just stared back and said nothing. “I mean he’s mean. I once saw him chewing on the side of a tree. Nothing in it to eat, he just chewed and chewed because he's so MEAN.”
“Oh boy, yeah, I think I know him. His name is Duke. He used…” I stopped and shook my head. Being a cat was goofy while thoughts of me still being Jacob ran around in my head. Yet, I could feel cat instincts running with them, as well. Like two kids holding hands and both wanting to go in different directions.
“Are you okay?” Stinky asked.
“Yup. I just remembered all the times Duke chased me on my bike. He lives the next block over from where I used to live. You’re right, he’s a nasty mutt. Just soon chew on your leg as eat a bone.”
“I don’t think I could out run him,” Stinky said and rolled his eyes. “He would run right through my stink and then sink his teeth into the back of my neck.”
“Yikes, I got it,” I said, as I pictured Duke doing the neck biting.
“Those berries would taste soooo good,” he whispered. “All juicy and sweet and so many.” His tail shot straight up and I winced, but couldn't help but giggle. “Follow me.”
I got a little nervous with the way his tail rose straight up then dropped then rose again. I forgot about his dangerous tail for the moment and enjoyed prancing along on four feet. I was amazed how big the woods seemed to be, and how cool from a cat’s view. It was a little irritating that the brush I used to walk through as a kid was determined to rip off my fur.
The sounds and smells still bombarded my ears and nose and made me dizzy. But after a few minutes, I was able to pick out some of the sounds. Crickets chirped in a brush pile off to my right. Cicadas in a branch to my left were louder than a group of noisy Go-Bots. A small bird directly above me in a large bush sang so loudly I thought for sure it was perched on top of my head. Branches creaked, frogs croaked, owls screeched and I felt like I was sitting in front of the TV with the volume blasting. Mom would have yelled about don’t sit so close and turn the volume down.
Then there were all the different odors. I could smell leaves, lilacs, deer, a raccoon in a tree, rain in the sky and even fear in the shadows from a fleeing rabbit. All of them came at me and my nose knew how to separate each one. It was weird like the cat part of me was helping me and the Jacob part was sitting off to the side and watching. I even picked up a rotting and decaying smell I didn't want to think about, so I concentrated just making my way through the woods and dreamed of a nice big Hershey bar.
Stinky followed a trail and was quiet and he kept giving me quick glances. I wondered if he could tell I wasn’t a real cat. But then I figured there was no way and he was just young and liked looking at things. The woods ended suddenly and we stood at the edge of a huge lawn. The brush behind us sang with the night breeze, and I imagined rolling and playing in the soft grass. The weird part was I kept changing from a kid to a cat.
I was terribly homesick and had to concentrate to not lose track of where I was or what I was doing. A quick look at Stinky and down at my front paws was all it took. I got brave and stepped onto the soft grass and something moved off to my right. I was up in the air and hissed and spit and landed on all four feet, the hairs on my back sticking straight up like Stinky’s tail. He giggled and pointed at the ground in front of me. I looked down and saw that I scared myself from my own shadow from the moon. He kept giggling and without thinking I reached out and cuffed him on the back of the head with my paw.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. He stuck his nose in the air and sniffed. “Oh yes, can you smell them?”
“I sure do,” I answered in confusion. I didn’t want to ask which one of the million smells he meant, so I inhaled deeply and played the all-knowing cat.
We walked along the side of the lawn and a garage came into view. I knew the garage and knew the place. It was the home of Duke. He was the mad dog of the block that terrified every kid when they dared trespass through his territory, which was on the sidewalk or even in the middle of the street. The best way to avoid him was to gain enough speed quietly before you got in front of his house. The thought of messing with him had my fur standing on end straighter than Stinky’s tail. A low hiss came from somewhere in the pit of my stomach as I wondered why I was doing this.
The sweet smell of strawberries was powerful and though I didn’t relish eating them they still overwhelmed my cat nose. The garden of red was twenty five feet away and bathed in brightness from a light hanging over the peak on the garage. We stopped a few feet from the edge of the white light and sat and stared at the patch. I was looking around for where they fed Duke and hoped he hadn’t eaten all his food, which was unlikely as he probably preferred a leg or two from fleeing kids.
