MILLIE'S DREAM
The cool night air of the country blew in on Millie’s head. Her golden hair was spread all over the pillow, and a shaft of moonlight sliced across her face, making her skin shine like silver. The chirping of the crickets slowly lulled her to sleep, and the dark took her away.Millie woke up with a start. She had no idea of what had woken her up. Silently, she tip-toed to the window and looked across the countryside.
All was quiet and peaceful. All of a sudden, she felt a strange sensation on her palm. She lifted up her hand to look at it, and her eyes widened in shock.
Her fingers were melting together and claws were poking out. She looked down at her feet. Fur was rapidly spreading over her feet, and the ceiling seemed to be moving farther away.
Millie found that she could no longer stand on two feet, so she dropped to her hands and knees. She gasped as her nose and mouth bulged outward, and tufted ears sprang up from her head.
She tried to scream, but instead, a hideous screech came out. The door banged open.
“A cat!” her father yelled.
He sprang toward her, but she shot under him. She was amazed at how fast she moved. She bolted down the stairs and past her brother, who yelped in alarm. She raced out the open door and scrambled into the forest and as she did, thunder rumbled above.
The rain drip-dropped on the forest leaves and drenched Millie to the bone. She finally managed to find shelter under a small sapling, but it did not keep all of the drops away.
Suddenly, there was rustling in the bushes just in front of her. Millie the cat instinctively dropped low to a crouch. Her new claws slid out smoothly, and her body was tense and ready. As a gray cat pushed his way out of the undergrowth, she sprang.
Silently, like a shadow, she leapt on his back, and the other cat yowled in surprise. He flipped over and smashed Millie to the ground. He snarled as she reached up and scratched his flank, and released her.
She rolled away and turned to face him, tense and ready for the next attack.
But the other cat had sat down and was licking its feet, all signs of aggression gone.
“Hi!” it said, “What’s your name?”
Millie glared at him. Was this some kind of trick?
The other cat ignored her silence and went on.
“My name’s Graystripe. I live here. What are you doing here?”
Millie decided that there was no need to be silent.
“I’m Millie,” she said. “I was chased here by my own family.”
“Ahh,” Graystripe said.
Then, his ears pricked up. Millie’s ears pricked up too, as she picked up a faint scrabbling noise. She leaped down into the undergrowth and batted the mouse down. She was about to sink her teeth into it when Graystripe shouted, “Noooo!” She paused, and the mouse scrambled up by Graystripe.
“Millie, this is Chester,” Graystripe explained. “He’s my friend.”
Then, a snarling from the tall grass distracted them all.
“A fox!” Chester whispered.
Then it slinked out into the open. It snarled once, than leaped at them, a wild hunger in its eyes.
The fox clawed at Graystripe and Graystripe responded with powerful swipes of his paws.
Then, the fox lunged and bit Graystripe on the leg. Graystripe screeched and lost his balance. He fell to the ground. The fox yowled its victory…
And Millie hit him. Like a storm, she bit, scratched, batted, and slammed the fox away from her new friend.
Snarling, the fox backed away, then with a final yelp, ran into the undergrowth.
“Come on, Chester and Graystripe. We’ve got to find shelter,” she said.
Soon they found a cave and slept. Millie the cat dreamed of a great cat coming out of a fire. “You know what to do…” it said.
Millie woke up with a start. Then she smiled, remembering where she was. That was a good dream, she thought. And she slept on – peacefully.
A story by Kaitlyn T., age 10
