Minka was a full-grown cat, but very small. She lived in the country and spent a lot of her time outside, or in the big chicken house where she could hunt mice. She often took long naps on top of the clean stacked hay bales, or on top of the broody pen where it was shady and cool. The broody pen was big, with two roomy compartments, and stood tall above the ground on wooden legs.

It was late in the summer, when not many chicks are hatched any more, but that year a fluffy blue hen named Violet decided to have one last family, and the Farmer Lady had moved her and her ten little chicks into one side of the broody pen where the babies would be safe until they were bigger. Minka liked to look in from the top and watch them, which didn't bother Violet because she was used to having a cat around. The Farmer Lady always knew where to find Minka to get her in the house for the night. But sometimes in summer the Lady was so busy, she forgot Minka until after dark.

One morning when the Lady went out to feed the chickens, a terrible thing had happened. The wire door of Violet's pen hung open, and two of her chicks were gone! Minka knew the Lady and Violet were both upset, but she didn't understand why. She and Violet spoke different languages and Minka couldn't count.

That evening, the Lady closed up Violet's pen very carefully. But the next morning, the door was not only open, it was damaged, like it had been pulled at very hard. Three more chicks were gone, and now Minka could see there were not enough of them.

Minka felt very badly, because she knew Violet doted on her babies, and she really wanted to know what was happening to them! That night the Lady fixed the pen door and jammed boards across it. She couldn't find Minka, because Minka was hiding in the hay to wait and see what was coming in the night to steal Violet's babies. And it wasn't long before she saw a large raccoon climb into the yard and head for the pen!

It was just terrible! The mean raccoon worked the boards loose and tore off the door of the pen. There was an awful squawking from Violet, and Minka could see him pulling out more chicks. What could she do? She was frightened, because the raccoon was so much bigger than she was, and before she could move, he was gone. Minka ran for the house and sat howling at the back door until the Lady opened it, but she would not go in. She ran back toward the chicken house, and the Lady took a flashlight and followed her.

"Oh no," said the Lady, when she saw the destruction and the state Violet was in. "Oh, Minka, what did you see?" But try as she might, and she did try very hard, Minka could not tell what she saw, because she and the Lady spoke different languages too. The Lady moved Violet and her last chicks into the other side of the pen and went to get a padlock for that door. Then she picked Minka up and took her into the house.

"You must come in earlier now," she said. "There is some danger out here."

Minka thought hard. She was a brave little cat, but she wasn't foolish. She decided she must somehow get the Lady to come to the pen at the same time the raccoon did. So the next evening, she climbed to the chicken house roof and stayed there, while the Lady came out and called her every few minutes. From there she could see both the pen and the back door of the house. It got dark, and the summer night was still. Minka waited.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the grasses, and there he was. The raccoon's eyes glinted in the moonlight and he looked very mean. Minka gathered her strength for the longest leap of her life, and dove off the roof, hitting the ground running for the back door and howling. The door flew open, and she saw the Lady come running with a shotgun in her hands. Everything happened so fast! She heard shots and she stood trembling in the grass. Then the Lady came toward her.

"Minka", she said, "What a fine little guardcat you are! That raccoon won't be back soon, because I'm sure he has a very sore foot. You come in the house with me now, so I can go back and put Violet's family in the big chicken house and lock the door. They won't be in as much danger from the big chickens as they were in the pen"

Minka didn't quite understand, but she knew the mystery was solved for the Lady and the danger was over. That night she was given a very fine treat, a sardine. Her favorite.

NEXT: Shelter From the Storm

BACK to Page One