“Oh yes,” Stinky muttered and danced around in circles. He stopped his antics suddenly and lifted his nose and gave a long shiver. “You know that smell for sure, huh?”
“Yes I do,” I answered.
“Bad deal.”
“Dreadful,” I said, still not sure which smell was the bad deal.
“It makes my tail quiver.”
“I want to hiss at the moon.” The next instant I got a really strong smell and knew he was talking about Duke.
“Well, this is what I think,” he whispered. “He’s by the shed next to the garage. If you go over and get him to chase you, I can maybe grab some of those berries and take them back to the woods and we’ll eat until we burst.”
“Well, uh, sure,” I answered. “I just don’t want to be mauled.”
I trotted along inside the shadows until I was on the opposite side of the yard from the strawberry patch. The shimmering blades of grass quivered slightly, but not as much as my legs as each step was more difficult than the last. Right when I thought the whole thing was getting pretty intense, it got worse. From somewhere off to my right there was a low guttural growl and my blood froze.
I slowly turned and I saw the eyes. They were yellow, beady eyes that reminded me of pictures of the ferocious saber tooth tiger. The black body looked twice as big as any saber tooth. All four of my legs locked up. Duke snarled and I nearly passed, as it was a snarl from a devil mutt. No matter how hard I tried my legs wouldn't obey my commands to flee.
The yellow eyes were locked on me and I thought my heart was going to stop or explode. When I didn’t think it could get worse—it did. The black beast of a dog began to slowly advance. Closer and closer he came. Faster and faster my heart pounded. Duke looked larger and meaner than any kind of monster I ever imagined when I was Jacob.
His fur glistened in the moon light. His chest was massive and he looked like he weighed a ton. He was a monster tank with legs. With every breath long plumes of steam escaped his mouth like a mad locomotive. I couldn’t take my eyes off his yellow teeth. They were as long as my fingers—when I had fingers. I wondered why dogs with big teeth always had saliva dripping off them. They reminded me of fangs, like some Dracula mutt.
Run, run, run, my mind screamed. This is a bad idea.
Duke advanced even closer. I was frozen like an icy a cat, and one strike from a huge paw would shatter me into a thousand tiny pieces. Like Mom’s lamp last month when I hit it with the bat while practicing swinging in the living room, which got me grounded for a week. He was close enough now that his putrid breath made my stomach queasy and I worried I was going to get sick all over my fur.
“Are you scared cat?” he growled, his lips curling into a fiendish grin.
“If it makes you feel any better, then yes, I’m very much afraid.”
I was mentally screaming to my legs to move, but they wouldn’t budge so I told them I was disappointed. When Mom told me she was disappointed in me, I would do anything to make up for it. Her look is what really got me going. I stared at my front feet with angry cat eyes and willed them to move, but they stayed immobile.
“I haven’t seen you in these parts before,” he said as his tongue raked across his sharp canines. “You another wandering stray?”
He was only ten feet away. His muscles were bunched and ready to spring. I had to think of something to distract him and then maybe I could make a break. And where was my smelly and helpful friend when I needed him?
“Yes you might say I’m…wandering.” I started to smile in spite of my fear and then decided I better not. I didn’t want him to think I was snarling. “I’m not here to cause any trouble.” I had a crazy idea and stared at his left ear. Whichever way he turned his head, I followed his ear with my eyes.
“You’ve already found trouble cat.” He inhaled and his massive chest got even bigger and I knew he was about to run me into the dirt.
I continued to stare at his left ear and shook my head sadly. “Has anyone….no never mind.”
“What. What’s the matter cat?” he asked in a low growl.
His eyes rolled up and he shook his head and his ears made funny flopping noises. He took another step closer and I willed myself not to take my eyes off his ear. I wanted to run so bad, but I stayed rooted to the spot like a mighty tree. I could see he was ready to leap. His muscles twitched. His paws scraped the ground. Whimpers escaped his lips and yet he held himself in check. His curiosity to know why I stared at his left ear seemed to freeze his legs, as well. So maybe dogs were as curious as cats.
“You really are a big brute.” I knew I couldn’t play the game much longer. I lowered my head and really stared at his left ear.
“I’m the biggest in the neighborhood.” He expanded his chest even more, which I didn’t think possible.
