ChristChild
12-15-2007, 05:31 PM
Author's note: I am not sure exactly what category these serial pieces fit into. I previously put them on the forums for Third Day, the band. They start as the light-hearted musings of the cat, Scamper, and get a bit more serious towards the last installment I wrote.
The Misadventures of Scamper the Cat
(Yes, I have lost my mind...)
On a warm, spring afternoon, Scamper--as he was affectionately called by his keeper, Mrs. Hildebrandt--sat on a windowsill and stared out into the yard. He looked out at the world before him like a king surveying his lands.
Breaking his stare, Scamper suddenly lifted his right paw and licked it ferociously, as though its cleaning were tied to his continued existence.
"Scamper, do you want out?" the pleasant voice of his keeper resounded.
Scamper froze in his licking, as though some court jester had intruded upon a meeting of state. His dignity came under assault again when his keeper snatched him from the windowsill, and then began carrying him in one arm. Scamper resisted the urge to shred the huge, but simple human, limb from limb. He remembered that he must make allowances for the woman's lack of understanding of all things "Cat."
Scamper hung limply in her arm. At least she was releasing him into the wild beyond the giant door. Many adventures awaited him this bright morning. He perked up in anticipation as she turned the door's great knob.
The Misadventures of Scamper the Cat continued...
Scamper hit the ground running--a gray streak, headed for his favorite oak tree to climb. The words of caution from his keeper were heard by his sharp ears, but went ignored.
When Scamper was finally perched in the nook of the tree where the main branches forked, he turned to see Mrs. Hildebrandt close the door.
Suddenly, cleaning his right paw was of the utmost importance again. He lay there scraping his rough tongue across it, oblivious to the new action down in the yard.
Several moments passed before Scamper caught a blur of motion with his blue-gray eyes.
"Ah," Scamper thought, "Excellent! One of the bushy-tailed rats that so brashly invade my yard! The villain will pay this time." With those thoughts, Scamper spun his body into a hunting stance within the crook of the small oak. His ears stood up straight and pivoted toward the interloper. His eyes kept perfect movement with the bold, bushy-tailed rat. He flicked his own tail in anticipation of his eventual and perfectly-timed leap onto the ground, which would then flow directly into his swift and expert charge of the offending rodent!
The Misadventures of Scamper the Cat continued...
In a gray blur, Scamper leaped from the tree. He hit the ground running, low and fast, heading directly for the thieving, bushy-tailed villain!
At the last moment, the villain spun his white-bellied form toward Scamper and dropped the acorn he held within his two small paws. Scamper unceremoniously plowed into the invader, causing them both to roll, flipping over and over across the yard.
When the two came apart, Scamper landed on his feet, his back arched high, his ears pointed to the sky, and a challenging hiss in his voice.
The squirrel looked at him dumbfounded as he stood to his feet. The squirrel spoke in his own language, yet Scamper could understand him. It seemed that only conversation between humans and animals was clouded over now. The squirrel said, "Hey, what's the big deal? I'm just gettin' acorns. Cats don't eat no acorns!"
Scamper, taken aback by the thief's attitude, answered, "Nay, villain! You are stealing from my yard. My keeper lives here--you are but a denizen of the forests. Within this fence is the purview of house Hildebrandt, and I cannot let you remove their acorns!"
"But they rake them up, or cut them up with that noisy contraption the man sometimes pushes," the squirrel protested.
Scamper relaxed his stance. The bushy-tailed rat had him on that one. He never did understand why the man saw fit to shave the yard with the contraption. Many more interesting insects could be found in the tall grasses, if he would let them grow.
While Scamper pondered, the squirrel scurried away and climbed a tree that had its branches starting high up. Scamper followed, climbing up the trunk only a few feet before noticing the squirrel leap from one high branch to another upon a tree outside the yard. Scamper stopped climbing. The villain had made his escape into the wilds beyond the fence, but Scamper would watch for his certain return. Though the sly squirrel had distracted him with good arguments, when it came down to it, the acorns needed protecting, and he was the cat for the job.
