Twinkle Comes Home

The Sweet family lived in a small ranchhouse in a small town in the State of New Hampshire. There was Father Sweet who worked with computers. There was Mother Sweet who took care of everyone. There was Debbie Sweet who went to Junior High School. There was Keith Sweet who went to second grade.

Debbie and Keith loved animals and they wanted a pet very much. Father Sweet said that they had just moved to the country and could now think of what kind of a pet they wanted.

Debbie Sweet said she wanted a horse! Father Sweet said, "Not a good idea, Debbie. A horse is much too big and we have no way to take care of an animal that big."

Keith Sweet said that he wanted a dog. Father Sweet said, "Not a good idea, Keith. A dog requires a lot of care. When you are a little older and have shown your Mom and me that you are responsible, then we can get a dog."

Then Mom had an idea. "Why not get a kitten?" she said to Father Sweet. "We will see that the kitten has all its shots and sees its doctor regularly. And a kitten will be much easier for Debbie and Keith to take care of. I think they can do it."

"Then I do, too." said Father Sweet. And so it was decided. The next day Father Sweet would begin his search for the perfect kitten for the Sweet family.

The next night everyone was very excited. Father Sweet had called on the telephone and said he had found the perfect kitten, a little girl, and he would be bringing her home right after work.

Everybody was waiting at the kitchen door when Father Sweet came home. They looked him over carefully. His hands were empty and all he carried was a large bag from the department store. When Keith looked in the bag and announced that the bag was empty of kittens. Everyone's face showed how sad they were.

Father Sweet smiled at all the sad faces and slowly unzipped his jacket. A tiny head peeped out.

"Meow!" she said. And then ducked back inside the warmth and security of Father Sweet's jacket. Gently Father Sweet reached inside and lifted the tiny bundle of fur out. She was eight weeks old and very frightened to be away from her Mother and her brothers and sisters for the very first time.

Father Sweet set her down on the floor so that she could explore. Right away the little lady began to sniff everything she could find. Cats have a very good sense of smell and she was trying very hard to be sure everything was safe. She was hoping, too, that she would find her Mother.

"Let her explore her new home a little while I show you what else I have brought home." Father Sweet said. He opened his bag and brought out a long post covered with carpet material. "This is a scratching post. We will set it in the living room by the extra chair. Cats need to keep their claws sharp, but we don't want her clawing the furniture. Next he brought out a large pan that looked very much like a dishpan. "This is her litter box," He lifted out a large bag. "and this is called kitty litter. When this is in her litter box it becomes her bathroom. We will set it by the kitchen door for her to use. Once she is bigger and can go outdoors we won't need it any more. It is your jobs to keep it clean. Cats are very clean, but she will need us to help her empty the litter box once it is full. One week Debbie will do it and the next week Keith will do it. Is that understood?" Both children nodded.

Father Sweet proceeded to open the bag of kitty litter and fill the pan. He then took out a special lid that came with the pan and placed it on top. "This will help to keep it from spattering when she is scratching around in there." And he placed it beside the kitchen door.

"Okay," Mother Sweet said. "Now we must do something very important." She reached down and lifted the tiny kitten into her arms. "We must think of a name for her. Only the perfect name will do. A name is very important because it tells everyone who we are." The Sweet family studied the little kitten carefully.

She was small and very lady-like. Her fur was long in many shades of gray with just a touch of orange and white. She had a small nose. Her eyes looked huge in her tiny face. Her paws were special, too. She had double paws that looked a lot like hands. Mother Sweet pulled out some yarm and dangled it in front of her. Immediately the tiny feline sprang into action. She batted at the string with her right paw and then her left paw....and then with both paws. She flipped over on her back to kick at the string and if Mother Sweet had not been so quick, she would have fallen to the floor. Father Sweet pulled a small ball out of his bag and rolled it across the floor. The kitten, small as she was leaped off Mother Sweet's lap and was after it.

A few minutes later Mother Sweet picked up a very tired kitten and announced, "That's enough for now. Our new baby is very tired and should rest." The little kitten looked into Mother's eyes with her own huge eyes. Mother Sweet looked back into those huge eyes and saw that they sparkled with good health, happiness, and playfullness. "

Mother Sweet smiled. "I have just the name. What do you think of Twinkle? Her eyes twinkle just like the stars and she is full of happiness and love and life."

Everyone clapped and cheered. Twinkle looked at everyone from the safety of her new Mother's arms and began to purr.

Twinkle had come home.