CRYSTAL THE CROSS COUNTRY KITTEN

Crystal was cold.

She’d been nice and warm while the gentle Great Pyrenees had surrounded her with white fur, but now the dogs were gone and she wasn’t quite sure why.

Maybe it had something to do with the big black car that had come to a creaking stop on the dirt road next to where she’d found herself when she’d crawled out the open barn door late last night.  It had seemed like such a good idea at the time.  She’d been so curious about what was outside the hay-filled confines of the only home she remembered.  But as soon as Farmer Bill had shut everyone in for night, Crystal had known she was on the wrong side of the door.

She heard strange noises and could sense creatures beyond her limited vision whose interest in her was not friendly.  She’d made a big mistake.  She sat in the field mewing faintly and shivering as much from fear as from the chill night mountain air.

From out of the dark two shaggy forms had materialized, circling her as they sniffed.  She’d mewed desperately hoping against hope that her puffed up fur would scare away these huge creatures.

The shapes had moved closer and Crystal had backed away as fast as her unsteady legs would let her; but before she knew it there’d been a cold wet nose in her face.  She’d closed her eyes and curled up into a ball, crying piteously.

That was when the two dogs began their nightlong guard, wrapped around the tiny terrified kitten.  The unlikely trio had stayed like that all night, until the noisy minivan had come rattling down the road in the predawn light.

Now the warmth of the dogs was gone, and Crystal’s tiny mews reached new ears.

Getting out of the car, the woman in pajamas tried to figure out where the obviously very young kitten had come from.  She scooped up the shivering ball of fur and held it close, trying to give some of her body warmth to the tiny creature.

“It’s okay, Sweetie,” she cooed.  “It’s okay.”

Crystal like the sound of her voice and crawled up to snuggle into her neck.

“Oh, you’re so cute,” said the woman.  “How do you think she got out by the road?”

“I don’t know,” came a much lower voice.  “But why don’t I hold her while you drive?”

Crystal was handed to a man who held her up to look into her face.

“She’s very young.”

“I’d say about two or three weeks,” answered the woman.

The man smelled like milk and Crystal realized she was hungry.  As soon as he held her closer she searched for the source of that smell.  When she finally found it, she started licking and sucking as she would have if her mother had been there.

“She’s sucking my lip,” he laughed.  She continued, though it was frustrating not getting any milk.

“Here,” said the woman, “wrap her in this and I can hold her on my lap as I drive back.”  Crystal was smothered in soft green fabric that warmed her instantly.  “See you later,” called the woman as the man rode away on his bicycle.

As the car rocked its way back onto the farm, Crystal forgot her hunger and let herself doze off in the warmth of the woman’s lap.

She stirred vaguely as she was carried into a tidy little cabin, but didn’t fully wake up until that smell of milk came to her again.  This time it was on the woman’s fingers, and it was warm.  Crystal licked the fingers and nibbled at them, but couldn’t get as much milk as she wanted.

“Not too much, Sweetie.  It’s not really good for you, but you just seem so hungry.”  This woman knew what Crystal was feeling.  And she was so gentle.  Crystal liked her.

She tried to purr to let the woman know how happy she was, but she was too busy trying to get more milk.  She was concentrating so hard, in fact, that she didn’t feel the woman move her to the soft bed.

“Sarah,” she heard, “open your eyes.”  Only inches away, a pair of light brown eyes looked directly into her own and widened.

“A kitten!”

She was scooped up again to repeat the process.

“William, open your eyes.”  This time the eyes next to hers were bright blue.  And a pair of dark brown ones popped up over William’s head.

“She’s so cute!  You put her in my polar fleece!  Never ever wash it!”

From that moment things were a commotion of petting, cuddling, and cooing.  Crystal was in heaven.  She’d never had this much attention before and she definitely liked it.

Even when they left the little house and walked past the barn she’d been born in, she was content to stay wrapped in the soft green polar fleece as Sarah, William and James took turns begging their mama.

“Can we keep her?”

“Where’s her mother?”

“What if she has no mother?”

“What if she needs someone to take care of her?”

“Kiddos,” their mama protested only half-heartedly, “I’m sure she has a mother.  Besides, we’re living in a minivan.”

“She’s so small.  She won’t take up much space.”

“But, guys, what about Lily?”

“Lily would want to take care of her.”

“We can introduce her to Lily like you’re supposed to.”

“But we’re staying in hotels, and a lot of them don’t allow pets.”  Mama’s protests were definitely getting fainter and they could sense victory within their grasp.

“Then I’ll sleep out in the car with her.”

“Sarah.  You can’t sleep in the car.”

“Then we can sneak her in.”

“Yeah.  She’s not very noisy.  Just that little tiny mew.”

“And I can put her under my shirt.”

“She’s too young to leave her mother.”

“But what if she doesn’t have a mother?”

“But I’m sure she does.”

“But what if she doesn’t?”

“If she doesn’t have a mother, can we take her?”

“I don’t know.  Let’s not talk about this any more.  We’ll ask Bill about her.”

“Just promise you’ll think about it.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Really?!”

“Really.”

“You’ll think about it.”

“I’m thinking, I’m thinking.  Enough.”

Crystal listened to the arguments and tried to figure out what she wanted.  She liked this bouncy family, but she loved the warm hay in the barn that tickled her nose with its smell.  And now she knew the gigantic dogs were her friends.

“Oh, you can take her if you want her,” said Farmer Bill.  “She was dumped here a few days ago.  People do that all the time figuring we’re a farm and can take care of the animals.  But we have no mother cat to nurse her and no time to hand feed her ourselves, so she’d probably be better off with you.”

“Really?”  The children were beside themselves.

 “Mama?”

“I know I’m going to regret this, but if she has no mother … then, well, yes.”

Crystal snuggled into the green polar fleece and for the first time in her three week life she purred.

ALTERNATE ENDING:

Crystal listened to the arguments and tried to figure out what she wanted.  She liked this bouncy family, but she loved the warm hay in the barn that tickled her nose with its smell.  And now she knew the gigantic dogs were her friends.

 “Oh, she has a mother,” said Farmer Bill.  “She’s in the barn.  There are other kittens in there, too; but I haven’t seen them.  I’ve only heard them.  Do you want to help me bring her back there?”

“Okay,” the disappointment of the children was obvious but Crystal wasn’t sure how she felt.

As they opened the door, two kittens came bouncing out of the shadows welcoming their sister back into the fold.  The children played with the three balls of fur as they tumbled in and out of the hay until it was time to go.

Crystal watched them leave and felt almost as sad as they did.  But then her mother licked her and she remembered she had her own family who loved her, and for the first time in her three week life she purred.

So which ending do you think is the real one?

For Gene's very different view of the same journey, check out his blog at www.ConnorsArmy.blogspot.com
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