Strider's Big Adventure

The other night when Mom and Dad came home, Strider shot out the front door as soon as it opened. (We don't go outside at all, unless we sneak out.) Mom dropped all her stuff and tried to catch him, but he was too fast, so she ran back inside, got our treats and a flashlight and went back out. There are lotsa trees right next to our house, but there's also a bad road. Guess which way Strider headed? Yep, right to the sidewalk next to the road. In the meantime, Dad was lookin' for another flashlight and not havin' much luck. Okay, that's all I saw, so I'm gonna let Strider take over...

Even though Mom and Dad know to be careful 'cause I like to sneak out, I saw my chance and I took it!! It's been a long time since I've been outside, and I've been smellin' the nice outside smells all summer, so I just couldn't help myself. Mom was tryin' to get me to come to her by offerin' treats, but we get treats every day, so I wasn't interested in them at all. Plus, me runnin' and Mom chasin' me was too much fun, so efurrytime I let her get about two feet away from me, I'd run off again. Once, she turned around and said she was goin' home and started to walk away, but I didn't fall for that trick!! I just ran into the woods where she really couldn't see me. That bell on my collar, though, that was the giveaway. She could hear it, so she could kinda tell where I was. She came into the woods and tried to get me to go away from the road and back toward our house, but I wasn't done explorin' yet (these are the same woods that I lived in when I was homeless, before I found Mom and Dad, so I know my way around).

There's a big parking lot on the other side of the woods, so I thought it would be fun to run around there for awhile, too. Mom came crashin' out of the trees after me, and I just kept playin' my game of lettin' her get close then takin' off again. After awhile, though, I noticed that Mom didn't seem to be enjoyin' the game as much as I was, and the next time she got close, I saw that she was cryin'. I decided to let her catch me, so I pretended that I didn't hear her sneakin' up on me. She grabbed me and carried me home, and I purred all the way!!