“So, I guess it doesn’t matter.”
“What’s that?” he growled.
“Oh nothing…really.”
“Tell me and maybe I’ll let you go.”
I couldn’t believe he was falling for the curiosity killed the cat trick. “Well,” I said hesitantly, “don’t get mad.”
“Yeah sure. What is it?”
“It’s your left ear. It’s quite a bit smaller than the right. But hey, it’s barely noticeable.”
His eyes rolled up as if he could see the bad ear. That didn’t work, so he began shaking his head so hard I was afraid his ears were going to fly right off. He rolled his eyes one more time then glared at me.
“You’re pulling my tail. I know I’ve got good ears. I’m a champion breed.”
He stuck his nose up in the air majestically as if thousands were applauding for the dog of the year. I lowered my head and sighed loudly and gave his ear a quick glance.
“Gosh,” I said sadly, “I don't know, but I think that one just isn't right. Then again it could be me.” I shrugged and pretended to have a hard time not to stare, while feeling sorry for the mutated thing.
“You’re just a cat,” he said and his lips curled into an ugly snarl. “What do you know?” I looked over at the garage, which had large windows in the door and figured it would be enough head start to ditch this troubled mutt.
“I have to admit, you’re absolutely right.” I pointed a paw at the garage. “That door has a window. Go and take a look for yourself.”
He trotted over to the garage and jumped up and put his front paws on the door. He glanced at his reflection in the window, tilting his head left and right, his nose nearly brushing the glass. He jumped down and turned and stared at me for the longest time, his eyes never blinking. A slight breeze whispered past my sensitive ears like my mom telling me softly that it would be all right. I tried to act the cool cat and gazed intently at his bad ear. I didn’t dare make eye contact, afraid he would see I was indeed pulling his tail.
He shook his head, ears flopping noisily. “I can always knock the fur off you later. And I don’t think I have a…bad ear”
He once again put his front paws on the garage door and stared at his reflection. I didn’t hang around and quickly performed the four-legged-cat-get-away. It was terrific the way my muscles felt each time I pushed off and it made me dizzy with power as I moved with lightning speed.
I went past the strawberry patch in a streak of fur, jumped into the nearest tree and dug in all my claws. I climbed up to the first set of branches, which were about seven feet from the ground and lay down and tried to catch my breath.
“Hey, my ear is okay. What did—where are you?” He barked loudly and then there was a growl telling me he was maybe a little upset about being tricked. “You nasty little fur ball,” he snarled into the night and let out a long howl and his nose swept the ground as he searched for my scent.
I hoped by leaping into the tree while I was still a good distance from it would confuse him by not leaving a scent. I sat on a branch and watched the angry mutt sniffing the ground. He came to my tree and looked up briefly then continued to search, and I figured he couldn't see me in the shadowed branches. He went back and forth across the entire lawn with his nose just barely touching the dew-covered grass. His muscles twitched and jerked with each step. All the hairs along his back stood up straighter than when I had to stand in class and give an answer to a question asked by my teacher. He sure was fuming about being tricked—and from a cat no less.
It was surprising how comfortable and safe I felt sitting in a tree while gazing down at a dog that wanted to chomp me. So far, the night had been quite an eye opener. The next instant I had to latch onto the limb with my four sets of claws when it hit that I was now stuck in a tree and slightly hungry. This reminded me of my partner, Stinky. I carefully moved around the tree from one branch to another until I could see the patch of strawberries. Sure enough right in the middle was my pal. He was on his back and stuffing strawberry after strawberry into his mouth.
So Stinky had used me to get what he wanted. Now I fumed hotter than the monster mutt. My white striped, ex-partner had strawberry juice all over his face and looked to be enjoying himself immensely. It wasn’t fair.
I looked down and the poor bad-eared dog trotted over to the front of the garage and lay down. He sighed loudly and a large plume of mist escaped his nostrils like a tea pot ready to boil. He closed his eyes and looked to be asleep. Another idea struck and hit with a brilliance nearly toppling me from my perch and I began to make my way down the tree as quietly as I could.
