The Animal Whisperer

The Animal Whisperer: Chapter 3

"Yes, Sam," I said, patting him on the head, "Calm down, it's just a cat."
Sam looked at the cat, and stood behind my legs.
There was no way would he be stepping anywhere near Bluey.
He looked down at the ground.
"Oh," Bluey said, "I see... No one likes me."
I felt sorry for Bluey.
"Don't worry about me," he sighed, "I'll be fine. No one comes near me. They all think of me as the stupid stray cat."
Sam's eyes lit up a little bit, and then he looked at me.
"Great!" Said Sam, "Come on, human! Let's go get me some treats now! Bye, stray cat!"
"Sam!" I exclaimed. I looked at Bluey as I said, "Bluey, you're coming with us. Sam, don't freak out. He's a cat, not a tiger."
Sam looked at Bluey.
"She's MY human!" He said, sounding a little jealous.

We visited the pet store to get some treats for Sam, as well as some cat treats for Bluey.
Afterwards, we went to the local cafe for dinner. Of course, I gave Bluey and Sam their treats.
We ate outside, so I wouldn't get kicked out for bringing animals into the cafe.
"So, human," Sam said, "When will we get rid of Bluey?"
Bluey hissed. I looked at Sam.
"Sam," I said, "I am not going to get rid of Bluey, or you. Now eat your treats."
Bluey remained calm again, and started to eat his cat treats out of a bowl I borrowed from the cafe.
As he bent his head down to reach his food I noticed a couple of scars on his head, on his legs, and on his tummy.

"Bluey!" I exclaimed, "What happened to your body? You're scarrred!"
Bluey looked at me.
"Oh," he said, seeming a little quiet, "Nothing. Don't worry about it. It's a long story."
I looked at my watch.
"We have all night," I said, "I have two ears for a reason."

"Oh, okay..." He said, "Well... I used to live in a nice home, with nice owners. They were quite a big family. There was a Mum, a Dad, two daughters and one son. One night, I was sleeping at the end of  one of the beds upstairs. Everybody was asleep, until I was awoken by some commotion. I realised it was the parents, warning everybody to get out of the house. I smelt smoke. I heard sizzling. The house was starting to warm up. Suddenly, I figured the house was on fire. In panic, I jumped off the bed to follow the family out of the house. I noticed that the Mum, the Dad, the son, and only one of the daughters were escaping. Where was the other daughter? In a hurry, I ran back upstairs to find her. I ran into her room. Her eyes were closed. I knew she wouldn't wake up if I didn't wake her up quick, because the gas would keep her asleep. I jumped onto the bed and meowed as loud as possible. She didn't wake up. I sat on her stomach. She still didn't wake up. I tried heaps of things to try to wake her up. The only choice left was to scratch her leg. That would wake her up. And it did. She woke up, and looked at me. I then stuck my tail up, to warn her that she was in danger. She smelt the fire. Now we were both in a hurry to get out. She told me that I would lead the way, she told me I knew what was right. She told me she knew I wouldn't let her die. So, I did what she wanted me to do. I led the way. The fire was downstairs. The windows in her room were wide open. Since their window screen was just a fly screen, I scratched it, and ruined it, so it was all in pieces. I smelt the fresh night air. I knew I would be known as the local life-saving cat. I was interrupted by the smell of fire. The fire had spread into the little girls room. I jumped out of the window, because it wasn't too far down. I knew for a fact the little girl wouldn't die if she jumped. But she was scared. 'Bluey!' She told me, 'I can't jump that far. I have a fear of heights! You know that!' But I was only trying to help her. I didn't mean to nearly pull her out of her comfort zone. I was then pulled off the surface which I was standing on by some fireman. I tried to warn them that a little girl was in the room, but I knew it was too late. A fireman stepped into the room. Straight away he called another fireman up, and told him to call an ambulance right away."

I looked at Bluey. "What happened to the little girl?" I asked, "Did she make it?"
He shook his head, as if he was in shame. "I don't know, human," he said, "The family never took me with them to their next home. I don't know why. I also don't know why the family didn't check that they had all of their kids with them. You know, that really rings some bells. You'd really think that the parents would go up and rescue their child. But they didn't."

"What was the name of the little girl?" I asked, still a bit curious.
"Harriet." Bluey replied, "She had a warm heart."
Sam was quiet. He was still processing all of the information he had just heard.
"Do you know who or what started the fire?" I asked, as if I was some sort of news reporter.
"Dear human," Bluey said, "I'm a cat. Not superman. How would I know? You only asked how I got these scars. And I answered it. We've heard enough about me for one day."

"Yes," I said to Bluey, giving him a pat, "I guess you have a point."
I turned to Sam.
"Sam," I said, "You've been a bit quiet. Why don't you share your past with us?"