He slid down the tree a bit, and then turned and dropped to the ground. Scamper surveyed the yard. No other pesky rats of any kind were about. He laid down on the grass and began cleaning his right paw again. He would remain vigilant. A cat's work was never done!
The Misadventures of Scamper the Cat continued...
Scamper sat on top of the outdoor grill and licked his left paw clean. His right had been finished long ago. He surveyed his vast domain, an eye out for any interlopers. It had been several hours, and the bushy-tailed rodent had yet to return. Scamper figured that the simple-minded bloke had moved on to yards that were less well-guarded than his was.
The sliding glass door opened and out stepped Scamper's favorite human, Chloe. Scamper stood, stretched, and then let loose a loud meow. The young female human ignored him. She promptly crouched down and began drawing on the back patio concrete with a huge piece of pink chalk. "She is very unpredictable," Scamper thought, "much like a cat."
Chloe, Mrs. Hildebrandt's daughter, continued to draw with the chalk until Scamper's curiosity got the better of him. He dropped down from his surveyor's perch onto the concrete patio beneath him, and then made his way near to Chloe.
"Hey, Scampster! I'm drawing a hop-splotch game!"
Scamper looked upon the odd array of chalk-drawn boxes before him. They made absolutely no sense to him, but only a small fraction of what the young girl did ever made sense to his cat mind. He liked her anyway. Well, except when she held him upside down for extended periods of time. He would stretch his dignity thin for the little girl--but only so far before he would wriggle free, causing her to chase him briefly. She would soon lose interest and go on to some other odd activity.
Scamper had moved into the square drawing on the end. He sat there, looked about, and then began flicking his tail in consternation--what purpose did the rough, pink box serve?
"No, no, silly! Ya don't sit in it, Scampster! You hops through the pretty boxes!"
Scamper was unceremoniously scooped up in Chloe's arms, pink crayon ruffling the fur of his right side. She had him cradled against the fringe of her dress, just below her neck, as she started singing a strange song. She then began jumping from one rough chalk box to the next. Scamper's ears shot up in alarm, yet he refrained from clawing the girl's arm more than lightly.
The Misadventures of Scamper the Cat continued...
Scamper's mind was still reeling. He had finally managed to wriggle free from the bouncing little girl, and then make his escape behind her father's shed. He peeked around the corner slowly. She had forgotten him already and was bouncing, yet again, through the pink chalk boxes. He could still hear her odd song.
"Hopsey once, hopsey twice, hopsey three times is nice!"
Chloe had hopped through three boxes singing the song before pausing a moment. She then twirled in a circle, causing her skirt to umbrella slightly before settling down again in a momentary twist. As the garment swung back into place, Chloe began hopping once again, this time placing one foot in each of a set of two boxes that were next in line. She resumed her singing.
"Twisty then splits, then a-hopsey we go!"
Chloe now proceeded to hop into the next single pink square, then on to two more singles.
She sang again, "Hopsey once, hopsey twice, hopsey three times is nice!"
Scamper had already made his way back through the yard and now sat near a potted plant that was just on the edge of the patio. He twitched his tail in consternation again. Just what did all this mean? Just what purpose did it serve? Did the small human think this would somehow keep the squirrels away?
Suddenly Chloe leaped from the third square of the second set of single ones into a huge circle at its end. She slammed her feet down in its center, prompting Scamper to raise his ears in alarm, as she also screamed.
"WHEEEEEEE! Now jumps to da middle of the roundy end!"
As Scamper watched, Chloe then left the end circle in a sprint, headed back to the beginning.
In the next moment, Scamper heard a voice coming from behind him. It sounded familiar.
"I thinks dey all be daft!"
Scamper turned to see the squirrel he had previously assaulted, standing on top the backyard fence. He was staring at Chloe and had obviously made the comment. Scamper also noticed that the bushy-tailed rodent held several acorns in his paws. The villain must have lifted them from the yard while Scamper was watching Chloe. The squirrel was a sneaky one, especially for one that came across as a simpleton.
The squirrel looked down at him and taunted, "But dey do have a way of distractin' cats so a squirrel can collect a decent meal." With that said, the squirrel somehow managed to stuff four acorns in his cheeks before he leaped down behind the fence and into the woods.
