Sneaky is Missing!

🧡🖤🤎🤍

Dear Book,

          It’s been so long since I wrote in you. I didn’t forget how. There wasn’t much to write about. Me and Sneaky were just keeping house for Joe, making up Ice Cream flavors once in a while. Some of them were winners. But some of them we had to eat ourselves or give to some street guy. I guess nobody wants jerky in their ice cream. It seemed like a good idea to me!
            OK. Sneaky and I were planning to go on a trip to see Ralph. We were going to do it old style, on the train. We went before, with Joe. But this time it was just going to be her and me. I’m sorry about the pet carrier. But she looks like a pet.
            A weird thing happened this morning. Usually, Sneaky is awake first, then she wakes me up. Then I take out garbage and cook and stuff. I do laundry at night usually.
            Today I woke up with no little cat telling me it was time to wake up, and it was late. Morning was halfway gone. I was really scared, Book! I didn’t know what was wrong, but something was!
            I couldn’t find Sneaky. I looked all over the apartment. I even went outside and checked the lawn and the flower beds, and the kid’s playground. No little cat anywhere. Well, not so little. Sneaky had been getting kind of fat lately. You’ll know why in a minute!

            I went back inside to try to figure out where she was. Joe wasn’t home, so he was no help. I did a better search. I looked under the beds. I looked in all the cupboards in the kitchen. I even looked in the dryer.
            Finally, I looked in the bottom of the towel closet in the hall next to the bathroom. I found her in a nest she made of towels in the bottom. And she wasn’t alone! She had four new little baby cats with her, and she wasn’t fat anymore.
            There was a gray one, a black and white one, a tabby, and there was an orange tabby too.
            I was so surprised I forgot how to talk for a while.
            She said she would like a bowl of water and some tuna, so I got her those things right away.
            I guess I’m Uncle Maurice the True Howler to four babies now!
            We’re not taking four babies on the train. Not now anyhow.
            And that’s all I have to say today.

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