Read That Furball Puppy and Me for Free Online Page B

rattled. I opened one eye. Two, sharp-pointed white ears stuck up over the edge. They bounced up and down.
    â€œI can get out of here,” he yapped. “You want to see? I can get out and we can play. You want to play with me? Huh? Want to?”
    Standing up and arching my back, I yawned. My whiskers tilted up on one side as I sneered down at him.
    â€œI don’t want to play. Go to sleep.”
    â€œOh, please,” he whined. “I’m not sleepy. I’m lonely. Let’s play.”
    I flipped my tail and jumped from the stool to the cabinet. “Leave me alone.”
    Fuzzy paws banged against the side of the box. “That was cool! I wish I could jump like that. How did you do that?”
    Instead of answering, I flopped on the kitchen counter and yawned. Why was this guy beingsuch a pest? Everybody knows cats are great jumpers. Why doesn’t he just shut up and go to sleep?
    The box rocked again when the puppy bounced against the side. Then it tilted and fell over. The furball rolled out, stood, and shook himself. He looked up at me, then bounced against the cabinet doors. There was a sudden “splash” sound. I lifted my head and peeked over the edge of the counter.
    With all the bouncing he was doing, the dumb mutt stuck his foot in the water bowl. It splashed all over the place. The papers were wet. His foot was wet. If he kept this up, the whole kitchen was going to be a mess.
    Suddenly the whiskers on both sides of my face sprang up.
    The whole kitchen was going to be a mess.
The words seemed to echo inside my head. If the puppy made a mess, the Mama and Daddy would be mad. When they got mad at me, they put me outside. If the puppy was outside, Mama would have more time to pet me. She could give me more tummy rubs instead of petting the puppy. I loved my tummy rubs.
    Quietly I got to my feet. I turned and sat on the edge of the counter, dangling the tip of my tail over the side. The puppy jumped against the cabinet door. I wiggled my tail again. He bouncedand tried to nip at it. Sure enough, when he jumped and barked, his little fat hind paws plopped into the water bowl. Water splashed everywhere. He didn’t even seem to notice he was all wet. The dumb thing did it again. His soggy feet tracked all over the place.
    This really was fun! I jumped to the floor. The puppy chased me around the room. Papers jumbled and crumpled into piles. When I leaped back on the counter, the furball tried to catch his own tail. It made the mess even worse. I waited until he quit, then hopped to the floor again. Eyes wide, here he came. Just as he got close, I hopped on the cabinet. The puppy leaped and bounced against the drawers.
    â€œI’m tired,” he panted finally. “I’m sleepy.”
    I looked down at the mess on the floor. The kitchen was a disaster. Something inside of me gave a little twinge. I don’t know what it was. I wanted Mama to be with me—not to spend all her time with the puppy. But the little mutt was so dumb and so trusting and so … well … so …
    Who cares? He’s just a dumb mutt anyway.
    I hissed and fuzzed up my fur to get his attention. The chase game started all over again. I loved to watch him spin around chasing his own tail.
    Just before the sky lightened up, I jumped over the barrier and hopped up to the safety of thecouch. Tucked in a ball, with my tail around my face, I went to sleep. The dumb furball must have finally worn himself out. From the kitchen I could hear him pant for a while, then he went to sleep, too.

    I was really snoozing when Mama got up to make her coffee. The little squeal that she let out startled me. My eyes popped wide. Mama’s mouth was open, as wide as my eyes, when she stood and looked at her kitchen.
    â€œGood grief! What happened in here?”
    Quickly I closed my eyes again and tried to pretend I was still sleeping.
    There was a scraping sound when Mama moved the cardboard barrier