Scamper was not amused.
"Next time, rodent," Scamper thought with determination, "you will not catch me unawares."
The Misadventures of Scamper the Cat continued...
Scamper had decided not to stay in the house this evening. Mrs. Hildebrandt had called for him while standing in the open back door at sunset, but he had stayed hidden. He knew she would eventually give up and return inside the large dwelling. Scamper felt that tonight would be suitably warm to work on the mystery of the giant.
It was now several hours after sunset. Scamper had made his way onto the top of the rear fence. It was thin, and he had much more trouble balancing upon it then his nemesis, the squirrel. He managed to traverse the distance he needed to with only a few, minor slips of a paw. Scamper prided himself on being an expert in balance and climbing.
"Well now," Scamper thought as he leaped onto the limb he sought to reach, "I should be able to spot the giant from here--if he reveals himself."
The giant had been a legend in the neighborhood for months. Scamper's friend, Smoky, a fellow gray cat from a few yards down, was adamant that he had seen the giant actually cross the street of the neighborhood and enter the wooded area behind Scamper's rear fence only a week ago.
Climbing higher in the small oak tree, which actually was in the edge of the woods beyond the fence, Scamper found a suitable spot to rest comfortably while on his stake-out of the area.
"If any wild giant is out there, I will spot him," Scamper thought confidently.
A sound startled Scamper, causing him to spin his head back to the fence. A large, gray cat, half again his size, leaped loudly onto the branch near the rear fence. His fellow feline then made his way noisily up the tree to lie next to him.
"Smoky, you make more noise than a clumsy bulldog," Scamper commented.
"When ya get a bit more meat on ya bones, you'll do the same, sonny boy. Don't matter, I be here and situated to watch ya see the giant right with me. This'll teach that lass, Ariel, to believe me!"
"Smoky, are still trying to impress that young, empty-headed kitten of a tabby cat?"
With seemingly no offense taken, Smoky said, "Yes."
Scamper rolled his eyes, but did so only after turning his head away from Smoky. If the elder, male cat suspected any disrespect, he would and could slap Scamper clear off the oak limb they rested upon. From nearly a year of interaction with the older male cat, he had learned just what he could and couldn't say.
As Scamper quickly turned his gaze back over the dark woods, he offered, "Well, if the giant appears, we will surely see him together."
"Surely," was Smoky's only response. He then laid his wide head on the oak branch and shifted his glowing eyes like turrets seeking a target in the dense wood.
Scamper followed his elder's lead. Two sets of glowing eyes combed the woods for nearly twenty minutes before the sound of something striking the branch near Scamper made both cats jump to the defensive.
"What a bunch of fraidy cats!" an odd voice quipped from a few branches above them.
Both cats looked up to see Scamper's nemesis, the squirrel, sitting a few branches above them. He wisely sat far out on a branch too thin to hold either cat, even if they scaled the tree after him.
"What are y'all two wackos doing out here after dark? Shouldn't y'all be safe and warm in the humans' houses? You two be domesticated, don't y'all be?"
"Hello, Percival," Smoky said in a calm voice.
"Oh, it's you, old Smokster! I didn't expect you to be hangin' about with Scamper, Acorn Protector Extraordinaire," the squirrel, Percival, said with mocking disdain in his voice.
Scamper retorted, "I'll have you know--"
Suddenly Smoky hissed a short burst, calling for silence. Scamper was looking up at Percival at that moment. He saw the irritating creature lift his head and stare off into the woods. Percival's eyes flared and his little, powerful jaws then fell open. Scamper turned stealthily on the branch and hunkered down next to Smoky, who was already staring at something moving through the underbrush.
Just as Scamper locked his gaze upon the creature, he heard Percival whisper from above, "Now that be a big cat."
Percival was correct. And Smoky had been correct. Scamper was now looking upon a giant cat--at least four or five times Smoky's size, who was near twice his own size.
"I told ya," Smoky whispered.
Scamper was too mesmerized with the sight of the beastly, huge feline to comment.
