Carina And Hobbes
Carina was going to bed on a moonlit night. She felt the damp carpet under her feet and dipped her finger in the puddle. As she suspected, it was thick and slimy. "Zounds!" She said. "Monster drool!" Her long hair was brown and straight, yet there was something that made her resemble her father. She ran to the closet, grabbed her plastic Roman helmet, her Katniss Everdeen Quarter Quell costume, and a plastic sword and a blowgun made from a pen. Standing atop her bed, she swung the sword blindly. "Back! Back, you fiends!" A thump came from the hallway. "Monsters!" She exclaimed. She climbed to the top of her dresser, which was next to the doorway. The door creaked open. "Aieaieaieaie!" She called as she tackled the poor soul that had entered. "Aug! Carina!" Calvin, now an adult, wearing a white t-shirt and pajama pants, was fending off his daughter's blows. "Dad!" Carina called "Thank goodness you arrived!" She began to rummage through the toy box until she came to a plastic dagger. "Here! Now quick! Monsters are upon us!" Calvin took the Roman helmet off his daughter's head. "Carina, it's two a.m." Carina whined, "DAD! I must not sleep! The monsters will eat me!" Calvin said, "Carina, here's the deal. You get in your pjs, and I'll get you something to keep those monsters away." Calvin walked down the hall and into his bedroom. On a high shelf, there was Hobbes, in all his glory. "Hi, old buddy." He walked back to Carina's room, where she had changed into a frilly lavender nightgown. "Here." Said Calvin as he set Hobbes on the bed. "This is Hobbes. Monsters are scared of him." The eight year old looked at the tiger. "I'll leave you two to get acquainted." He shut the door. Carina ran her fingers across Hobbes's rich velvety fur. "Hi Hobbes." Hobbes blinked. "Hi Carina." Carina was not in the least surprised. When one encounters a tiger, they cannot be. "My dad told me about you." Hobbes pondered that. "I'm kinda hungry. Do you have any salmon?" Carina opened the window. She still had on her Katniss costume under her nightgown. "Mom keeps fresh fish in the cellar." She lowered a bright pink jump rope out the window. "Hold this." She handed Hobbes the other end. She climbed down and opened the cellar door. It was chilly and damp. She pulled out a camping lantern and swung it. At the end of the cellar, she saw the bounty~ a beautiful, fresh salmon. She danced around the various canned goods and meats. She lifted the salmon off its hook. Then she closed the cellar doors behind her. She climbed the jump rope and shut the window. "One fresh salmon!"
That morning, Susie Robins, ńee Derkins, said, "Honey, didn't we have salmon?"