It wasn’t long before Mama came in to get us. Jeff carried Chomps’s cage to the car and Mama carried mine. Before she closed the back door, she stopped and looked at us.
“Chomps, you look so grown-up. What a big dog you are.” I could hear his tail hitting the side of the cage.
“Aren’t you cute, Gray? Did you enjoy your beauty shop visit? You look so pretty.” I rubbed my shoulder against the cage. Mama touched my head with the tips of her fingers. “Let’s get home, kids.”
When we got to the house, Mama put my cage on the ground and opened it so that I could step out. She carried Chomps’s cage to the backyard. Daddy had found the place where we dug under the fence. Big chunks of rock filled the hole.
When Mama finally let Chomps out, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Even though he had lots less hair, he somehow looked big and fluffy. He had a cloth tied around his neck. He had a matching bow tied in his tail.
I had to laugh at the sight before me.
“I don’t know what you’re laughing at, Gray. You’ve got a big pink bow right in the middle of your head. It matches the one in your tail.” Chomps sat down with his back half. His front legs were still straight. His tail wagged behind him. I tried to look at the pink bow on my head. I reached up with my paw trying to shake it loose. It was stuck tight. I couldn’t get to the one on my tail. I shook my body and walked around to the front porch. I needed a real catnap.
Callie peeked open one eye when I was almost to the swing. “What happened to you, Gray?”
I hopped up on the chair and stretched out. “Nothing. Why?”
“You look nice with the pretty bow in your hair. Have you been to see Amy and Jeff?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“I’ve been there before. They were nice to me. Were you nice to them, Gray?”
“Of course, I was nice. What are you thinking? I have manners. I know how to act.”
“Well, you sure look pretty.” Callie smirked at me.
I hopped off the chair. This was bad. I smelled funny, I had bows in my fur, and Callie was making fun of me. I decided to go out in the pasture to roll in the dirt. On my way past the barn, a snickering and giggling sound stopped me dead in my tracks.
Two mice stood there. One pointed at me and held the other paw over his mouth. The other held his stomach. It was more than I could take. Ears flat against my head, I charged them. I couldn’t do anything about Chomps making fun of me, and I couldn’t do anything about Callie’s smart remarks—but no way was I taking this treatment from a couple of scrawny rodents!
When the two saw me racing for them, they darted through the crack in the barn door. I chased after them and squeezed through. Then . . . I stopped. The two mice were no place to be seen. But the Mama’s new car was in there. She was so proud of it, I guess she decided to keep it inside and out of the weather. What stopped me was the sound. It was a scraping, scratching, gnawing sound.
It came from under Mama’s new Range Rover.
CHAPTER 7
I scrunched down so that I could get a better look under the Range Rover. The scratching sounds continued, but I couldn’t see a thing. I crept slowly toward the vehicle to get a closer look. I blinked. My eyes narrowed as I tried to adjust to the darkness. The gnawing sound got louder. I twisted my neck to look under the big car.
The fur on my back and tail fuzzed up as the big rat, Nora, dropped to the ground in front of me. She started laughing and pointing.
“Where have you been, Cat? You look ridiculous. Look at that big pink bow on your head.” Nora’s nasty laugh made me back away from the car. “Hey, guys, look at this silly cat!”
Suddenly several sets of yellow eyes appeared near Nora. “Yeah, I remember that little kitty. He’s been in here before, but he never stays very long. Looks like he’s been to the beauty shop.” The gray one moved even closer.
Several rats appeared in the rafters. Each one had a remark to make about the bows in my fur. I backed away, then quickly turned and ran out the door. Their jeering laughter followed me like a cloud follows a thunderstorm.
Amy had told me that I was a pretty kitty. It felt good to be praised and taken care of, but here in the barn with the nasty rats I only felt embarrassed and uncomfortable.
As soon as I got outside in the sunshine, I tried to pull the bows off again. They were impossible to move. I strolled to a safe spot near the apple tree. I found some dust to roll in. I flipped to my back and tried to scrape the bow off. It felt good to roll around. I stood up, shook, and swished my tail.
