I wrote this when I was in high school, then did some revision work on it a few years back. It probably needs more work, but I’m thinking it might be a cute children’s book.
Stalking Tigers
By Terree Klaes
It was a hot day in the jungle- almost too hot even for Cody, who had spent the last five months there hunting dangerous, wild animals. He thought he heard some rustling in the brush up ahead, so he crept down and peered through the large, slender leaves of a thickly grown bush. Soon, a beautiful Bengal tiger slunk out and padded gracefully along the path Cody had made. It looked almost like a mirage because the tiger was so perfect.
Cody decided this would be just the animal to add to his small zoo. He already had a gigantic tarantula, a wolf, and two piranhas. The capture of this wonderful creature before him was very important to Cody, so he stayed low to the ground and hidden as much as possible. If he were too loud, he would surely frighten the exotic animal away.
In the distance, the sound of a monkey could be heard. It sounded almost like a child laughing, but Cody knew all the tricks of the jungle. Many of the jungle’s characteristics seemed beautiful at first glance. But there was always another side to the beauty. At any minute, something sweet and innocent could turn on a person and attack!
Suddenly, the tiger disappeared back into the brush. Cody looked carefully at the plants with their swaying leaves telling where the tiger was heading. After a few minutes, the leaves stopped twitching, and Cody could no longer tell where the tiger was.
It was approaching nightfall and Cody’s stomach began to growl almost as fiercely as the beast he was hunting. He decided to give up his hunt for the day and was headed toward the edge of the jungle when something clawed at his bare leg! There he was, face to face with the tiger. No doubt there would be a struggle, but he had to catch this animal while he had the chance. He reached out to grab the tiger and they wrestled on the ground for a few minutes. Cody was successful, and he carried the tiger to the jungle’s edge, where he saw the squawking monkey hanging from a nearby tree.
“What are you doing with Mr. Whiskers, Cody? You leave my cat alone!” Amanda, Cody’s next door neighbor, called out. “Your mom’s been lookin’ for you anyway. I heard her calling you for dinner three times. I bet you’re gonna get in trouble.”
“I’m not gonna get in trouble. Here’s your mean cat. He scratched me!”
“You shouldn’t have picked him up.”
Just then the back door opened and Cody’s mom stepped out. “Cody, where have you been? I’ve been calling you. Say goodnight to Amanda and get your sister out of that tree. It’s time for dinner.”
“Yes, Mom.”
“Told you you’d be in trouble,” Amanda snickered as she chewed on the end of a handful of hair.
“Why don’t you go home?”
“I’m on my way. Besides, I don’t want to get any of your cooties,” she said as she stomped off, and climbed through a hole in the fence.
Cody turned around, helped his sister, Tina out of the tree where she had been swinging upside down, and went inside.
“What on Earth have you been doing Cody? You’re a mess. Go wash up real fast, okay?”
“Okay Mom. Then I can tell you all about my hunt in the jungle today. It was great! Well, until Amanda came along and took my tiger away. She’s just a dumb girl. I wish she’d leave me alone sometimes!”
“Now, Cody, there’s nothing wrong with girls. After all, I’m a girl. I just wish the two of you would learn to get along.”
“She says I have cooties. I think that’s cause she’s really got ‘em.”
“I’m quite sure neither of you has cooties. Now go wash up like I said.”
“All right Mom.” Then, just before he turned to go wash up, Cody threw his arms around his mom’s waist. “I guess not all girls are bad. I do love you.”
Revised Copyright Sept. 2014
caverns of my mind 