Percival whispered from above, "They say that kinda cat is wilder than us squirrels, and that none of his kind be domesticated like you fellows."
Scamper didn't know whether to believe the squirrel or not until he heard Smoky say quietly, "That's right, and they are all named 'Bob.'"
Scamper was fascinated. A giant, undomesticated monster of a cat, whose entire population was named after a human male's name—very odd. It was rumored to be hostile toward normal cats like himself, as well as other beasts and even humans. Scamper was prepared to sprint back to the yard, though how he would get inside was a problem. He did have one or two hiding places that he didn't think that the giant could squeeze into though.
Maybe he could alert the man, if need be. Scamper, as a kitten, had witnessed the fury of the angry man. A large reptile called a snake had entered the yard and frightened Mrs. Hildebrandt and Chloe. The deadly reptile had then manged to corner Scamper where the fences came together. It coiled onto itself, moving only its head while flicking its tongue. If Scamper moved to one side, its head tracked him. If it moved to the other, it tracked him that way as well. It lashed out once, but he had anticipated the strike, barely escaping it. The snake took off across the yard after him. Scamper saw the man's feet planted on the patio. He quickly dodged behind the man's feet and looked back to see the snake stop short and coil again. Before the snake had fully coiled, Scamper heard a loud, brief noise, and witnessed the snake's head turn to mush before his eyes. Scamper ran quickly and hid behind the shed, but soon peeked out again. The man was calling to him, saying he was safe now. The man held a long, stick-like object that was smoking slightly on one end. The man's wife had come out as her husband was scooping the dead snake up in a bucket. Scamper remembered the deadly stick that made the loud noise was called a shotgun by Mrs. Hildebrandt.
Scamper refocused his attention on the giant cat, who stood revealed partially by moonlight. It appeared to be a bit furrier in some places that a normal cat, especially its ears.
Abruptly, the giant feline, with a burst of speed, attacked some unseen animal in the bushes. After a short wail, the victim fell silent. The last glimpse he, Smoky, and Percival saw of the wild, deadly hunter, was a furry streak in the moonlight, headed deeper into the woods.
"Goodbye, cats,” Percival said, explaining, “I need to make sure it wasn't me girl that's just been taken." Percival then made a quick exit.
Smoky observed, "I told ya, Scamper. The giant gets closer and closer and don't have no respect for us house cats. He'll probably eat us too, if he gets hungry enough. Now, I'm going to make sure that wasn't Ariel out in the woods for some reason."
Smoky stood to leave, as Scamper commented, "It didn't sound like a cat's wail, or a squirrel's. I've heard it on a few nights I've stayed out, and I think it was a rabbit."
The old, large male cat wasn't convinced, but he said, "I hope you're right Scamper." He made his way quickly down the tree to the fence, and then expertly ran across the top of the thin boards, surprising Scamper with such agility in so large a cat.
Scamper made his way down soon afterward. He thought of the giant's increasing boldness and it worried him. He worried that one day the giant may come out in the daylight and threaten he, his friends, or even Chloe. Suddenly, keeping acorns from Percival seemed a foolish waste of time. His keepers didn't give a care about acorns, but they would certainly be concerned with the giant cat hunter.
As Scamper approached the rear door to the patio, he noticed that the main door was open, and only the glass and screen door was shut. He could see that Mr. Hildebrandt was just coming into the nearby kitchen. Scamper launched himself at the door violently and hung onto the screen. Startled, Mr. Hildebrandt looked over at him, and then made his way to the door. His keeper opened the door, peeled him off the screen, and then set him inside before closing the door again.
"Scamper, you should have been in hours ago. Just where have you been?"
Scamper meowed an answer, but knew that the human just couldn't understand him. Mr. Hildebrandt just smiled and shook his head at Scamper, before continuing his mission to the kitchen. Scamper followed, meowing his story, but it was no use.
"What's all the fuss, Scamper? Are you hungry? Here, have a piece of this."
Scamper was overjoyed as the man dropped him a large piece of ham from a sandwich he was making. Scamper, as he quickly consumed his impromptu meal, did not forget the danger and importance of the deadly giant. He would think long and hard and would find a way to alert the man to the killer's presence.
