Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for being their always awesome selves. Extra thanks to Mari for pitching in on this one!
Readers and REAL McRollers - Thank you for your amazing support! It is always appreciated.
Inspired by my niece and her cats this past weekend :-)
Hope you enjoy!
Tricks and Treats (A McRoll in the REAL World Story by Mari and Ilna)
"Come on, Pumpkin, you can do it!" Steve heard Angie's voice coming from inside her bedroom. "Knock it over!" Curious, he poked his head inside and saw Angie on the floor with their ginger cat, a plastic tumbler, and a small bag of cat treats.
"What are you doing, Angie?" he asked.
"I'm teaching Pumpkin how to get the treat I put under there," she explained, pointing to the cup.
"Really?" Steve asked, fighting a smile as he folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "Can I ask why?"
"So Pumpkin can have school, too," she said simply.
He smiled. "Of course. I should've known. Well, why not Cammie?"
"Cammie graduated school. She was the best of all the doggies. You said, Daddy."
"I did say," he admitted, coming into the room to join her on the floor. "You're right, baby girl." He kissed her head. "So it's Pumpkin's turn now?"
Angie nodded.
"All right," Steve said. "Show me what you've done."
"I show Pumpkin the treat," Angie said, lifting the cup and picking up the small cat treat to hold in front of Pumpkin who immediately came forward for it. "Then I put the cup on top. I used this cup so she can see the treat."
"Good thinking."
"Okay, Pumpkin, get the treat!" Angie said encouragingly, pointing at the base of the cup.
Pumpkin pawed at the cup without success.
"Has she gotten it yet?" Steve asked.
Angie shook her head, her disappointment showing. "Come on, Pumpkin!"
"You know, maybe it would help to start with a smaller challenge," Steve suggested.
Angie looked up at him, interested.
"Remember how when you were first learning to write your letters and numbers, you couldn't just grab a pencil and do it. Grandma got you that special book with the pages for different letters and you started by tracing with your finger, then with a pencil, and then finally writing it by yourself."
Angie nodded. "I love that book. I finished all the pages."
He grinned. "You sure did. But the important thing is you started with a small challenge and then a little tougher one, and an even tougher one. Maybe Pumpkin needs a small challenge to start."
Angie bit her lip, thinking.
"You want her to find a treat that's sort of hidden," Steve prompted. "Where she has to move something to get it."
Angie gasped when her eyes landed on something on her desk and she jumped up to retrieve it. "Let's try this first!" she said, bringing back a paper butterfly she had made months ago.
"Good idea," Steve said.
Angie took the treat from under the cup and put it under the butterfly instead. Pumpkin sniffed the area and immediately batted the paper away to gobble up the treat.
Angie beamed. "She did it!"
"Attagirl, Pumpkin," Steve said with a grin, running a hand over the cat's back.
"Let's try it again!"
"Good, repetition is good, but remember you only have five treats to work with," Steve said. Both DJ and Angie were allowed to give Pumpkin and Cammie five small low-calorie treats a day.
Angie nodded. She showed Pumpkin another treat, then put the butterfly over it. Again Pumpkin quickly pushed the paper aside to get to the treat.
"Yay, Pumpkin!" Angie clapped, then bent over to gently squeeze her cheeks and give her a kiss on the head.
"Okay, now try something a little harder," Steve said.
Angie stood and walked slowly around her room, looking for something that would work as a tougher challenge. She finally settled on an empty phone case, an old one of Catherine's, that she used for pretend. She showed Pumpkin the treat, then placed the case over it.
This proved to be more of a challenge for the young cat who sniffed all around the case and pawed at it. Angie clutched her hands together, watching hopefully. As Pumpkin was sniffing around the camera hole in the case, she also shifted it to where she could reach the treat from inside the hole.
"She did it!" Angie exclaimed excitedly, lifting Pumpkin up for a quick snuggle. When she put her back down, the cat immediately went back to the phone case, sniffing around it for more.
"Do you think she's ready to try the cup again?" Steve asked.
"Yeah!" Angie said, opening the bag for another small treat. She waved it in front of the cat's face. "Here, Pumpkin, look. Now it's under here," she said, putting the treat on the carpet and the cup on top of it. "Now you have to get it."
Pumpkin sniffed around the cup and nudged it with her head and shoulder.
"That's good, Pumpkin! You almost got it!"
"Next time she nudges it, tip it over for her," Steve suggested. "Show her that's the way to get to the treat."
"Okay," Angie said. They had to wait another minute for Pumpkin to nudge the cup, and Angie put her hand on the top and pulled the cup over for her. "There you go, Pumpkin. That's how you get it."
Pumpkin quickly ate the treat and looked around for more.
