The Mystery Of The Midnight Kitten By Jim Peterson

Transcription

1 The Mystery Of The Midnight Kitten By Jim Peterson 2013 James Peterson 1

2 The Mystery Of The Midnight Kitten By Jim Peterson Tom and Barbara had been in their new home for two months. They were very happy with the house, the neighborhood and their neighbors. They had already become friends with the people next door, Dave and Nancy, an animal doctor and his wife. Tom and Barbara had been talking about getting a pet. Tom wanted a puppy but Barbara wanted a kitten. One evening Barbara was very excited when Tom came home. Tom, she said. My friend Brenda s cat had kittens eight weeks ago and she said we could have first pick. Can we go see the kittens? Tom agreed to see the kittens and they went to Brenda s house. They looked at all of the kittens but Barbara fell in love with the only black and white one. She was just a cute little bundle of black and white fur. She was mostly black with four white legs and feet. She had some white on her face, mostly around her eyes and nose. Her chest and tummy were white and she had a band of white that ran behind her neck so she looked like she was wearing a little black hood. She also had a black smudge on the left side of her nose and face. She looked like she had been sniffing a lump of coal. Barbara just had to have this very cute little kitten. Her friend Brenda was glad Barbara had picked that kitten. It was her favorite too and now she knew the kitten would have a good home with people who would love her. On the way home Barbara held the kitten in her lap. Well honey, you have your kitten. What are you going to name her? asked Tom. Isn t it obvious? answered Barbara. She is a cute little black and white kitten. Her name has to be Panda. They stopped at the pet store to buy supplies for their new kitten. Barbara waited in the car holding the kitten while Tom went into the store to buy kitten food, kitten toys, a litter box and some litter. The kitten was already trained to use a liter box. It was still early in the evening when they got home so Tom and Barbara watched the kitten become accustomed to her new home. Panda was a good little girl while she investigated everything. She didn t make any messes on the floor and she didn t break anything. There was so much to see she didn t miss her mommy and her brothers and sisters at first. She went from room to room sniffing everything she could reach. Finally it was time for bed. Barbara had put a folded towel in a shallow box and put the box in the bedroom so Panda would have her own bed. Barbara put Panda in the bed several times but Panda wasn t ready for bed yet. As soon as Barbara let go of Panda she would jump out of the box and scamper into another room. Finally Tom and Barbara turned off the lights and went to bed. Everything was fine. Panda was quiet for almost five minutes. 2

3 As soon as Panda realized it was time for her to go to bed and she didn t have her mommy and her brothers and sisters she started to cry. She cried very loudly for such a tiny kitten. After a few minutes Barbara got out of bed and picked up Panda. She cuddled her until she stopped crying. She tried to put her back into the kitten bed she had made for her but Panda wouldn t stay there. Again as soon as Barbara let her go she jumped out of the box and started to cry. Finally Barbara picked up Panda and brought her to bed with her. Tom laughed. Have fun kitten sitting for the next few nights. he said. Then he rolled over and went to sleep. Panda snuggled happily against Barbara and soon purred herself to sleep. A month went by and Panda was growing quickly. She even knew her name already because when Barbara fed her she would say her name, Panda, several times and when she or Tom petted Panda they would repeat her name so Panda would associate the sound of her name with food or pleasure. She no longer missed her cat family. She had her own house, a lot of toys and two people who adored her and played with her whenever she wanted to play. When she wanted to snuggle she would jump into either Tom s or Barbara s lap and get all the snuggling and petting she wanted. She loved to have her tummy rubbed. She also liked to play hide and seek and her favorite place to hide was in one of Barbara's purses. She was a very happy little kitten. Then it started. Panda started to act very strangely late at night. At first Tom and Barbara thought it was just another phase she was going through and it would soon pass. But it didn t pass. It got worse. During the day Panda was her normal self. She had even chosen a new favorite toy. Barbara would roll one of her socks as tight as she could. Panda would hit the rolled sock and then chase it. She would sometimes pick it up in her teeth and toss the sock as high as she could. Then she would try to catch the sock. She loved her new game. She also loved her ball-in-the-bathtub game. Tom put two small balls in the tub. The larger ball kept the smaller ball from going down the drain. Panda could hit the small ball as hard as she wanted and it stayed in the tub. The ball would roll up and down the sides of the tub and she would chase it. When she was tired she would lay by the drain and hit the ball. It always came back to her. She didn t have to chase it if she didn t want to. She played her normal cat games during the day but late at night she would run all around the house as if she was chasing something or something was chasing her. One night Tom and Barbara decided to stay up late to see exactly what Panda was doing. They played with Panda, they held Panda in their laps and they petted her. Panda acted normally all evening. It was getting very late. Panda had played hard all evening and she was ready for her nap now. Then the big grandfather clock in the hallway started to bong. Bong. 3

