The Cat Is Hiding! UFLI Foundations Lesson 102

Joy sat up in bed. She felt restless right away. Kit was gone. Kit had been right there on her pillow last night. Now there was just a Kit-shaped dent and one white whisker. 'Kit, where are you?' Joy called. No answer. Just a tiny thump from under the bed. But when Joy leaned over to look, nothing was there.

Joy ran to the yard gate. 'Kit!' she called up the path. 'Kit!' she called down the path. No cat. Then a tiny 'mew' came from right behind her. She spun around. But all she saw was the fence. Joy was clueless.

Joy ran to the big blue pot in the yard. That pot was Kit's peaceful spot. She slept on top of it every single day. Every. Single. Day. But the lid was empty. Joy gave the lid a tap just in case. 'Kit? Are you in the pot?' Nothing. Nothing at all. That cat was up to something.

Joy looked behind the pot. She looked beside the pot. She even looked under the pot, which was pointless. A pot sits flat on the grass! 'This is dreadful!' Joy said. 'This is frightful! This is the worst morning of my life!' Then a soft purr came from very close by. Very, very close.

Joy ran to the back of the house and pushed her arms into the big bush by the porch. Leaves went up her sleeves and a twig poked her cheek. 'Kit, if you are in this bush, you are in a big mess!' Kit was not in the bush. But Joy came out covered in leaves, which was not helpful at all.

'Mew!' There it was again! Joy ran back up to the house and tilted her head to one side. She was on the hunt. She stood very still. Where was the sound? Up? Down? Left? Joy spun around three times and felt dizzy. 'My cat radar is useless today,' she groaned.

Joy gave up and rushed back inside. She got down on her hands and knees beside the big cabinet. 'Kit loves small, dark spots,' Joy told herself. 'She is probably wedged under it, just grinning at me.' Joy pressed her cheek to the floor and peered into the gap. Dust. One lost sock. Zero cats. How hopeless!

Joy dragged over her blue stool and climbed up to check the top of the cabinet. The hunt felt endless. More dust. A rubber band. An old book. No Kit. 'I have looked high. I have looked low. I have looked in a bush,' Joy said. 'Where can Kit be?'

Joy went to the bookshelf. One by one, she took each book down. No Kit. No Kit. No Kit. 'Come on, Kit. This is not funny.' Well. Maybe a tiny bit funny. Just a little bit. But mostly not. Joy sank into her blue seat with a woeful sigh and put her head in her hands.

Wait. There was one spot Joy had not checked. Joy crouched down beside her bed and peered under it. Kit treated that spot like her own private room. She even kept a handful of dust bunnies under there. Joy felt hopeful. She squinted into the dark. Empty.

Joy stood up and put her hands on her hips. She felt helpless. She had checked the yard, the house, and even inside a bush. 'That is it,' Joy said. 'I need Mom. I need a jet with spotlights. I need a tracking dog. I need a robot with cat-finding lasers!' Joy walked back to her bed to sit down and think. And that was when she saw it.

A lump. A soft, purring, cat-shaped lump, right under the blanket. Joy lifted the corner and there was Kit. Curled up. Cozy. Joy's sunglasses sat on Kit's head. Kit looked like a tiny film star on holiday. 'Kit!' Joy scooped her up and pressed her face into Kit's fur. 'You were right there all that time?' Joy was so grateful she did not even mind. Kit yawned. Blissful.