The Cat

"Daddy!" Yotsuba poked her father in the cheek, waking him up. "We don't have any cereal left!" she flopped onto the ground. "What are we gonna DO?" she said with a dramatic sigh. Kowai, who was still half asleep, yawned and sat up.

"Why don't you go get some more, then?" he said, opening the curtains to let light flood the messy room. "Man, I need to clean this…" he muttered.

Yotsuba's eyes widened. "Meee?!" she said, getting up. "All by myself?"

Kowai smiled. "Sure! You're a big girl, aren't you? You've done this before!"

Yotsuba nodded, head like a bobble head. Kowai took his wallet from the dresser and pulled out a 1000-yen banknote. He handed it to her. "Be careful, okay? Don't forget your helmet!"

"I'll be careful!" promised Yotsuba. She took her backpack (to carry groceries in) and rushed out the door. She hopped onto her bike and began to pedal. However, she didn't get too far when she saw a cardboard box lying on the sidewalk. She got off her bike and rushed to the box, crouching in front of it. Inside was a kitten! She reached in and petted it, giggling when it licked her hand. On the side of the box were words, and she slowly sounded them out.

"F-R-E-E K-I-T-T-E-N-S." she spelled, rubbing the cat's ears. "What does free mean?" A woman was walking a dog down the sidewalk, so she decided to ask her. "Excuse me?" she said. The woman seemed very surprised.

"Um, yes?" she said, holding her dog back as it began to bark at the box with the kitten inside of it.

"What does 'free' mean?"

"It means you don't have to pay for it- Oh! Is that a kitten?" Yotsuba nodded and picked up the cat from the box, nuzzling it with her nose.

"This is my kitty now!" she proclaimed gleefully, petting the wiggly kitten. "You stay here, 'kay?" she said to the kitten, setting it down on the ground. She reached for her backpack to put the cat in, and when she turned, it was gone! "Hey!" she said, spotting its tail flicking out from under a bush. She ran towards it and pounced, grabbing the cat. It let out a protesting mew as she stuck it into her backpack and rushed back to her bike. Cereal forgotten, she biked home.

"DADDY DADDY DADDY!" she said as she got home. "LOOK!" she held up the cat. Kowai stood up slowly and took the cat from her hands.

"Where'd you find this?" he asked, petting the cat's silky ears.

"In a box. It said, 'Free Kitties' so I took one!"

"Yotsuba…" Kowai said, "Having a cat is a big responsibility." He gently put it on the ground, and it shot off into the hallway. "You have to feed it, and give it water, and clean its litter box…"

"I know!" she said. "I can do it, daddy!"

"You sure?" He said skeptically.

"Yep!"

Kowai sighed, watching the cat explore. "Okay, Yotsuba. We'll keep it for two weeks. If you take care of her, we'll keep her forever."

"Yaaay!" Yotsuba said, running up to Kowai and hugging his leg. He smiled.

"Look at her little eye. It has a black patch on it, sort of an eyepatch." Kowai gently dragged a finger along it. "Like a kaizoku (pirate)." Yotsuba squinted at it.

"Ohh, she does! Come here, Kaizoku!" Yotsuba said, chasing her new friend through the messy house. Only then did she remember the cereal. Oops!