“I will take you to my home under the oak tree. You need to rest. There isn’t a fire here, so you will be safe, my friends.”
The sun was peeking through a small opening under the oak tree when the kittens yawned and stretched. They were both hungry and thirsty. “I will try out my hunting skills and see if I can find us some breakfast. Miss Bunny offered us some strange green stuff, but it didn’t taste good.” Mat looked fondly at his sister.
“Let me help you hunt,” Fluffy said. “I am a good hunter, too.”
“Let’s stay together and not go far. Miss Bunny will be back shortly.” Mat sniffed around hoping to pick up a scent.
The kittens snooped around a pile of crunchy leaves and soon captured a couple of mice. They were sitting in Miss Bunny’s doorway when she came hopping back. “Are you two ready to go? I will show you the way home. I have sent out word among my friends, and it is safe to go that way.”
The kittens padded after Miss Bunny though the dense forest. Mat looked this way and that when he heard strange sounds. They went single file with Miss Bunny in the lead and Mat taking up the rear. He was careful not to fall too far behind. Everything looked so strange.
The trees gradually thinned and the shadows shortened as Fluffy paused to look around.”Oh look, there is the meadow. Now I know where we are.” Fluffy daintily put her paws one in front of the other. “I will never get all the knots and burrs out of my coat. I have never felt such a mess, ever. I am hungry again.”
“It has been a long day and I”m hungry and thirsty, too. We have to keep following Miss Bunny. She will take us home.” Mat trotted along the path.
Miss Bunny stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Look up ahead. We are just about there. Let’s avoid the burnt building. It smells terrible.”
A few minutes later, they saw the charred remains of the stable, and on the hilltop, the white house stood unharmed. Fluffy and Mat started to run when they saw the house. They stopped a few feet away. “Thank you Miss Bunny. Do you want to come with us?”
“No, I have to stay out of sight. The big dogs chase me. One of my brothers got caught last summer, and the dogs riddled him to pieces. I still have nightmares. I can still hear his screams for help. I can’t go any further. Good luck, my friends,” Miss Bunny said.
“The dogs are our friends. I will have to talk to them.” Mat gave Miss Bunny one last hug.
“Go before they turn the lights off.”
“I can open the screen door,” Fluffy said. “It is one of my special talents. “Goodbye, dear friend. I hope to see you again.”
Mat and Fluffy jogged across the yard and up the porch steps where Fluffy hooked her paw under the door and opened it. They jumped up on the inside door just like they had seen the dogs do many times. Mat and Fluffy meowed as they scratched frantically. In a few minutes, a tall human stood in the open doorway. “My dears, where have you been? We thought we’d lost you forever.” They were picked up and cuddled. Mat and Fluffy squirmed out of the embrace but stretched up against the human’s legs meowing happily.