Copyright(c)2007 D. Shane Burton
The Misadventures of Scamper the Cat
(Yes, I have lost my mind...)
On a warm, spring afternoon, Scamper--as he was affectionately called by his keeper, Mrs. Hildebrandt--sat on a windowsill and stared out into the yard. He looked out at the world before him like a king surveying his lands.
Breaking his stare, Scamper suddenly lifted his right paw and licked it ferociously, as though its cleaning were tied to his continued existence.
"Scamper, do you want out?" the pleasant voice of his keeper resounded.
Scamper froze in his licking, as though some court jester had intruded upon a meeting of state. His dignity came under assault again when his keeper snatched him from the windowsill, and then began carrying him in one arm. Scamper resisted the urge to shred the huge, but simple human, limb from limb. He remembered that he must make allowances for the woman's lack of understanding of all things "Cat."
Scamper hung limply in her arm. At least she was releasing him into the wild beyond the giant door. Many adventures awaited him this bright morning. He perked up in anticipation as she turned the door's great knob.
The Misadventures of Scamper the Cat continued...
Scamper hit the ground running--a gray streak, headed for his favorite oak tree to climb. The words of caution from his keeper were heard by his sharp ears, but went ignored.
When Scamper was finally perched in the nook of the tree where the main branches forked, he turned to see Mrs. Hildebrandt close the door.
Suddenly, cleaning his right paw was of the utmost importance again. He lay there scraping his rough tongue across it, oblivious to the new action down in the yard.
Several moments passed before Scamper caught a blur of motion with his blue-gray eyes.
"Ah," Scamper thought, "Excellent! One of the bushy-tailed rats that so brashly invade my yard! The villain will pay this time." With those thoughts, Scamper spun his body into a hunting stance within the crook of the small oak. His ears stood up straight and pivoted toward the interloper. His eyes kept perfect movement with the bold, bushy-tailed rat. He flicked his own tail in anticipation of his eventual and perfectly-timed leap onto the ground, which would then flow directly into his swift and expert charge of the offending rodent!
The Misadventures of Scamper the Cat continued...
In a gray blur, Scamper leaped from the tree. He hit the ground running, low and fast, heading directly for the thieving, bushy-tailed villain!
At the last moment, the villain spun his white-bellied form toward Scamper and dropped the acorn he held within his two small paws. Scamper unceremoniously plowed into the invader, causing them both to roll, flipping over and over across the yard.
When the two came apart, Scamper landed on his feet, his back arched high, his ears pointed to the sky, and a challenging hiss in his voice.
The squirrel looked at him dumbfounded as he stood to his feet. The squirrel spoke in his own language, yet Scamper could understand him. It seemed that only conversation between humans and animals was clouded over now. The squirrel said, "Hey, what's the big deal? I'm just gettin' acorns. Cats don't eat no acorns!"
Scamper, taken aback by the thief's attitude, answered, "Nay, villain! You are stealing from my yard. My keeper lives here--you are but a denizen of the forests. Within this fence is the purview of house Hildebrandt, and I cannot let you remove their acorns!"
"But they rake them up, or cut them up with that noisy contraption the man sometimes pushes," the squirrel protested.
Scamper relaxed his stance. The bushy-tailed rat had him on that one. He never did understand why the man saw fit to shave the yard with the contraption. Many more interesting insects could be found in the tall grasses, if he would let them grow.
While Scamper pondered, the squirrel scurried away and climbed a tree that had its branches starting high up. Scamper followed, climbing up the trunk only a few feet before noticing the squirrel leap from one high branch to another upon a tree outside the yard. Scamper stopped climbing. The villain had made his escape into the wilds beyond the fence, but Scamper would watch for his certain return. Though the sly squirrel had distracted him with good arguments, when it came down to it, the acorns needed protecting, and he was the cat for the job.
He slid down the tree a bit, and then turned and dropped to the ground. Scamper surveyed the yard. No other pesky rats of any kind were about. He laid down on the grass and began cleaning his right paw again. He would remain vigilant. A cat's work was never done!