4 Bong. Bong. The clock bonged nine more times. It was midnight and Tom and Barbara were getting very sleepy. Panda was already asleep on the back of the small couch. It was one of her favorite napping places. Everything was normal. Tom and Barbara were just about to give up and go to bed. Suddenly Panda s ears perked up. She sat up quickly and opened her eyes wide. She was wide awake now. She stared at the doorway to the dining room for several seconds then she moved her head slowly as if she were watching something walk into the room. Tom and Barbara were watching Panda and trying to see what she was looking at. They couldn t see anything but Panda clearly could. She stood up, she stretched and jumped down to the floor. She walked halfway across the room and stopped. She stretched her neck out and sniffed but there wasn t anything there to sniff. She was alone in the middle of the room. At least she appeared to be alone. Suddenly she scampered into the dining room and then into the kitchen. Two seconds later she returned at full speed. She ran to her tall scratching post and jumped to the top. She quickly turned and looked toward the floor. She reached down with one paw as if she were trying to reach something. She moved her paw up and down several times as if she were patting something or playing with another kitten. Tom and Barbara watched Panda in amazement. Tom, what is she doing? asked Barbara. I really don t know. replied Tom. It looks as if she is playing with another kitten but there isn t any other kitten there. As he spoke Barbara shivered badly. Suddenly I m very cold. she said. I just got a chill right up my spine. Tom looked at his shivering wife. Let s go to bed. You can warm up there and maybe we can figure this out. Tom and Barbara turned off the living room lights and went to bed. They turned off the bedroom light. They were laying there in the dark listening to Panda running back and forth in the other rooms. Then something happened that hadn t happened before. Something that sent shivers up Tom s spine this time. Panda came running into the bedroom. She jumped onto the bed on Tom s side. She ran across the bed to Barbara s side and jumped to the floor then she ran past the end of the bed and out of the room. 4

5 Panda had run across Tom s legs and was still on Barbara s side of the bed when Tom felt more little feet run across him. Panda had just jumped to the floor when Barbara felt the other little feet run across her. Barbara screamed as Tom reached for the light. He turned it on but Panda was already in the living room. Wha-what just happened? Barbara stuttered. I don t know. replied Tom. But I could swear there were two cats that just ran across this bed. That s what I felt too. said Barbara, her voice shaking a little. But we don t have two cats. They listened. It was quiet in the house now. Then after several minutes they heard the sound of one of Panda s toys as it rolled across the floor. It was an unmistakable sound. It had to be the ball with the little bell in it. They heard it again. "I guess she stopped running and is playing with the ball. said Tom. Please go and see. said Barbara. Her voice was quivering as she spoke. Tom got out of bed and went into the living room. He was reaching for the light switch when he heard the ball again. It was almost at his feet. He quickly turned on the light and looked down. Tom was confused. The ball was just a few inches from his feet but Panda was all the way across the room on the back of the small couch. She laid there looking at Tom. Tom knew Panda couldn t have hit the ball and jumped to the back of the couch that quickly. He was very confused. He felt the chill on his spine again. Now he was becoming frightened. He was wondering what was going on in this house? Panda s midnight playtimes continued almost every night. They started near midnight and ended approximately one half hour later. A couple more weeks went by. Then on a warm Saturday morning Tom was washing his car in the driveway when Dave, his next-door neighbor came over. The two men chatted for a while. Since Dave was an animal doctor Tom decided to tell him about Panda s strange behavior. Dave listened intently, nodding now and then. When Tom had finished Dave spoke. Tom, I would like to see Panda s behavior for myself. Would it be alright if Nancy and I came over tonight and watched her? We would like that very much. replied Tom. Why don t you come over for supper and we can play cards until midnight then we can all watch Panda do her thing. Fine. replied Dave. I ll go tell Nancy and will see you at seven. 5

