Cat and Bird

Saturday was a beautiful sunny day in my community and it found my family outside in the front yard chatting with other neighbors.  I somehow talked the neighbor boys into cleaning out the back of my van because it would be "fun" and while I supervised their work, Max the Cat came into view.

 He was sauntering up the sidewalk toward the house.  He held his head  high with his tail lifted and curled dramatically behind him.  "Awe, isn't that cute", I thought.  And then the neighbor said it.  "Look, who's bringing you a present."  I looked around for the UPS truck and then realized the neighbor meant Max.

In Max's mouth was something black.  A bird - "Yuck!", I thought and then I quickly realized Max had veered toward the open garage with a dead bird.  I ran to the garage and quickly closed the door thwarting Max and sending him to the bushes with his kill.  Max moved out of sight while the children surrounding me talked about the what was in Max's mouth.  Suddenly a ruckus erupted from the bushes.  A loud chirp sounded followed by the bushes shaking and then a small black and brown bird burst through the foliage and up into the sky. It wobbled a little getting its bearings and then zoomed off far from Max's greedy claws.

 Immediately the meowing started.  The most disgruntled cat I have ever seen emerged haughtily from the bushes meowing the entire time.  Max sat in the middle of the driveway grumping about the bird for nearly 5 minutes straight.  Then he harrumphed off to repair his bruised ego and to hold on to whatever cat dignity was left for poor Max to cling to.

Kudos to the bird for doing a masterful job at faking its own death.  And to Max - You win some and you lose some.