"I am going to let you do something you are very good at," said the fox man. "You will help me catch a very bad bandito!"
My dream was coming true! I was ready. I licked his face to tell him I understood a little of what he had said and that I would help him. He carried me through a door into the big room. He moved quietly, too, and I thought then that perhaps he was part cat. Certainly, he was very smart for a human. He put me right down on that box with the moving, noisy floor. His hands made the floor move, and he gave me a little pat. I nuzzled his hand. I understood. All I had to do was walk! "That is it," he whispered to me, and he moved his head up and down. Was this all I had to do? I could hear loud screaming outside of the house. Some men sounded afraid of something. It made me a little nervous, but I kept walking and making my noise. I knew that was what the cat fox man wanted.
The cat fox man went away. I kept walking, and then many men came into the house. I realized they had been scared of me!!! I was very proud. A very big man picked me up. He petted me and was very nice, but I was afraid that my time had come. The cat fox man wanted me to go away and fight banditos far from the house, I thought. I was ready. But even as we reached the outside, I wanted to go back to my mother.
The men took me very far away. They were very nice, but I was very lonely. I did not care to look for banditos. I tried very hard to be brave, though, and I found a bandito hole, but I did not feel like guarding that place. There was a mean cat, old and snarly there, who laughed at me. I felt ashamed and tried to be more like a noble cat. The men gave me milk and the very big man sang to me, but it was not the same as helping the fox and exploring the big house and doing wonderful things and telling about them to my brothers and sisters. And when these men walked, they very nearly did step on me! You would think…
It seemed a very long time then before the tall man who was the cat fox came and picked me up. I was very happy to see him and licked his face, which made him make his happy sound. He put me in a nice box in the big moving box the horses pull. How nice of him to come and find me. He said, "Buena and Juanita say they need you to mouse for them." I knew he was telling me I was a good hunter. I would have to take my old job again. I was happy!
I woke up from a nap when the box stopped moving. He jumped out and picked me up. He looked into my eyes and he said, "We got rid of that awful eagle, and now I have to keep you close at hand so that you do not tell our secret. Do you promise?" He made the happy sound again and cuddled me in his arms. Such bliss.
I was quite amazed. That man had been an eagle? I had chased away a big, bad eagle? I climbed up him and licked his face which made him happy again, and then he held me under his arm, and carried me back to my mother who looked very distressed and worried. She snuggled up to his hand, though, very grateful that I was found.
Since then, I have battled many banditos, even those stupid birds who come to challenge me after they heard about the eagle. And every once in a while, when I roamed through the house looking for banditos, I would see my cat fox man, and he would always wink his eye at me. I know that he would call on me if he could not deal with the banditos by himself. And he did just that. Many, many times, I helped the cat fox, and I will tell those stories some other time. To this day, he still winks at me. He remembers.
Well, I’m done telling now. Now I must make the cook give me some fish. You would think that since I eat this fish every day at the same time that I would not have to nag to get it. But humans are such a trial. Still, if you are around humans, you are in for some excitement. They are often worth the trouble.
Thank you for listening. I am done and you can go now.
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(This story is lovingly dedicated to the wise cat Steps, who graciously shares his house with MaryAnn, and who once let me sleep in his bed.)
