Cheetah
Page 2
“Is she all right?” Mom asked.
“Yes, she’s telling me about a new game. Watch this.”
Mia set Cheetah down on the grass. Cheetah hopped. Mia hopped behind her and touched her on the back. Cheetah hopped again. Mia tagged her again.
Maggie came outside.
“It’s called ‘hop tag,’” said Mia.
“I want to play too!” Maggie said. She started to hop like a big crazy frog.
Mia scooped up Cheetah. “Maggie, you could have squished her!”
“Would not.”
“Would too!”
“Would not!”
“Girls, please,” said Mom. “Mia, put Cheetah back in her box.”
Mia set Cheetah in the bowl of water. Cheetah climbed out. She hid in the grass. Mia put the lid on.
“Don’t be afraid,” Mia whispered. “You just relax while I show you around.”
Mia held the box carefully. She showed Cheetah the garden, the mailboxes, the lamppost and the stop sign.
“What do you think, Cheetah?” Mia asked through the breathing holes. “Do you like it here? Blink once for ‘yes’ and twice for ‘no.’”
Cheetah blinked once.
“I knew you’d like it! It’s better than that old pond, right?”
Cheetah stared ahead.
“Want to have a staring contest?” Mia asked. “I bet you’d win!”
Cheetah turned in the grass so her back was to Mia.
“I guess you’re tired,” said Mia. “You have a little nap.”
In her bath that night, Mia pretended she was Cheetah. She floated like a bath toy. She stretched her legs out behind her. She blinked. She stared. She tried to think like a frog. She asked herself a question. If I was Cheetah, what would make me happy?
But “herself” didn’t answer. “Herself” was as silent as Cheetah.
News Day
Mia waited outside the school. She held Cheetah’s box carefully. She had put a cloth over the box so no one could see inside. Kids crowded around her. They tried to peek under the cloth.
“What’s in there?!” they demanded.
“Is it alive?”
“Is it a snake?” someone asked.
“Snake!” The kids squealed and backed away. Mia was glad. She wanted to keep Cheetah a secret until News time.
The bell rang. Mia waited while the other kids rushed inside. She didn’t want Cheetah’s box to get bumped. Mr. Ko, the principal, held the door open for her.
“What’s in the box?” he asked.
“Well...it doesn’t bite or hurt people.”
“That’s good. Is it a surprise then?”
Mia nodded. “It’s my News.”
“Well, better hurry or you’ll be late.”
Mia got to the classroom just as the announcements started. She set Cheetah’s box on her desk.
“What’s in there, Mia?” Hailee whispered.
“Shhh,” said Mrs. Rose.
The announcements were long and boring. Who cared about soccer games and bake sales? The best news was sitting right here on Mia’s desk!
Finally, Mrs. Rose said, “Who has News today?” Mia’s hand shot in the air. Tom and Lisa raised their hands too.
“Mia, why don’t you start?” said Mrs. Rose.
Mia took Cheetah’s box to the front of the class. She set it on a table.
“Girls, boys and Mrs. Rose,” she began, “today I brought a creature from the wild. It will amaze you! It will astound you! It’s a real, live leopard frog!”
She took the cloth off the box. She lifted Cheetah out. Some kids squealed. Some said, “Cool!” One said, “Yuck!” (That was Suzy. Suzy only liked one kind of animal: toy poodles with bows on their heads.)
“Some people don’t like frogs,” said Mia. “But frogs are lots of fun.”
She showed the class how fun Cheetah was. They had a staring contest. They played hop tag. She put Cheetah on her shoulder. She even put Cheetah on her head!
“Mia,” said Mrs. Rose, “shouldn’t you keep your hands on Cheetah?”
Mrs. Rose was right. Mia knew her head wasn’t the best place for Cheetah. Cheetah could jump off and hurt herself. She took Cheetah down. She held Cheetah gently with both hands. Only Cheetah’s head peeked out.
“Are there any questions?” Mia asked the class.
Twenty hands went up.
“Yes, Seth?”
“Does it poop?” Seth asked.
“I don’t know,” said Mia. “Yes, Lin?”
“Does it pee on your hand?”
“She did once.” Mia grinned.
“I have a question,” said Mrs. Rose. “Where did you find Cheetah?”
“At the pond at my dad’s drop zone,” said Mia. “But she likes it better at my house.”
“You made her a nice habitat,” said Mrs. Rose. She explained that a habitat was an animal’s home.
There were lots of other questions. Mia answered them as well as she could. Mrs. Rose lined the class up so they could pat Cheetah. (Everyone wanted to except Suzy.) Then Mia put Cheetah in her box. Cheetah hid in the grass.
