ôWhatÆs that bird doing?ö asked Scarlett.
ôTrying to engage Brutus in a fight for HarrietÆs hand,ö Gran explained.
Jack now hauled off and gave Brutus a light kick against the paw.ôTake that, cat!ö he said. ôAnd that!ö
ôOh, for goodness sakesàö Brutus muttered, and placed his paw squarely on top of the bird, completely hiding him from view.
In spite of this harsh treatment, we could still hear Jack cry,ôYou canÆt beat me, cat! IÆm Jack the sparrow and IÆm not afraid of no stinkinÆ cat!ö
ôJust leave him be, Brutus,ö I said.
ôHeÆs so annoying,ö Brutus sighed, and removed his paw again.
Jack spent a few seconds catching his breath, then finally sank down onto his haunches, looking a little spent.ôOkay, so you won this round. But the next one is mine.ö
ôSure thing, bird,ö said Brutus magnanimously, then pushed some sausage in the sparrowÆs direction. ôCare for a piece?ö
Jack eyed it for a moment with suspicion, then relented.ôDonÆt mind if I do,ö he said.
Moments later cat and bird were sharing a meal in companionable silence.
ôThis is some pretty good stuff,ö said Jack finally.
ôIsnÆt it?ö said Brutus.
ôYou know, for a cat you ainÆt half bad.ö
ôThanks. For a bird I guess youÆre okay.ö
Hampton Cove, people. Probably the only place on the planet where cats and birds can live in peace. Then again, why wouldnÆt they? Brutus and Jack had a lot in common after alclass="underline" an abiding affection for a certain capricious female feline.
More fascinating conversation was probably enjoyed by all, but at that moment sleep overtook me. Can you blame me? All this running around had seriously cut into my nap time and I needed to catch up. So I decided to get my napping in while the napping was good.
And IÆd just drifted off when suddenly Dooley piped up.
ôMax?ö
ôMh?ö
ôSo about that manÆs hairy assùö
ôDooley!ö