She stalks her prey like a seasoned hunter. As she maneuvers herself into position, she is coy. She keeps an eye on her prize while pretending to be engaged in more serious matters – trying to lull the beast into a false sense of security. All the while, she is ready to pounce. She is ready to test herself like never before. She knows it will take all her skill and guile to finally catch this long-sought-after tormenter. As long as she can remember she has been trying to grab this elusive prize and has yet to succeed.

As she eyes the animal in the near distance, she marvels at the beauty of this creature. She knows from fleeting, chance encounters that while docile and sweet, she is quick and powerful – much like herself. Perhaps this is the allure of her life-long quest to catch this animal. She admires this magical creature so much that she must have it for herself. She is determined to feel the lushness of the animal between her fingers. She longs for the day when she can bury her head into this creature and inhale deeply all the mystical smells that only such beauty can produce. But it won’t be easy.

No, she knows this from experience. For months her only goal has been to catch this creature. At first, her skills were woefully inadequate when matched with the skills of her prey. Over time, however, she has made great strides. She has been working hard to improve her own agility, knowing one day it will allow her to realize her life-long dream. However, she senses her rival knows her skills are increasing as well. As a result, the object of her desire has been more and more reluctant to come near. This is not something she had thought of when putting in all those hours of training. All those pull-ups. All those five-yard sprints. She even changed her style of locomotion to match that of her rival – a quick, four-legged stance that seems to have increased her speed dramatically. Physically, she is ready like she’s never been ready before.

But now she needs a way to lure her prey closer. What can she do to tempt this cunning creature? Surely, the creature must have moments of weakness. Surely, the creature must have an Achilles heel that can be exploited for the greater good. But what?!

Then, it comes to her. Of course! She has seen other hunters use this before! She scans the area looking for the familiar but slightly foreign object. Is it still around? If it is, will she be able to get it? Then, suddenly, her eyes find what she is looking for. She sidles over to the object and looks down. It is green and yellow and slightly metallic looking. She knows from experience that this will surely help her lure the beast closer than she has ever been. Some cryptic symbols on the front of the object are foreign to her. She studies it carefully before picking it up. On the front the symbols look like this:

F R I S K I E S

She smiles as she picks up the object. The object rattles slightly and she looks over at her prey to see if the creature has noticed. Yes, the creature has noticed. The creature looks at her with an inquisitive and curious gaze. She smiles again and takes her first steps toward fulfulling her life-long goal. In her mind she yells out her primal warrior cry as she rushes after her prey, with the alluring green and yellow object still clutched tightly in her little hand. “NUTTY KITTY! HERE I COME!”

She tries with all of her might. For a second, everything seems to be going according to plan. The creature seems distracted by her shiny green object that rattles when she moves. Unfortunately, while coming closer than she has ever come, the beautiful yet elusive creature – realizing that she is about to be captured by her life-long nemesis – once again manages to escape.

*******************************************

Swee’Pea sat there, contemplating what had just transpired. She was a bit tired from the effort that she had just put forth. She knew that achieving her goal of capturing the beast would be difficult. But she also knew that she had just come closer than ever before. She smiled at her success, confident that one day she would catch the creature, and vowed not to stop until she finally reached that goal. “That day is not too far off,” she thought. “Especially since I have this little yellow and green object. ”

As she sat there, a resolve only matched by that of her mother, sparked a thought within her. “One day, Nutmeg the Cat. One day soon, I will feel the softness of your fur and I will squeeze you to my body and never let you go. You can only run for so long. You will be mine.”

And with that she went about her day, plotting her next move in the constant game of Cat and Baby.