Just as I was beginning my bath, I heard a whistle. It sounded kind of familiar. Sometimes when Mama got all dressed up to go someplace, Daddy would whistle at her and tell her how pretty she looked. She would always smile and give him a big hug. It was the same whistle, but different somehow. I looked toward the house to see if I could see Mama or Daddy. The whistle came again. Daddy was no place in sight. The sound was close. I perked my ears and tried to find out what was making the noise. Just then I heard a familiar laugh. With a jerk of my head, I looked up. There on the branch of the apple tree was my friend Flea.
I scampered up the tree trunk to the first limb where the mockingbird sat.
“Flea! I’m so glad that you are back. I have missed you!”
“Hey, Cat. You look really cute. Did you get all prettied up for me?” The bird fluffed her feathers.
“No, Chomps and I got in trouble and we had to go see Amy and Jeff. Chomps got a haircut and I got a bath and a wonderful rubdown.” I purred just remembering.
“Who’s Chomps?” The little bird stared at me.
“Chomps is the new dog. He’s pretty cute. I’m trying to teach him how to hunt. Remember when I had to teach you?”
“That wasn’t too long ago. I have gotten to be a good hunter this winter. Right now it’s time to start looking for a place to build my nest.”
“What about this apple tree? That is where you were born. Wouldn’t that be a good place to start your family?” I tried to sharpen my claws on the bark of the tree.
“Mama may come back here. If she does, then she gets to make her nest in her tree. I have to find a place that is just right for me.” Flea stretched out one wing and used her beak to clean her feathers.
“There are lots of trees around here. You will find a good one close by.”
Flea shook her feathers and looked at me. “My special tree has to be just right. I have to pick very carefully. Remember how that storm blew me out of the tree when I was little? I don’t want that to happen to my baby birdies.”
“Hey, let’s go meet Chomps. He’s really a good dog. I bet you can help me teach him some pretty good tricks when we hunt.”
“Sure, I would like to meet your friend. Where is he?”
“Last time I saw him, he was in the backyard. We dug out and went exploring this morning, and that was when our troubles began.” I jumped down from the tree and headed for the backyard. I climbed over the chain-link and dropped to the ground.
Flea swooped after me and landed on the fence.
“Where’s the dog?” Flea asked.
I shrugged my ears. “Guess he’s inside.”
“When Mama gives him a bath, he always gets to spend more time in the house. Now that he’s been to the beauty shop and looks so clean and pretty, he may never come outside.”
“Ah, I can meet him later.” Flea chirped with a shrug of her wings. “We haven’t seen each other for a long time. We’ve got a lot of visiting to catch up on.”
Flea swooped down and landed on my back. The familiar feel of her sharp little claws felt good.
“So,” she began. “Tell me what you’ve been doing this winter, and I’ll tell you all about my winter home in Florida.”
We talked for a long time before Mama let Chomps out. He ran straight to his favorite place and lifted his leg. When he finished, he kicked grass at the wet spot with his hind feet. Suddenly his eyes flashed wide. His mouth fell open.
“Gray,” he whispered.
“What?” I whispered back.
“There’s a bird on your back.”
His eyes got even bigger. Flea and I both began to laugh. The little dog stood still. His new haircut made him look fluffy but very mature.
“Chomps, you look very nice.” Flea cheeped. “I really like your new haircut.”
Chomps’s head tilted so far to one side, I thought he was going to fall over. I had never seen him look so puzzled and confused.
“Chomps, I want you to meet my friend, Flea. She’s been gone all winter and she just got back. I told you stories about some of our adventures. I think that you two will be good friends.”
Chomps’s tail started to wag. “So you’re Flea.” He smiled. “I’ve heard so much about you. I feel like we’re friends already.”
