Lady and the Tramp

chapter 7

Cherry had a hard time sleeping that stormy evening. Sure, she was back in a nice, warm bed, but she grew worried about Lady. She was very worried and empathetic due to her time spent in the dog pound. It must've been royally traumatic for a dog of Lady's social status. Cherry hugged her tear-stained pillow, trying to think of pleasant thoughts and dreams to prevent torturous, psychologically horrendous nightmares. That was the last thing she needed.

Cherry tossed and turned once she heard Lady's barking. She wasn't trying to talk to Cherry this time, this time she sounded like an angry guard dog. Cherry sat up in her bed as she heard the frightening and dominant barking. It's not like Lady to bark horribly like this, so Cherry thought maybe something was wrong. Cherry opened the window and saw in horror with her tired, baggy eyes that Lady was trying to chase away a rat! It looked very horrifying for an infected rodent.

"Get it, Lady!" Cherry quietly chanted. Cherry then grew horrified once the rat managed to get into Junior's room. "Oh, no!" she gasped.

Aunt Sarah had heard the commotion as well and opened her own window. Afraid to be punished, Cherry closed her window and quickly buried herself in her blankets. "Stop that! Hush, now! Hush! Stop that racket!"

Cherry then heard Aunt Sarah's window close and she slid on her fluffy white bath robe and her pale blue slippers. She emerged from the guest room and looked around for the rat, hoping to catch it from infecting the poor baby who was innocently sleeping. Cherry opened the door to see Lady talking with Tramp about the unwanted rodent.

"What's going on?" Tramp asked the girls.

"A rat!" Cherry and Lady cried.

"Where?"

"Upstairs, in the baby's room." Lady replied as she tried to get free from her chained up prison.

"How do I get in?" Tramp asked.

"The little door on the porch." Cherry said, trying to help the dog.

Tramp nodded and dashed to help Lady and Cherry with the rat problem unbeknownst to Aunt Sarah and little Jim Junior. Cherry tried her best to free Lady, but it felt useless and pointless.

"I'm sorry Lady, but it won't budge!" Cherry cried.

"Try harder! I have to protect the baby!" Lady cried back.

Cherry felt like quitting, but she had to help Lady. Cherry did with all her might and successfully undid the chains. Cherry held Lady comfortably once the cocker spaneil was finally free and quickly ran with Cherry indoors to help Tramp with the rascally rat. Cherry and Lady heard banging and crashing from Junior's room. Tramp must've had made it in okay and is now trying to kill the beastly rat. Junior however, felt it was too much and he cried to alert Aunt Sarah. The lights flashed on, surprising everyone once the rat was gone and seemed to had been done with.

"Merciful heavens, oh, you poor darling!" Aunt Sarah cooed to Junior, thinking he was crying because of the dogs. She then carried him. "Now, now, now, now, now, thank goodness you're not harmed," she then glared at Lady and Tramp as Cherry hid behind the door. "Y-You vicious brutes! Back, get back! The pound! That's it, I'll call the pound!"

"Aunt Sarah, no!" Cherry cried.

Aunt Sarah turned to her, furrowing her brows. "I told you to stay in your room after saying goodbye to Lady!" she hissed.

Aunt Sarah pushed everyone away after setting Junior back down in his crib. She then pushed Lady and Cherry into the cellar and locked it. It was dark, cold and gloomy in there, a bit more than usual.

"Let us out, let us out!" Cherry pounded against the doors.

Lady barked, trying to get attention too, but Aunt Sarah wouldn't listen to their cries.

Cherry and Lady nearly gave up. No one could hear them or help them. Tramp was going to be taken away forever, Junior was in grave danger, and they were locked in the cellar. Their ears then pricked up once they heard familiar voices. Cherry put her ear closer to the door.

"It's Elizabeth and Jim!" Cherry cried.

Lady happily wagged her tail. "Hooray!"

"I'm sure there must've been some mistake," Jim's voice said as he went to open the cellar, freeing the girls. "I know Lady wouldn't-"

With that, Lady and Cherry dashed out from the cellar doors.

"Cherry, what were you doing in there?" Elizabeth asked.

"No time to explain!" Cherry said, following Lady upstairs to Junior's room as soon as possible.

Lady barked to the other humans, trying to get them to follow her like Lassie the Wonder Dog.

"Watch out! That dog's loose! Keep her away!" Aunt Sarah cried.

"Nonsense, she's trying to tell us something!" Jim insisted. "What is it, old girl? What're you trying to say?"

"This way, this way!" Cherry cried, opening Junior's door.

Aunt Sarah, Elizabeth and Jim came upstairs. Jim got there first and went inside the room. Lady barked specifically around the curtains. Jim then got the idea and pulled back the curtains to see the dead rat Tramp had dealt with.

"Darling, Aunt Sarah, come here!" Jim cried.

"What is it, Jim?" Aunt Sarah asked calmly, then let out a cry of shock and fear. "A RAT!"

"That mutt you saw was trying to save the baby," Cherry explained. "Lady and I tried to warn Aunt Sarah, but she wouldn't listen!"

"That mongrel?" Aunt Sarah sounded guilty. Possibly for the first time in all her life.

"We should thank him." Elizabeth suggested.

Jim and Elizabeth got into their cab with Cherry and Lady in the backseat. They tried to come after a Scottish terrier and a hound dog who were good friends with Lady. The dog-catcher noticed them and let Tramp out to meet with Lady again. Cherry smiled as Lady and Tramp had been reunited.

"I think Lady loves this mutt." Elizabeth remarked.

"Puppy love, it's so sweet." Jim added.

"Maybe you could keep him?" Cherry suggested, trying to keep Lady and Tramp back together.

"Well, I don't know..." Jim rubbed the back of his neck, anxiously. "This dog DID save our baby... Why not?"

"Hooray!" Cherry cheered as she hugged the dogs.

"Come on, it's getting late, we should get back home." Elizabeth said.