Part 4: Tommy

Part 4: TOMMY

"That's the end of my tale," as the monkey

said when he backed into the lawn mower.                                                                  

                                                                   —Esar

SO TOMMY HISSED, then yowled. Loud.

And in midscream he altered his body shape

even more than it had been prior. His back

abruptly domed, with spine hairs spiked upward

like long upside-down nails with sharpened

endpoints. His tail bristled like a dry bottlebrush

fashioned with aggresive prickly porcupine quills

that stabbed outward in all directions.

His limbs stretched longer, his claws grew larger,

his mouth broader.

Then, while seeming to be suspended in midair,

his shrieky caterwaulings scan-switched

their stations like magic---from that of an attacking

tomcat (one caught in the midst of a slam-on-brakes-

that-don't-work panic) to that of a charging

elephant's spine-tingling trumpet call.

Then to the drawn-out bass of a grizzly bear,

the cough-whine of a jaguar, the piercing screech

of an eagle, the bray of a wild donkey---till it

finally settled into the sustained guttural r-r-r-r-r!

of a take-no-fox-prisoners wolf-dog.

Red vixen cringed, her heart pounding,

terrified by the frantic hullabaloo that assaulted

her sensitive ears.

This was not a time to be brave---no kidding.

Without thinking, she did the next best thing---

she ran. And she did it barely before Tommy

landed, with a noisy thump!, right where red

vixen had just been.

Red fox ran off the deck, raced into the yard

proper, and headed for the edge of backyard's

woods.

With Tommy in hot pursuit.

But only for the briefest of spells. Tomcat

knew that as soon as vixen turned around

and got a thorough look at him, the chase

would suddenly reverse ...

and red vixen would become the chaser.

So it was that Tommy, with smart strategy

held firmly in his mind for guidance, veered

off to the right, sneaked around the shady

side of the house, and disappeared under

a convenient bush.

Red vixen, on the other hand, soon discovered

no pursuer now pressed her, and she

circled around the fringe of the grounds

leftward.

Not quite reaching the woods, she skulked

carefully back to the patio and resumed

her crunching and swallowing of sunflower

seeds.

Right along with their tough shells,

naturally.

And without further interruption, I might

add.

(end)