“You have a rest now,” Mia whispered.
She was tingling all over. Cheetah was the best News Mia ever had. Tom’s News was next. He showed a picture from the newspaper. Boring! Lisa’s News was about the circus. That was better. But nothing was as good as a real, live leopard frog!
Mia stayed inside at recess. She wanted to give Cheetah a cuddle.
Mrs. Rose sat down beside them. “Mia, you are taking good care of Cheetah. This is a lovely habitat.”
“Thank you,” said Mia. “Cheetah loves her habitat. Don’t you, Cheetah?”
“Mia, what are your plans for Cheetah?” Mrs. Rose asked. “Are you going to let her go?”
Mia didn’t want to talk about that.
“Mia?” Mrs. Rose’s voice was quiet. “Are you going to let her go?”
Mia nodded. “I only get to keep her till Saturday. Then I have to take her back to the pond.”
“I’m sorry if that makes you sad, Mia,” said Mrs. Rose. “But it is best for Cheetah. She’s a wild animal.”
“I know.”
“Why don’t you run along now for recess?”
Mia put Cheetah back. She left the classroom. But she didn’t run. She didn’t hop. She slumped along like a sad, mad human girl.
Jail ?!
Mom took Mia and Maggie to the library on Thursday. Mia chose three books about frogs. Maggie chose some books for teaching her dolls.
“Baby Uh-Oh needs this one about potty training,” she said.
Mom used the computer to find out more about leopard frogs.
“Oh, no,” she said suddenly.
“What is it?” Mia asked.
“It says here that there used to be lots of leopard frogs,” Mom said. “But now they are disappearing.”
“Disappearing?” A bad feeling crept over Mia. She had made Cheetah disappear from her pond.
Mom read some more. “Oh, dear!” she said. “It says that leopard frogs are ‘at risk.’ That’s almost like being endangered.”
Mia knew about endangered animals. Tigers were endangered. So were pandas. Endangered animals lived in zoos or special parks in the wild. They didn’t live in fields behind a drop zone.
Mia knew something else that gave her chills. It was against the law to capture endangered animals. Was she going to be put in jail?
“It didn’t say we couldn’t catch them! There wasn’t a sign or anything!”
“It’s not your fault, Mia. Don’t be upset. But it does mean we need to get Cheetah back to her pond.”
“Before Saturday?”
“No, Saturday will be fine. But next time, leave the wild animals in the wild, okay?”
Mia plunked herself down in a chair. The adults in her life kept saying the same thing: “Cheetah belongs in the wild.” Mia thought they were wrong. If Cheetah was endangered, she needed Mia to protect her.
The more Mia thought about it, the madder she got. Nobody understood. Mia scowled through dinner. She glared at the TV . She frowned at the mirror while brushing her teeth.
“Sweet dreams,” said her parents at bedtime.
Mia growled in reply. She put her quilt on the floor. She curled up beside Cheetah’s box. Then she cried herself to sleep.
The Nightmare
Mia dreamed that she was very small. Her bedroom was filled with mud. It smelled bad. The door and window were gone. There were holes in the ceiling.
Mia stretched toward them to get some fresh air. A huge eye appeared at one of the holes. Mia hid in the grass. The monster took off the lid. It was a giant! A slimy green giant! It reached in. There was nowhere to run.
The monster grabbed Mia. It put her down. She ran! The monster picked her up. Then it put her down. She ran! It picked her up again. It played this mean game for a long time. Then it lifted Mia high and set her down on its cold clammy head.
Mia saw her chance to escape. It was a long way down. But she jumped!
And fell!
And woke up.
Mia trembled like a piece of grass in a cold wind. She turned on her light. She took the lid off Cheetah’s box. She couldn’t see Cheetah at first. Then she spied her hiding in the grass. Mia ran her finger gently down Cheetah’s back. Cheetah trembled.
“Don’t be scared, Cheetah,” Mia whispered.
She picked Cheetah up and held her close.
“Oh, Cheetah,” she said sadly, “am I your monster?”
Cheetah’s habitat looked messy. The bowl of water had spilled. It was starting to smell bad.
“Mia, are you all right?” Dad was standing in the doorway.
Mia nodded. She tried not to cry. Dad sat on the floor beside her. He smiled at Cheetah.
“You’ve had fun with Cheetah this week, haven’t you?”
Mia nodded.
“Are you ready to take her back on Saturday?”
Mia shook her head. Dad sighed. Mia put Cheetah back in her box. She snuggled into Dad’s lap.
“You did a good job taking care of her,” said Dad.
“No, I didn’t,” Mia sobbed. “I didn’t make her love me. She always wants to get away.”
