That Darn Cat

The other night, just after I went to bed, I heard "scuffle, scuffle, scuffle," then a loud "meow"come from the hallway. I ignored it, but then there came another "meow," even louder.

"Callie, shhh," I said, hoping the noise wouldn't wake the kids. But once Callie knew I was listening to her, she started meowing nonstop until I dragged myself out of bed and walked to the hallway. There she sat, guarding her kill, looking at me with a proud gleam in her eyes. It was dark in the hallway, and all I could see of her prey was a small gray lump, with buggy eyes, staring right up at me. Although I suspected what it was, I didn't want to pick it up until I knew for certain.

I turned on the light, and found a crocheted octopus finger puppet, lying helplessly on the floor. And once again, Callie looked up at me, waiting for praise. "Good job," I said while picking up the puppet and tossing it on my dresser. I tried to get Callie to come to bed with me, but she wouldn't budge from her protective post in front of the kids' room. And I went to sleep happily, knowing that my children were protected from any kind of finger puppet that might try to attack them during the night.

This is actually the bear she killed the next morning.