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"What are you doing over here?" John asked the cat. The cat just purred in response to John scratching it behind the ears. He started for the cat cages to put back the tabby, but before he got there, he saw three more cats scamper across the floor. What was going on? Was the boy…? John rushed back to the cat section only to discover every cage door open, and most of the cats missing. He put the tabby back into its cage, latched the door, and turned around to see cats running across the floor, climbing on the shelves, and jumping from aisle to aisle. Where was that boy? Now was no time to worry about the boy--cats were running amok! At first, John was the only employee gathering up cats, but it didn’t take long for him to realize that he needed help. “Ma-a-a-ry!” Mary was the store manager. She came rushing out of the office and screamed when she saw the cats. Soon, all the pet shop employees were chasing cats helter-skelter. Even the sister helped to round them up. Then the mother magically reappeared, searching frantically for the boy. It took the better part of an hour to contain most of the cats. John finally found the boy in Mary's office. What a catastrophe! The boy was sitting in Mary's chair. He was holding the phone in front of a brown and yellow Siamese. He was stroking its back, causing the cat to purr into the phone. Who knows what else the boy had messed with. John stuck his head out the office door and signaled to the mother. She came to take the boy. "I'm terribly sorry for all the trouble he's caused," she said. John picked up the Siamese from the desk. "I think it would be a good idea if you take the kids to a different pet store from now on." The woman nodded, and then turned to leave. John placed the phone back on the hook, then stroked the kitten. Through the door, he heard the woman's voice. "Come on, kids, time to go."
John looked at the clock. The woman was wrong. It was long past
time to go. He took the Siamese back to its cage, then helped
round up the last few cats. * * * It had been two weeks since the great cat escapade, and John was putting cans of dog food on a shelf. He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Mary. "Let me finish these last few cans," John said. Mary didn't wait. "I just got off the phone with the lady who bought the gray and white tabby. She wants to exchange it." John finished with the last two cans, and then stood. "Again?" Mary nodded. "She says the cat has a habit of making phone calls." “Really?” John looked toward the cat cages. "That's the third cat in a row."
*****END*****
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