The Misadventures of Scamper the Cat continued...
Scamper sat on top of the outdoor grill and licked his left paw clean. His right had been finished long ago. He surveyed his vast domain, an eye out for any interlopers. It had been several hours, and the bushy-tailed rodent had yet to return. Scamper figured that the simple-minded bloke had moved on to yards that were less well-guarded than his was.
The sliding glass door opened and out stepped Scamper's favorite human, Chloe. Scamper stood, stretched, and then let loose a loud meow. The young female human ignored him. She promptly crouched down and began drawing on the back patio concrete with a huge piece of pink chalk. "She is very unpredictable," Scamper thought, "much like a cat."
Chloe, Mrs. Hildebrandt's daughter, continued to draw with the chalk until Scamper's curiosity got the better of him. He dropped down from his surveyor's perch onto the concrete patio beneath him, and then made his way near to Chloe.
"Hey, Scampster! I'm drawing a hop-splotch game!"
Scamper looked upon the odd array of chalk-drawn boxes before him. They made absolutely no sense to him, but only a small fraction of what the young girl did ever made sense to his cat mind. He liked her anyway. Well, except when she held him upside down for extended periods of time. He would stretch his dignity thin for the little girl--but only so far before he would wriggle free, causing her to chase him briefly. She would soon lose interest and go on to some other odd activity.
Scamper had moved into the square drawing on the end. He sat there, looked about, and then began flicking his tail in consternation--what purpose did the rough, pink box serve?
"No, no, silly! Ya don't sit in it, Scampster! You hops through the pretty boxes!"
Scamper was unceremoniously scooped up in Chloe's arms, pink crayon ruffling the fur of his right side. She had him cradled against the fringe of her dress, just below her neck, as she started singing a strange song. She then began jumping from one rough chalk box to the next. Scamper's ears shot up in alarm, yet he refrained from clawing the girl's arm more than lightly.
The Misadventures of Scamper the Cat continued...
Scamper's mind was still reeling. He had finally managed to wriggle free from the bouncing little girl, and then make his escape behind her father's shed. He peeked around the corner slowly. She had forgotten him already and was bouncing, yet again, through the pink chalk boxes. He could still hear her odd song.
"Hopsey once, hopsey twice, hopsey three times is nice!"
Chloe had hopped through three boxes singing the song before pausing a moment. She then twirled in a circle, causing her skirt to umbrella slightly before settling down again in a momentary twist. As the garment swung back into place, Chloe began hopping once again, this time placing one foot in each of a set of two boxes that were next in line. She resumed her singing.
"Twisty then splits, then a-hopsey we go!"
Chloe now proceeded to hop into the next single pink square, then on to two more singles.
She sang again, "Hopsey once, hopsey twice, hopsey three times is nice!"
Scamper had already made his way back through the yard and now sat near a potted plant that was just on the edge of the patio. He twitched his tail in consternation again. Just what did all this mean? Just what purpose did it serve? Did the small human think this would somehow keep the squirrels away?
Suddenly Chloe leaped from the third square of the second set of single ones into a huge circle at its end. She slammed her feet down in its center, prompting Scamper to raise his ears in alarm, as she also screamed.
"WHEEEEEEE! Now jumps to da middle of the roundy end!"
As Scamper watched, Chloe then left the end circle in a sprint, headed back to the beginning.
In the next moment, Scamper heard a voice coming from behind him. It sounded familiar.
"I thinks dey all be daft!"
Scamper turned to see the squirrel he had previously assaulted, standing on top the backyard fence. He was staring at Chloe and had obviously made the comment. Scamper also noticed that the bushy-tailed rodent held several acorns in his paws. The villain must have lifted them from the yard while Scamper was watching Chloe. The squirrel was a sneaky one, especially for one that came across as a simpleton.
The squirrel looked down at him and taunted, "But dey do have a way of distractin' cats so a squirrel can collect a decent meal." With that said, the squirrel somehow managed to stuff four acorns in his cheeks before he leaped down behind the fence and into the woods.
Scamper was not amused.