• • •
During the next two weeks, Flea, Chomps, and I learned to play some neat games. Our favorite was tag. We only had to touch Flea’s shadow. She had to touch us gently with her beak. We spent hours playing the game. Chomps would bark and bark as he raced across the yard chasing the swooping shadow. I would hide behind the trunk of the tree and leap out just in time to touch the dark spot in the grass as Flea flew past. It kept Chomps and me from getting very far from the house, so we weren’t in trouble with Mama.
• • •
Other mockingbirds began to come back. Flea was still looking for a perfect place to put her nest. Everyday she would check new trees searching for the ideal spot to build her new home.
I was rubbing against the swing when I finally got lucky and managed to get the bow off the top of my head. The one on my tail was looking pretty ragged, but it hung on. I don’t know what Amy had done to those bows to make them stay put for so long. My smell was better, too. I felt more like a real cat. One day, while Flea was away hunting for a place for her nest and while Callie was taking a nap in the sun, I mustered my courage to return to the rats’ den.
Mama’s big vehicle was parked in the middle of the barn. The scrunching noises that I had heard before were coming from under it. I squeezed myself to the ground, my ears against my head. I wiggled closer, a little bit at a time. The sounds grew louder as I eased toward the car. My eyes were still adjusting to the darkness when I saw Nora under Mama’s Range Rover. The big rat was chewing on wires beneath the car.
“Get out from under Mama’s car!” I demanded.
The scrunching didn’t stop. Nora just kept chewing and chewing.
“MEOW!” I howled.
Finally the noises stopped. “What do you want, little kitty cat?” Nora squeaked.
“Get away from Mama’s new car. Go chew on some corn or something. You shouldn’t be bothering stuff here.”
“Stop me if you can!” The gnawing sounds began again.
I looked around to see if there were any other rats. My eyes narrowed to slits as I peered into the dim space. I couldn’t see any ratty eyes staring back at me.
“Get away from Mama’s car!” I demanded as I scooted closer.
Suddenly Nora dropped to the floor. She took a deep breath, making herself look very big and mean. “You sound like a pretty tough cat telling me what to do.”
I took a deep breath trying to make myself look big, too. “You need to get away from Mama’s car.”
“Your mama needs to get her car out of my barn!” The rat moved closer to me.
I backed up just a bit. “This isn’t your barn, you big rat! It belongs to Mama and Daddy.”
Nora moved closer to my face. I could see her beady eyes glaring at me. Her whiskers twitched as she stared. “Get out of my barn, little kitty cat!”
I raised my right paw. Claws sprang out. Nora just smiled.
“Yeah, little kitty, come on. Reach over here with that paw. It looks downright yummy.”
Trembling, I held my ground, but Nora didn’t back away, either.
KAABOOOM!
The sudden noise sent Nora scurrying from under the car and up to the rafters. It sent me scurrying, too. I raced from the barn and out into the fresh air.
The wind shook the trees around me. Lightning seemed to be everywhere. I ran as fast as I could to the front door of the house.
“MEOW! Let me in!” I howled as loud as I could.
CHAPTER 8
Another loud clap of thunder echoed against the rock hill in the valley. Just as I scooted onto the front porch, Mama opened the door. I skidded between her feet, ran to the bedroom, and hid under the bed.
Lightning and crashing thunder kept me there. Hard rain beat against the windows. For a while I could hear the sharp sound of ice hitting the house, too. I remembered the day that Chomps and I had hidden under the rock cliff. This storm lasted longer and was much louder than the last one.
It was quiet when I finally pulled myself out from my hiding place. Callie was asleep on the pillow. The storm didn’t seem to bother her a bit. She peered through half-opened eyes at me.
“Callie, didn’t you hear that storm?” I asked.
“Sure, I did. Why?” Callie opened her eyes and stretched out her front paws.
“It was so loud. Didn’t it scare you?”
“I was safe here in the house. It was noisy, but I wasn’t worried about it.”
“When Chomps and I got caught out in a storm, it rained so much that I almost didn’t get that little dog back across the creek. Limbs, leaves, and twigs were everywhere. This storm was even more scary. I was inside and it was really loud!”