I soon discovered that it was much more difficult going down the tree than the speedy climb into it. First, I tried going head first and nearly lost my hold as my claws seemed to be useless on this kind of descent. Next, I tried the backwards approach. My butt ran into all kinds of branches and my hair got tangled in the small twigs. My tail whipped me in my face and I told myself it would be an extreme emergency before I did anymore climbing; as a cat anyway.
I didn’t give up, however, and slowly and carefully made my way down. My claws ached and my butt was sore from being whacked by the branches. It felt worse than when Mom had taken a switch to me for spilling strawberry soda on her white carpet. It was a scraping, scratching, grunting ordeal and I wasn't a happy feline when I jumped the last two meters to the ground and headed for the garage.
I knew it foolish to mess with Duke, especially after I made him mad. And yet, I felt the skunk needed a lesson in loyalty and honesty. I came to a tree close enough to the garage that was out of sight from Duke. It was perfect for what I needed. I went up slowly and had to smile telling myself that this was indeed an emergency. I jumped from the tree to the garage and made my way along the roof until I was overlooking the strawberry patch. Stinky was still on his back, stuffing berries in his mouth as fast as he could.
“I hope you’re enjoying yourself, traitor,” I hissed. He looked around and then up to where I sat, his face covered in red juice.
“These are so good.” He stuffed another juicy strawberry into his mouth with a loud slurping noise like when he ate the grub. “Thank you for taking care of that dog. He has always managed to keep me out, until you came along.” He took another big strawberry and popped it in his mouth. “It was nice of you to distract him.”
“I…you had…but you never. You used me. Your manners stink worse than your odor.”
He didn’t seem to mind what I said and continued to munch on the berries. I figured it was pay back time. Not wanting to try going down backwards again I spotted a tree near the garage and took a deep breath and jumped to a branch near the ground. I hit the ground and pranced around proudly for a moment and then went on a mission to pay back an unsavory critter named Stinky. I walked along the side of the garage and peeked around the corner. The lop-eared Duke hadn’t moved and looked to be asleep, which I knew better.
“Hey you flea bitten doggy, I’m back.” I said it softly enough so Stinky wouldn’t hear. The way all the hairs on Duke’s back stood at attention, I was sure he heard every word. The race was about to begin and I whispered, “Good Dukie. Now watch Dukie run. Oh no, Dukie sees Stinky. Oh my, what will happen next?”
As quick as lightning Duke jumped straight up in the air. I held back laughter as his feet were moving before he ever hit the ground. As soon as he did I was ready and my feet did likewise. I ran straight at him and at the last second I made a hard turn and headed directly for the strawberry patch. I flew past a startled Stinky, clawed a quick strawberry and stuffed it in my mouth and then dashed into the darkness of the protective woods.
The sounds of the pursuing hound stopped abruptly and I heard a loud, “Yikes.” There was a low growl, a nasty snarl, a blood curdling howl and a pitiful moan. “Oh not again.”
That’s when the smell hit. It seemed the entire world had clouded up with an odor that would surely burn the sun and crack the earth. It hurt my lungs and curled my fur. My eyes watered so badly they hurt. I ran away from the awful stench and barely avoided a large tree as tears ran down my face. I managed to get tangled in a clump of briars and just lay there panting and wheezing. I heard another forlorn howl from Duke and giggled that he was now Stinky Two.
Somewhere in the entire ordeal I was sure I had lost one of my nine lives. I didn’t care, thinking it was worth it if the skunk learned a lesson. He had used me which I didn’t want to admit, but now the tables had turned and his mistake would be following him for days. A small case of the hives from too many strawberries would be fine as well and maybe he would think twice before he used someone for his own gain.
I untangled myself from the briars and stood and gawked at the gigantic oaks and elms towering over me. The moon peaked through the branches and painted the forest floor with circles of silvery patches. The dew on the leaves and brush glistened. I became homesick and hoped Mom wasn’t too worried and she was okay. I had to get word to her somehow that I was fine. A little mixed up and maybe a little scared, but other than that, I was fine. I sighed and turned and made my way into the forest of moon shadows and wondered what next.
While the reading level and the length may be for some middle school readers, I didn't read all of it because of time restraints and the unfortunate "tight" format given to guests, or those who do not know how to use the editor.
I also object to the kid being 14. Most 14-year-olds are much more grown-up and less gullible these days. I would move that kid's age back to, probably, 10.
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