That Furball Puppy and Me by Carol Wallace, Bill Wallance Read Free Book Online Page B

shadows were all that I could see. My ears perked, twitching and listening.
    Soft whimpers came from the hay room. Watching for the rats, I wiggled my way through the opening and out of the wind.
    Cautiously I wove between the piles of hay bales. Ratty scratching sounds came to my ears.
    I called softly, “Meow! Where are you?”
    Only limbs scraping against the walls of the barn answered me back.
    â€œPuppy, where are you?” I called a little louder.
    â€œGray, is that you? Help me!”
    I followed the soft sounds toward the back wall of the barn. I hopped up on top of two hay bales that were stacked there. I looked over. The pen was made out of hay. The barn served as one wall of the thing. Hay bales, one stacked on top of another, made the other three walls. Big brown eyes looked up at me. The puppy was shivering in a fuzzy, white heap near the back of the small pen.
    â€œI’m so scared. Get me out of here!” He scooted even closer to the wall of hay. His whole body shook.
    My slit eyes blinked, adjusting to the light in the barn. Nervous, I looked around. There were no signs of the rats.
    The puppy whimpered again. “They’ve been watching me. They run past and show their ugly yellow teeth. Can you see them?”
    Squinting, I looked into the cracks between the hay bales around the room. Small beady eyes gazed back. When I saw how tiny and frightened the eyes were, I almost purred.
    â€œMice … it’s just mice!”
    The puppy’s tail gave one little wag. Then hehuddled down, trembling. He looked so small and helpless as he pressed himself between the hay and the huge wall of the barn.
    â€œGray, come closer to me. I am so scared. I want out of here.”
    I flipped my tail. “I’m watching for the rats. I don’t have time for puppy games. You would wiggle and squirm all over the place.”
    â€œNo, I won’t! Please come down and help me get over the shivers.” The puppy shook hard as he looked at me. “I’m so scared!”
    â€œNo puppy games! I’ve got to figure out what we are going to do.”
    â€œI promise! Just come closer and snuggle.” The puppy’s tail gave another wiggle, then stopped. He trembled all over.
    I sprang quietly to the floor of the pen. Fluffing up my fur, I moved close to the pile of white. The small body nestled near me. Shivers came from him. After a time my body relaxed as the little pup fell asleep.
    Helping him made me feel better, too. Maybe there was really nothing to worry about. Maybe the rats only came in the daytime and only ate the grain. Maybe the worried and scared I sensed was all for nothing.
    My eyes felt heavy. I finally let them close and nestled closer to the white ball of fluff.
    Suddenly my eyes sprang open. They dartedabout the room, looking this way and that. Seeing nothing but the dim shadows, I blinked. I tried to close them, but they wouldn’t shut.
    There was a feeling—a presence—something … somewhere that made every muscle inside me spring tight. One of the dim shadows moved. It was high up on the wall of our pen. It crept on short, sneaky legs across one of the rafters at the very top of the barn. Another shadow trailed behind it. A long, ratty tail followed.
    The dark forms disappeared. I held my breath. A soft crunching came from the hay. My throat made a gulping sound when I swallowed. Suddenly the ugly faces of two huge rats glared down at me from the top of the bales.
    â€œHey, look, we’ve been out in the cold night, and dinner has been right here waiting for us.” The largest rat flicked his long tail.
    â€œYeah, nice fat little puppies. Double treat! Yummy!”
    â€œI’m starving, let’s eat! Two free dinners!”
    I watched as the big rats moved closer. The larger one stopped. Frowning, he leaned over the edge of the hay bale.
    â€œHey, Smitty, one of these little treats is a cat. A pretty big cat! I think we