“She just needs to stretch. Hey—do you remember when I got my big saw? You made a fort out of the box.”
Mia nodded.
“It was fun for a while, right? But you couldn’t stay curled up in there for long. It was too small. Maybe Cheetah feels like that.”
Mia started to feel mad again. Cheetah’s habitat was better than a plain old box. It was lovely! Mrs. Rose said so! Cheetah loved it!
Didn’t she?
Mia wanted to be alone to think.
“I’m going back to bed, Dad,” she said.
Dad tucked her in. He kissed her on the forehead.
“Don’t feel bad, Mia. You kept Cheetah safe for a whole week. And you gave her a great adventure.”
An adventure... Mia liked that idea. She fell asleep thinking about it. This time she had a good dream. Cheetah was back at the pond. The other frogs sat all around her. Cheetah was telling them a story. It was the story of her great adventure at Mia’s house.
Going Home
Saturday was gray and drizzly.
“I guess we can’t go to the drop zone today,” said Mia.
“Good try,” said Mom. “But frogs like it wet.”
The whole family went to the drop zone to say goodbye to Cheetah. Maggie brought Sad Dolly because she was a good crier.
“Don’t worry,” Mia whispered to Cheetah. “It will be over soon.”
She didn’t say, “Soon you’ll be back in your pond.” Mia was hoping for a miracle. Maybe Cheetah wouldn’t want to go in the pond. Maybe she would jump right back in her box!
The family walked through the field to the pond. They waited quietly while Mia opened Cheetah’s box. Mia picked Cheetah up. She held her nose-to-nose. Then she set her down at the water’s edge. Cheetah didn’t move. The miracle is happening, thought Mia! Cheetah wants to stay with me!
Then Cheetah took a mighty leap into the water. She was gone. A tear slid down Mia’s cheek.
“Want to hold Sad Dolly?” Maggie asked.
Mia shook her head. Then she smiled. A frog was climbing onto the sea serpent log.
“There’s Cheetah!” Mia cried.
“She looks happy,” said Mom.
“No wonder,” said Dad. “Look who’s with her.”
A big frog hopped along the log and sat beside Cheetah.
“She’s going to tell him about her adventure,” said Mia. Maggie tugged on her. “Look at these jelly things, Mia.”
Mia squatted down.
“I think those are frogs’ eggs,” Mia said. “I saw pictures of them in Mrs. Rose’s book. Those dark spots turn into tadpoles.”
“Maybe Cheetah will lay eggs,” said Mom.
“Yeah!” said Mia. “Maybe that’s why she wasn’t hungry. She was full of eggs!”
Dad promised to bring the girls back to check on the eggs. Mia couldn’t wait to see the tadpoles when they hatched.
Then Maggie spotted more black specks. This time they were in the sky. It had stopped raining. The skydivers were jumping. Mom, Dad and Maggie watched the skydivers float down. But Mia watched Cheetah and her froggy friend. They were watching the sky too.
She imagined what they were saying to each other. A story started to form in her mind. It was a new story about Cheetah. Mia would write it down in her draft book on Monday.
Cheetah and Ribbert
Cheetah and Ribbert lived in a pond at the drop zone.
They liked to sit on a log and watch the skydivers.
“They are having fun,” croaked Cheetah. “I need some fun. I need adventure!”
“We all have dreams,” croaked Ribbert.
A girl came to the pond. Her name was Mia. She was very nice for a human. She took Cheetah on a grand adventure. Cheetah got to see how humans live. She was the star at Mia’s school. It was lots of fun. But she missed her home. She missed Ribbert.
She was glad when Mia took her back to the pond. She swam to the log.
“Ribbert, I’m back!” she croaked. “Where are you, my frog prince?”
Ribbert was so happy to see Cheetah.
“Cheetah, you are my dream come true,” he croaked. “Will you be my frog princess and never leave me again?”
“Yes,” croaked Cheetah, “but what if I need another adventure? Will you come with me?”
“Okay, “ croaked Ribbert.
“Hooray!” said Cheetah. “Let’s go skydiving!”
Cheetah and Ribbert were the first frogs in the world to jump out of an airplane. They became rich and famous. But they went back to live in the pond.
They told their friends about their adventure. They had many tadpoles. They loved them all. But one was extra special. They called her Mia. Her little sister was nice too. They called her Maggie. And they all lived happily ever after.
The End
Award-winning author Wendy A. Lewis loves the experiences that come to her through her writing, from researching leatherback sea turtles at night on a Costa Rican beach to jumping out of an airplane at thirteen thousand feet. She lives with her family in Uxbridge, Ontario, and has a soft spot for frogs.
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