The old cat closed her eyes and seemed to be asleep again. I hopped off the bed. Chomps would talk to me.
In the office the little dog was asleep near Mama’s feet. Mama reached down and picked me up when I rubbed against her leg. I sank my claws into the soft robe that she wore. She cradled me in her arms and gave me a good tummy rub.
“What are you doing, Gray?” I just purred at her. Nobody seemed to be very concerned about the rain, maybe I was just being a scaredy-cat.
When Mama finished with me, I headed for the kitchen to see if there was anything left in the food bowl. I could still hear the gentle patter of rain on the roof.
• • •
By the next morning the rain had almost quit.
“The weatherman says that there might be more storms later this week, so we should enjoy the sunshine . . . if it comes out today.” Mama held out a cup to Daddy.
“I heard on the radio about possible floods. The western part of the state got even more rain than we did. The river is supposed to be out of its banks by noon tomorrow.” Daddy sat down at the table and looked out the window at the sky.
Mama started stacking the dishes in the sink. “I’d better hurry and get to town. If they’re worried about the river overflowing, then the low-water crossing on our creek may be a problem, too.”
“I think that I will give our county commissioner a call.” Daddy rocked back in his chair and folded his arms.
“He told me last year they would do something about it. The roads on his side of the county look like superhighways, but we’re still slopping through the mud.” Daddy picked up the little box on the wall and started pushing his finger at it. His eyes narrowed to tiny slits, just like mine did when I thought about Nora.
Mama headed for the door. “I’ll be back as quick as I can.”
I slipped out, hot on Mama’s heels. I jumped up on the swing and stretched. I could hear Daddy talking to himself inside.
“Mr. King, aren’t you ever going to get to this side of the county? I have seen some excellent roads on the east side. The road here is such a mess. I don’t think a grader can get through when it rains.” Daddy opened the door and shoved Chomps out with me.
“I understand that you have the big bridge that you are working on. Yes, sir, I do know that school buses have to cross there every day. I understand that you have been working on that bridge for more than two years.” Daddy’s voice was getting louder.
Chomps put his front feet up on the swi
ng with me. “Want to play?”
“Sure, let’s get Flea and play tag.” We started looking for the bird. I climbed four trees, before we finally gave up.
“Where do you think she is?” Chomps continued to sniff the bushes around the house.
“She’s probably looking for a good place to build her nest. She has been checking for a while. I hope the place that she finally picks is close to the house. That way we can see her little babies when they start poking their heads out of the nest.”
Just as we were headed back to the porch, Daddy came out and scooped us up. “You two better go to the backyard. I have to pull the hay truck out of the mud, and Mama will be pretty mad if you two take off. You’ve been such good animals, and I would sure hate for you to get in trouble again. Mama would be mad at me!”
Daddy carried us through the house and plopped us on the back porch. “I’ll be back pretty quick. Be good pets.”
We heard Daddy start the tractor and head toward the road. Chomps and I walked along the edge of the fence watching for something to move so that we could practice pouncing.
I stayed in the yard with Chomps for a long time. We played chase. I climbed the big pine tree and waited for Chomps to come look for me. When he wasn’t expecting it, I dropped from the tree and clunked him on the head and back with my paws. I took off before he even knew what hit him. He yapped and barked, then chased me round and round the backyard. We even took a nap under the picnic table. It seemed like Mama was taking a long time to get back from the store. I was even getting worried about Flea. She must have found a place for her nest and was working on it already.
The sun didn’t come out, but it was warm and damp everywhere. I hopped over the fence and took a stroll around the place. The barn seemed quiet today. Mama Mockingbird was back in the apple tree and working on her new nest.
“Have you seen Flea today?” I meowed to the old bird.
“She was out in the trees just north of here,” the bird cheeped. “Are you going to bother her, like you did me last year?”
I flipped my tail. “I didn’t bother you that much. Besides, I took care of Flea when she wouldn’t fly away with the rest of the birds.”
Chomps, Flea, and Gray Cat [That’s Me!] Page 4