"Next time, rodent," Scamper thought with determination, "you will not catch me unawares."
The Misadventures of Scamper the Cat continued...
Scamper had decided not to stay in the house this evening. Mrs. Hildebrandt had called for him while standing in the open back door at sunset, but he had stayed hidden. He knew she would eventually give up and return inside the large dwelling. Scamper felt that tonight would be suitably warm to work on the mystery of the giant.
It was now several hours after sunset. Scamper had made his way onto the top of the rear fence. It was thin, and he had much more trouble balancing upon it then his nemesis, the squirrel. He managed to traverse the distance he needed to with only a few, minor slips of a paw. Scamper prided himself on being an expert in balance and climbing.
"Well now," Scamper thought as he leaped onto the limb he sought to reach, "I should be able to spot the giant from here--if he reveals himself."
The giant had been a legend in the neighborhood for months. Scamper's friend, Smoky, a fellow gray cat from a few yards down, was adamant that he had seen the giant actually cross the street of the neighborhood and enter the wooded area behind Scamper's rear fence only a week ago.
Climbing higher in the small oak tree, which actually was in the edge of the woods beyond the fence, Scamper found a suitable spot to rest comfortably while on his stake-out of the area.
"If any wild giant is out there, I will spot him," Scamper thought confidently.
A sound startled Scamper, causing him to spin his head back to the fence. A large, gray cat, half again his size, leaped loudly onto the branch near the rear fence. His fellow feline then made his way noisily up the tree to lie next to him.
"Smoky, you make more noise than a clumsy bulldog," Scamper commented.
"When ya get a bit more meat on ya bones, you'll do the same, sonny boy. Don't matter, I be here and situated to watch ya see the giant right with me. This'll teach that lass, Ariel, to believe me!"
"Smoky, are still trying to impress that young, empty-headed kitten of a tabby cat?"
With seemingly no offense taken, Smoky said, "Yes."
Scamper rolled his eyes, but did so only after turning his head away from Smoky. If the elder, male cat suspected any disrespect, he would and could slap Scamper clear off the oak limb they rested upon. From nearly a year of interaction with the older male cat, he had learned just what he could and couldn't say.
As Scamper quickly turned his gaze back over the dark woods, he offered, "Well, if the giant appears, we will surely see him together."
"Surely," was Smoky's only response. He then laid his wide head on the oak branch and shifted his glowing eyes like turrets seeking a target in the dense wood.
Scamper followed his elder's lead. Two sets of glowing eyes combed the woods for nearly twenty minutes before the sound of something striking the branch near Scamper made both cats jump to the defensive.
"What a bunch of fraidy cats!" an odd voice quipped from a few branches above them.
Both cats looked up to see Scamper's nemesis, the squirrel, sitting a few branches above them. He wisely sat far out on a branch too thin to hold either cat, even if they scaled the tree after him.
"What are y'all two wackos doing out here after dark? Shouldn't y'all be safe and warm in the humans' houses? You two be domesticated, don't y'all be?"
"Hello, Percival," Smoky said in a calm voice.
"Oh, it's you, old Smokster! I didn't expect you to be hangin' about with Scamper, Acorn Protector Extraordinaire," the squirrel, Percival, said with mocking disdain in his voice.
Scamper retorted, "I'll have you know--"
Suddenly Smoky hissed a short burst, calling for silence. Scamper was looking up at Percival at that moment. He saw the irritating creature lift his head and stare off into the woods. Percival's eyes flared and his little, powerful jaws then fell open. Scamper turned stealthily on the branch and hunkered down next to Smoky, who was already staring at something moving through the underbrush.
Just as Scamper locked his gaze upon the creature, he heard Percival whisper from above, "Now that be a big cat."
Percival was correct. And Smoky had been correct. Scamper was now looking upon a giant cat--at least four or five times Smoky's size, who was near twice his own size.
"I told ya," Smoky whispered.
Scamper was too mesmerized with the sight of the beastly, huge feline to comment.
Percival whispered from above, "They say that kinda cat is wilder than us squirrels, and that none of his kind be domesticated like you fellows."
