Carson - Finale & ...

This cat won't give up, Carson thought.

Carson was four feet up into the tree, squirming between tightly spaced branches with only a whisker's breadth to spare... and somehow Bonkers was still right behind. Carson could feel the tree swaying and shaking. Shiny baubles clinked and colored lights blinked. With little room left above, Carson scurried toward the tip of a branch.

Foolishly, Bonkers followed. The branch couldn't support Bonkers' weight. The cat slipped down through the lower branches, howling when a string of lights knotted around his tail.

Carson watched as Bonkers hit the floor with a THUD. The cat, still entangled in the string of light, was like an anchor on the end of a rope. And the weight of that anchor was causing the tree to topple.

Carson watched in disbelief as once again the floor raced up to meet him. A squeak was forced from his lungs when a tree branch pinned him to the braided rug.  He struggled desperately to wriggle free, to no avail. Breathing was becoming difficult and his vision was failing. The last thing he saw was a shining star.

The smell of well aged cheddar cheese drew Carson back from the darkness.  Blinking his eyes, Carson found himself lying in a bed of wood shavings. Silver bars rose up on all sides. A bottle of water hung from one of those bars and the piece of white cheddar that had woken him lay just beneath the bottle. Getting to his feet to claim his prize, Carson found his left front foot was wrapped in blue thread. The color looked familiar.

"Oh thank goodness you're okay,"  Diana said.  "You haven't moved all night and I've been sooo worried.  But now you're awake and it's the best Christmas Day ever.  I hope you like the cheese.  Mama explained that you're a mouse and not a hamster, but that's okay."

Carson nibbled hungrily at the cheese while, from the arm of a nearby chair, Bonkers looked on in disgust.

"I'm so glad you like it," Diana said.  "I'll give you some every single day."

Carson wiggled his nose and blinked his eyes while grinning his biggest grin.

******

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all who periodically check in on this blog.

I'll be taking a short break but will be back with new stuff in the new year.