Piercing, shrieking, howling yelps with a low undertone of menacingly angry hissing radiated from the hedge in our backyard. Crouched underneath it, the wriggling form of our Labrador retriever, Comet, was barely discernible. As I approached to see what caused the commotion, he frantically began struggling to back out of the entangling branches.

“I only wanted a little sniff! Ouch! Ouch!” he howled. Breaking free, he turned tail and zoomed across the patio pursued by our kitten, Stinker. Laughing at the funny reversal of roles, I watched while Stinker pursued him across the yard. When he was about to start a second lap, the kitten decided he had sufficiently subdued Comet and left to continue his hobby of decimating the local songbird population.

Comet continued running, unaware that his attacker sat in a bush laughing at him. Finally, he looked back and saw no menacing kitten. Despite his embarrassment, he skidded to a halt and began to sniff nonchalantly.

“I knew he stopped chasing me; I just wanted to run,” he explained to me.
Smothering a grin, I gravely replied, “Of course you did, Comet.”
Sensing that I did not believe him, he slunk off to a corner to lick his wounds and wallow in self-pity. While he moped, however, he glimpsed a sight that made his low spirits soar. Stinker’s sister, Patty-Purrs, was chasing her tail in a patch of sunlight, gleefully unaware of his presence. With a joyful heart, he scampered towards her.
“Oh look, a dog,” Patty dreamily observed. “I wonder what he is doing. He’s coming towards me, how nice. Look Stinker, a purty yellow dog.” The meaning of the thought now penetrated Patty’s rather empty head. “A DOG! Oh dear, I don’t like dogs!” Haphazardly fleeing towards the gazebo, she caught Stinker’s attention.
Seeing that the pursuing dog would pass right by his perch, a mischievous gleam crept into Stinker’s green eyes as he began to plot. Comet, meanwhile, had no idea that his nemesis was waiting and plotting his destruction. He blissfully chased Patty while she awkwardly scuttled towards the safety of the gazebo. Unexpectedly, Patty took a different course and darted through the side of the gazebo’s foundations. Confused, Comet paused; this gave Stinker the perfect opportunity. Uttering a feline war-whoop, the adventurous kitten pounced on the back of the unwary dog and used the spurs.
Panicking, Comet uncontrollably dashed through the yard while the kitten continued yowl. Atop his fleet mount, Stinker enjoyed his thrilling ride. As his unfortunate steed flashed past his favorite perch, Stinker dropped off, smirking with satisfaction. The dog was vanquished.