"You do it this time," Angie said, placing another treat under the cup. "You can do it."
They watched as Pumpkin sniffed and nudged at the cup, father and daughter unconsciously holding their breaths until it finally fell over.
"Yay, Pumpkin!" Angie cheered, so excited she jumped to her feet. "She did it, Daddy! Did you see?"
"I did, baby girl, you're a great teacher."
Angie beamed. "Now she needs to practice."
"Yes, but by my count that's your five Pumpkin treats for the day, isn't it?"
Angie deflated, realizing he was right. Steve waited, letting her solve the problem herself.
Her eyes suddenly lit with an idea. "DJ! Maybe DJ can use his treats to help Pumpkin practice!"
"Great idea," Steve said with a smile, but reached out a hand to stop her when she made to run to find her brother. "After he finishes his homework."
Angie stopped and nodded. " 'Cause homework is very very important to help us learn."
"That's right," Steve said. "In the meantime, I bet Pumpkin would love some cuddles after all that hard work." He grinned and opened his arms. "And I bet you would, too."
The next morning Angie entered the kitchen and dragged her step stool over to the cabinets where the dishes were kept.
Catherine watched for a few moments as she inspected the shelves, finally asking, "What do you need in there, sweetheart?"
"I need a cup. The see through kind. And an extra one, please."
"It's almost time for school, we have to leave in half an hour. Can your game wait until after school?"
"It's not a game. I need cups for show and tell."
Catherine studied her daughter carefully, putting the pieces together.
"Angie. Where's Pumpkin?"
"She's waiting in the living room."
Catherine's eyes narrowed. "Waiting for what, exactly?"
Angie led the way into the living room, stopping at the sofa where her backpack sat with Pumpkin poking her head out.
Catherine exhaled, suspicions confirmed. "Oh, baby girl, Pumpkin can't go to school with you." She smiled and ran a hand over Angie's hair.
"But she's gonna be my show and tell," Angie replied plaintively. "She's gonna show how she can get a treat from under the cup."
"And she learned very well, but remember why cats stay inside?"
Angie sighed. "Cause they're safer. They can get lost outside or hurt."
"Right. She's safe here at home, but cats aren't like dogs, they can get nervous and scared away from home in places they're not used to."
Angie looked between the cat and her mother.
"And what if someone in your class is allergic to cats or is afraid of animals?" Catherine continued. "We don't want to have anyone getting upset or sick, do we?"
Angie opened her mouth to speak, and Catherine could see her reasoning her way to understanding, with an expression very much like Steve's. Finally she shook her head. "I love my class, I don't want anybody getting sick or scared. But what am I gonna do for show and tell? I don't got anything to bring in."
"How about…" Catherine mused. " How about if you have Pumpkin do her trick and I'll make a video that Mr. S. can show on the smart board while you explain to your class how you taught her?"
"Is that okay?" Angie wondered, her brow furrowing. Her curls cascaded forward when she tilted her head. "We should ask DJ."
Catherine stifled a laugh. "Okay, go find your brother and I'll set up the treats and cup on the table." As her five year old dashed off, she chuckled and addressed Cammie, who was watching the scene unfold. "Seems someone outranks me when it comes to the show and tell protocol."
"Everybody loved the video!" Angie said that afternoon, holding Pumpkin in her lap as she sat on the couch and regaled her family, both human and animal, with her show and tell success. She kissed Pumpkin on the head. "Mr. S said you are a very very smart cat."
DJ grinned. "Did he really say 'very very'?" he asked knowingly.
Angie smirked and shook her head. "I added one 'very,' " she admitted. "I told everybody that both our pets are the smartest 'cause Cammie was the best at dog school and got a cerfiticate and everything, and if there was a cat school, Pumpkin would get one, too!"
"Certificate," Steve corrected with a smile.
Angie nodded. "Yeah."
"Maybe we could make her one," DJ suggested.
"Yeah!" Angie immediately agreed, loving the idea.
"Good idea, honey," Catherine said, kissing DJ's head.
"I saved my star sticker from show and tell," Angie said. "We can put it on the cerfiticate." She looked up at Steve who shook his head, smiling.
"Certificate," he said again. "But either way, it's a great idea."
"It'll be a certifi-cat," DJ said with a grin. "Get it?"
Angie blinked, turning it over in her head, then mirrored his grin, giggling. "Yes! That's so funny, DJ!"
"We do have the smartest pets on Oahu," Steve said, smiling proudly as he ran a hand over Pumpkin's back. "It's only right they both have certificates. Isn't that right, Cammie?"
Cammie woofed in response, which caused Pumpkin to meow.
Steve grinned and motioned at the two. "See that, they agree."
Angie nodded once. "Smartest pets on Oahu."
Hope you enjoyed!
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