Scamper didn't know whether to believe the squirrel or not until he heard Smoky say quietly, "That's right, and they are all named 'Bob.'"
Scamper was fascinated. A giant, undomesticated monster of a cat, whose entire population was named after a human male's name—very odd. It was rumored to be hostile toward normal cats like himself, as well as other beasts and even humans. Scamper was prepared to sprint back to the yard, though how he would get inside was a problem. He did have one or two hiding places that he didn't think that the giant could squeeze into though.
Maybe he could alert the man, if need be. Scamper, as a kitten, had witnessed the fury of the angry man. A large reptile called a snake had entered the yard and frightened Mrs. Hildebrandt and Chloe. The deadly reptile had then manged to corner Scamper where the fences came together. It coiled onto itself, moving only its head while flicking its tongue. If Scamper moved to one side, its head tracked him. If it moved to the other, it tracked him that way as well. It lashed out once, but he had anticipated the strike, barely escaping it. The snake took off across the yard after him. Scamper saw the man's feet planted on the patio. He quickly dodged behind the man's feet and looked back to see the snake stop short and coil again. Before the snake had fully coiled, Scamper heard a loud, brief noise, and witnessed the snake's head turn to mush before his eyes. Scamper ran quickly and hid behind the shed, but soon peeked out again. The man was calling to him, saying he was safe now. The man held a long, stick-like object that was smoking slightly on one end. The man's wife had come out as her husband was scooping the dead snake up in a bucket. Scamper remembered the deadly stick that made the loud noise was called a shotgun by Mrs. Hildebrandt.
Scamper refocused his attention on the giant cat, who stood revealed partially by moonlight. It appeared to be a bit furrier in some places that a normal cat, especially its ears.
Abruptly, the giant feline, with a burst of speed, attacked some unseen animal in the bushes. After a short wail, the victim fell silent. The last glimpse he, Smoky, and Percival saw of the wild, deadly hunter, was a furry streak in the moonlight, headed deeper into the woods.
"Goodbye, cats,” Percival said, explaining, “I need to make sure it wasn't me girl that's just been taken." Percival then made a quick exit.
Smoky observed, "I told ya, Scamper. The giant gets closer and closer and don't have no respect for us house cats. He'll probably eat us too, if he gets hungry enough. Now, I'm going to make sure that wasn't Ariel out in the woods for some reason."
Smoky stood to leave, as Scamper commented, "It didn't sound like a cat's wail, or a squirrel's. I've heard it on a few nights I've stayed out, and I think it was a rabbit."
The old, large male cat wasn't convinced, but he said, "I hope you're right Scamper." He made his way quickly down the tree to the fence, and then expertly ran across the top of the thin boards, surprising Scamper with such agility in so large a cat.
Scamper made his way down soon afterward. He thought of the giant's increasing boldness and it worried him. He worried that one day the giant may come out in the daylight and threaten he, his friends, or even Chloe. Suddenly, keeping acorns from Percival seemed a foolish waste of time. His keepers didn't give a care about acorns, but they would certainly be concerned with the giant cat hunter.
As Scamper approached the rear door to the patio, he noticed that the main door was open, and only the glass and screen door was shut. He could see that Mr. Hildebrandt was just coming into the nearby kitchen. Scamper launched himself at the door violently and hung onto the screen. Startled, Mr. Hildebrandt looked over at him, and then made his way to the door. His keeper opened the door, peeled him off the screen, and then set him inside before closing the door again.
"Scamper, you should have been in hours ago. Just where have you been?"
Scamper meowed an answer, but knew that the human just couldn't understand him. Mr. Hildebrandt just smiled and shook his head at Scamper, before continuing his mission to the kitchen. Scamper followed, meowing his story, but it was no use.
"What's all the fuss, Scamper? Are you hungry? Here, have a piece of this."
Scamper was overjoyed as the man dropped him a large piece of ham from a sandwich he was making. Scamper, as he quickly consumed his impromptu meal, did not forget the danger and importance of the deadly giant. He would think long and hard and would find a way to alert the man to the killer's presence.
Copyright(c)2007 D. Shane Burton