Kitty and the Squirrel
by Spyder, MGD & Blackjack
Illustrated by
Tiddler
Rascal was a fun-loving tabby who lived inside. He was always at the window watching the squirrels outside, and wishing he could venture out to play with them. He knew they would be a tasty snack, but he wasn't interested in eating them, but in playing with them. Rascal thought it would be most fun to chase with them through the trees, and join in all the fun! The squirrels would watch Rascal too, they sat outside his window perch and twittered at him, nibbling nuts as they watched. This mutual watching went on most of the day, and Rascal wanted so badly to play with his squirrel friends.
One fine Spring day, Rascal found his screen slightly ajar! His humans had been cleaning the windows, and the screen wasn't quite latched. Rascal pushed on the screen, and lo and behold, it opened! He slipped outside and ran over to the tree where his squirrel friends had climbed. The squirrels were taken aback by Rascal being outside, they were worried, as most cats they knew wanted only to make a meal of them. One older squirrel, who was known as Grumpy, was the only one who didn't hide in the leaves. Grumpy was older and wiser, and felt the friendly vibes coming from Rascal. As Rascal approached Grumpy, the two animals sniffed the air, measuring each other, each with ears pricked and noses twitching. Grumpy twittered, Rascal meowed, and they met midway between the house and tree. Gently sniffing noses, they greeted each other, neither quite sure what to expect. Talking as only animals can, they realized neither meant the other any harm. Rascal flipped his tail, and scampered up the tree, with Grumpy following close behind. They started a raucous game of chase, dashing up and down the tree, running under the bushes in the yard, and even running up the small oak sapling that was just starting to leaf out.
The rest of the squirrels watched in amazement, seeing the fun the cat and squirrel were having. Suddenly, they all joined in the game! This was most fun! All afternoon, squirrels and cat played, only stopping for a drink of water from the fish pond in the yard.
When Rascal's humans got home from work, they were amazed at what they saw in the back yard. Rascal was curled up napping in the late afternoon sun, with a big squirrel curled up next to him, also napping. Surrounding this unusual pair were six other squirrels, all soundly sleeping. The cat and squirrels awoke as the humans watched, and everyone touched noses. Rascal headed in for his dinner, and the squirrels busied themselves gathering nuts for their dinner. From that day forward, Rascal slipped outside each day to play with his new found friends, and the humans would always marvel at the wonderful communication between cat and squirrel!
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