Beware of the Cat
"Where's Dad?" asked John, walking into the living room.

"I don't know," Mrs. Mouse answered, peering out of the mousehole. "I'm getting worried. He's never taken this long before."

Suddenly a terrified mouse raced through the mousehole, knocking Mrs. Mouse to the ground. Outside, there was an awful hissing.

"I'm home," Mr. Mouse gasped. "Here you go." He tossed his wife two pieces of corn.

"What's that thing out there?" John asked.

"Bad news," his father replied. "They got a cat."

Mrs. Mouse sat down on a chair. "They got a cat?" she asked, hoping she had misheard.

Mr. Mouse nodded. "Yep," he said. "It's horrible. I couldn't get anywhere near the kitchen because it was there, pacing the floor. But it finally fell asleep, and I got the corn. I couldn't get anything else, thought, because suddenly it was chasing me back here."

Samantha came into the room. She stared at the strewn grass and her panting father. "What happened?" she asked. "Did a tornado hit this place?"

John shook his head. "It's worse," he said. "Them humans got a cat!"

"Grammer, John," Mrs. Mouse said. "Those humans got a cat."

"Wow," Samantha said. "The cat attack. Does this mean we can't watch TV anymore?" Sometimes, Samantha and her brother climbed up the cabinet in back of the couch and watched the television when it was on.

Mrs. Mouse shook her head. "I'm afraid not," she answered. "It's much too dangerous for you children to be out there with that thing." She looked at the corn in her hands. "We'll have corn for dinner," she said, smiling. "Doesn't that sound good?"

"What about tomorrow?" Samantha asked tearfully. "If we can't get food, are we going to starve?"

"Of course not," Mr. Mouse said. "I'll get dinner just as usual tomorrow. I'll just be careful of that cat."

"Okay," Samantha said.

"I have an idea," John said. "Why don't we all go tonight and really stock up on food. Then we won't have to go out for a few days."

Mr. Mouse looked at Mrs. Mouse. "It's a good plan, Alice," he said. "Why don't we try it."

Mrs. Mouse took a deep breath. "All right," she said. "Let's do it."

So that night, the Mouse family crept outside and began the search for food while avoiding the cat. It was hard, but they managed all right. Samantha got chased back to the mousehole, but that was the only close call.

When they got back, Mrs. Mouse hugged Samantha. "I'm glad you're still alive," she said. Samantha grinned. "It was kind of fun," she said.

Mr. Mouse was looking at the food. "We have plenty," he announced. "Lots of carrots, some more corn, some peas, a slice of potato, a bunch of popcorn, ten sweettarts, and a huge pile of different kinds of cereal. Good work!"

Now the Mouse family had plenty to eat, but the cat was still around. . . they would have to be careful when they left their mousehole!




Copyright 2000 by Chantessy