6 Great, I ll tell Barbara. said Tom. That evening they had supper and were playing cards. It was almost midnight. Tom suggested they quit playing cards and go into the living room where Panda was in her usual spot on the back of the couch. Panda opened one eye as they entered the room and then slowly closed it again. Nothing was going to disturb her sleep. In a few minutes the grandfather clock started to bong. It was now midnight. Everyone watched Panda intently. Panda didn t care. She kept sleeping. She had played hard with Barbara several times that day as they usually did on Saturday. She needed some rest. All eyes were still on Panda. It was now five minutes after midnight and she hadn t stirred. She hadn t even opened an eye to look back at the four people staring at her. Tom was getting worried. If she didn t do something soon Dave and Nancy would think he and Barbara were crazy. They would think he and Barbara were making up the stories they had been telling them all evening about Panda s nighttime escapades. Suddenly Panda sat up. It was seven minutes past midnight. She looked at the doorway to the dining room. She stretched. She jumped to the floor and walked quickly to the doorway. She stretched her neck out a little as if she were sniffing something. She backed up half a step then raised her paw as if she were waving it. Suddenly she fell over backward. She was pawing the air with all four feet. Her ears were laid back and most of her tail was moving slowly from side to side but the tip of her tail was moving in short quick side-toside movements. She rolled over, jumped to her feet and stood on her hind legs. She pawed the air twice then she started to run as if she were chasing something. She zigzagged around the dining room chairs. She jumped up onto a chair. She jumped to another chair then back onto the floor. She sped through the living room where the four people were watching in amazement. She disappeared down the hallway and into the bedroom. Just as quickly she was back. She jumped to the top of the scratching post and turned quickly to face the room. But she wasn t looking at anyone in the room. She was looking down at the floor. She reached down with her right front paw and waved it again. She looked as if she was playing paw-to-paw patty cake with another kitten. But there was no other kitten in the room. There was no other kitten in the house. Or was there? Of course there wasn t but who was Panda playing with. Who was she chasing? Who was chasing her? 6

7 Tom and Barbara looked at Dave. Dave s face was almost the color of chalk. Nancy was pale too. Tom spoke first. Well Dave, now you have seen for yourself what we were talking about. Can you tell me if this is normal behavior for a kitten? Dave put his arm around Nancy. Tom, Barbara I can assure you this is not normal behavior for a kitten. But that s all I can tell you right now. We have to give this some thought. What we have seen here tonight along with what you both have been telling us is very strange. I need some time to think about it. I ll call you tomorrow after church. Dave and Nancy took one last look at Panda as she ran into the kitchen and then they went home. When Dave and Nancy were inside their own home they looked at each other. Are you thinking what I m thinking? asked Nancy. Ralph? asked Dave. Yes. replied Nancy. Ralph! It must be Ralph. What else could it be? I agree, but how can it be and how do we tell them? You will have to tell them the whole story. said Nancy. Tomorrow after church we will go next door and tell Tom and Barbara about Ralph. Dave agreed that would be the best thing to do. The next afternoon Dave and Nancy went next door to Tom and Barbara s house. Tom met them at the door and they all went into the living room. As usual Panda was asleep on the back of the couch. Dave spoke first. Tom, did you meet the people who sold you this house? No, they had already left the area so we handled everything through the real estate people. was Tom s reply. Then I guess it s up to me to tell you the story of Ralph. Ralph? asked Tom. Yes, answered Dave. Ralph. John and Debbie, the previous owners of the house had a kitten named Ralph. He was fun to watch. He seemed to get into everything at once. He was just a little gray ball of energy. His biggest problem was that he was just too smart for a kitten. It seemed as if he could get into anything he wanted to. He even opened cupboards and stole food whenever he was hungry. His own cleverness was his downfall. John had a fondness for homemade chocolate chip cookies so Debbie always had a bag of dark chocolate chips in the cupboard so she could make cookies for him. One afternoon Debbie came home from work and found the cupboard door open and part of the bag of chocolate chips were gone. She could tell from the 7

8 marks on the bag that Ralph had been into the chips. She found Ralph lying on the floor in the dining room and he seemed to be very tired. Debbie scolded him but let him lay where he was. When John came home she told him what had happened. Ralph was still in the same spot in the dining room. John also left him where he was. Later when Ralph didn t eat any supper they began to worry. Later that evening Ralph still hadn t moved. John picked him up and all Ralph did was moan. Debbie called me and asked me to come over. Nancy and I came right over and Debbie explained what had happened. When she told me how much chocolate he had eaten I knew there was nothing we could do for Ralph. We made him as comfortable as we could while I explained to John and Debbie that chocolate is like poison for cats and dogs. They enjoy the taste as much as we do but their digestive system can t handle the toxins in the chocolate and they die from something very similar to a heart attack in humans. You must never feed chocolate to a dog or a cat. The darker the chocolate the less it takes to kill them and Ralph had eaten a lot of dark chocolate. Little Ralph died at approximately midnight right here in this room. He never got any older than Panda is now. Tom looked at Dave. We are very sorry to hear about Ralph but what does he have to do with what is going on here at night? Then Tom paused and looked at Barbara. His eyes widened as he looked back at Dave. Wait just a minute. Are you telling us Panda is playing with Ralph s ghost? Dave nodded his head. Yes Tom, little Ralph has found a midnight playmate. End 8