The Squirrel War

Zora

Rumble rumble rumble. Oh come on! Ruth forgot to feed me again! I trotted over to Ruth's bedroom as my stomach began to growl once more. "Feed me! Feed me! I'm hungry!" I howled at her door.

"Not now, Zora." Ruth said sleepily. "Go away."

"Come on! Feed me!" I protested.

Ruth quietly opened the door and looked at me.

"What is it?" she asked, with a hint of annoyance in her voice. I stared at her. Had she honestly forgotten what I had just said? "I can't understand you, you know." she said, as if reading my mind.

At that very moment, my stomach chose to rumble and growl very loudly.

"Ohhhhh..." she murmured, stretching out the end of the word she had said. I looked at her intently. Waiting.

"Oh. Right. I'll go get your food while you stay here. Sit." I sat.

"Stay." I stayed. She ran off to get my food, and when she ran back I could hear a soft rattling resonating from my bowl. As she set it on the floor, I stretched my neck (for my tushie had to stay in the same spot), sniffed, and took a peek.

Inside was the smallest cluster of kibble I had ever seen! And that was saying a lot! I looked at her with my expressive eyebrows clearly saying, "You expect me to eat only that meager portion?" But Ruth never noticed. By the time my eyes found her after looking up from the kibble, she was already in the doorway of her bedroom! 

Suddenly, the smell of chicken in my bowl that I had overlooked filled my nostrils.

"Well at least she gave me chicken." I muttered. All of my thoughts while wolfing down that dog food were directed to the giant bag of meal where Ruth got the food in my bowl from. I had devised a plan! I would sneak into the closet where the bag of kibble was kept, and eat! After finishing my food in one gulp, I quickly trotted over to the closet where my food was kept. Seeing that the door was only slightly ajar, I stuck my nose in the crack and pushed the door open. Then I turned my attention to what was in the closet.

There sat that scrumptious bag of food! It seemed to be calling to me, "Come and eat! Come!" As I neared the bag, I noticed something.

It was sealed! How could this be! "Nooooooo!" I howled. "Why!" I cried. My stomach rumbled in agreement. Calm down, Zora. Calm down. I thought to myself. Can't you find another way to food? Right! Another way to food! Ummmm... What would that way be? Abruptly, the scent of fresh night air from one of the windows Ruth forgot to close, overcame me. Yes! That's it! I have figured out a new way to food! I shall creep into the backyard through my doggie door, jump over the fence, enter the woods we live right next to, and catch some prey! That is the perfect plan!

As I scampered to my doggie door, my nails made a click click click sound on the wooden floor.

I crawled through the doggie door. Outside, I got a full blast of night air. Oh, how lovely it felt! Why didn't I do this more often? I wondered. It was cool outside, the moon shone, and there was a light breeze that smelled of flowers.

Come on Zora! You didn't come out here to enjoy the smells! So get moving! I told myself. I obeyed straightaway by jumping over the fence. I landed with a big oof! I'm not as fit as I used to be. Great. Well anyway, let's go catch some food!

As I wandered through the trees, I caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye. There! Is that a bushy tail I see? Next came the fragrance of an easy victim.

Time to hunt some squirrels.