| Dawn And Rusty I was hiking down this very same road a year ago when I happened to see a little kittne jumping and rolling in a big pile of leaves. I laughed as I watched her. She was so cute and having the time of her life. As I bent down to pick her up she ran away. I called to her and said I wanted to be friends. She played peek-a-boo for a minute or so, then came to me. I picked her up. She was so soft and cuddly she felt good to me. Much to my surprise another kittne came towards me and stood on my shoe. So I picked him up, too. The kittens looked each other over and accepted each other. I put them on the ground. They played together for a while then tired out as all babies do. I didn't want to leave them alone so I put them in my shirt pockets. They seemed to like it there. I had things to do and places to go, so I decided to take them home with me rather than just leave them on their own. Anyway, they felt quite at home in my pockets. I had no idea how Mom would take two new members of the family, but I would find out soon enough. When I showed mom the kittnes I had in my pockets, she smiled and said they were cute and we could keep them for mousers. She saw two that morning. I took them to my bedrrom and made a bed for them under my window. This would give them air and sunlight. I played with them for a while, then told them to go to sleep because I was very tired. As I was falling asleet, I thought I heard people talking. Then I realized it was my kittnes! I could not believe they could talk like humans. I believe I heard a voice say "My name is Dawn and I'm an orphan." The other voice said "Hi. I'm Rusty and I'm lost. Someone just dumped me on the side of the road and didn't care what happened to me. Maybe if we're lucky this family will keep us and we'll be safe from harm. They seem like very nice people." I guess I just went to sleep after that no really knowing if I was dreaming or not. The first thing I did in the morning was to talk to my kittens. At first they pretended not to know what I was talking about. When they saw I ment business they talked to me. They were afraid if they did I would be scared and would not want them. They knew talking animals were not ment to me. After I assured them their secret was safe with me they talked quite freely. We talked for a long time and had to set some rules so everyone would be safe. It didn't take long to realize that Rusty was quite an adventurous kitten. He liked to explore everything and sometimes went to far to do what he wanted to do, putting himself in danger. I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said he didn't know for sure, but thought he might like to join the circus. He thought it might be fun to go on the trapeze high above the crowds. He wanted to hear them cry "OOOH" and "AHHH" and see them hold their breath as they watched him. I talked him out of that one. Dawn was relieved that I did, too. The next day he wanted to be a high jumper. It' true he could jump high and far, but he lost interest in that. I guess it just wasn't dangerous enough for him. He said any cat could do that and he wanted something more exciting to do. After giving it a lot of thought he came up with seeing how high he could climb a tree. I wasn't to concerned because all cats climb; it's their nature. He spent the next day in town checking out the tallest trees he could find. I kept telling him I wouldn't know what to do if he couldn't get back down. He said "Call the fire department. They do this all the time. It's part of their job." Dawn begged Rusty not to do it, but he just laughed and said everything would be alright. The next morning Rusty said he was ready to go. So we all got in the car and went to the center of town where the tallest tree was to be found. As Rusty started up the tree several children saw him and got closer to get a better look. Of course Dawn was very uneasy and really didn't want Rusty to go. The children wanted him to come back and not climb. They were afraid for him. When they called him to come back, he just laughed to himself and kept going. This was a very important day for him and he had to prove himself. As he climbed higher and higher more and more people gathered to see what was goin on. And the higher he climbed the more tired he got, but he did not want to quit. It was a lot harder than he thought it would be. I could see he was very tired. I called for him to come back but he was very stubborn and would not. Poor Dawn was very upset and shaking. I had to try to comfort her. It had been several hours since Rusty started to climb and he was only half way up. He was really getting tired. I begged him to come back but he just would not give in. So we watched and waited a while longer. Soon it was dark and the fire department came with long ladders and large spotlights to shine all the way to the top of the tree. By now Television trucks were covering the story and hundreds of people came. It took most of the night to get things back in order and everyone was happy Rusty was safe and sound. Of course, the poor little guy was so tired he fell asleep as soon as I held him in my arms. Dawn was so happy she cired and even kissed him. The next morning I knew I had to have a long talk with Rusty to convince him that he was still a baby and had to grow up before doing dangerous things. I told him he had to grow a lot before being an adult and he should spend a lot of time having fun while he was still young. Somehow I got through to him beacuse he was quite content to be a kitten for a while longer. Rusty seemed happy and grew up to be a very responsable cat. he did not worry me or Dawn anymore. We are a very happy family and love each other very much. The best time Dawn, Rusty and I have is when we talk to each other. It's still our secret. |