The Curse of the Cougar
By: Scratch

One day, a long, long time ago, a man named Charles E. Subblebutt
woke up at dawn in his comfy bed made out of split logs, cotton fabric, and
soft goose feathers. This was a very fancy bed at this ancient time. Well,
anyway, he woke up and said, "Why, look. There's that beautiful bobcat I shot
yesterday." He was referring to a bobcat head that hung on the wall. Charles
was a very big game hunter, which shows just how cruel he was.
He had planned to go on another hunting expedition today, and that
was why he woke up so early. He prepared his breakfast, which was eggs and
bacon. There was no one there to protest about his hunting because he did not
have a wife and no one lived within miles. He lived alone in the woods. He
ate his breakfast, got dressed, and then he went on his way into the woods,
with his gun, of course.
Today he was hoping to shoot a buck. It was rare for any hunter to
get a buck, because they were so fast and strong. On his way to the woods,
Charles saw many animals he could have shot: rabbits, birds, squirrels,
chipmunks, and many others, but he was determined to get a buck, or a moose
or bear, something bigger and better than a mere squirrel or rabbit.
As Charles was walking through the woods, he thought of all the
animals he would like to catch: a moose, a bear, a fox, a wolf, a lynx, an
elk, a... Then something scared him out of his daydream. He heard leaves
rustle. He heard twigs snap. And then, out of the bushes, stepped a cougar.
Not just any cougar, he was one of the most beautiful cougars Charles had
ever seen. He had glittering green eyes, a sleek, soft, tawny-brown coat, a
creamy white belly, a handsome face, and a tip of shiny, ink black on his
tail. Charles thought, I must have that cougar! Cougars were very rare, and
hardly anyone got them, not to mention this one was so beautiful.
Charles stepped forward a tiny bit. The cougar got a startled look
on his face, and then stepped back. He knew what was coming. He knew about
hunters and guns, for he was very smart. All cougars are smart, but this one
was the smartest. He had been hunted before, and so had his family. When he
was young, not but two months old, his mother had been shot and killed. He
was an orphan, but he learned to fend for himself, and he learned that he
must avenge his mother's death. And the cougar promised himself he would,
someday.
Then Charles took another step forward. The cougar then turned
completely around and lunged forward into a run. Charles ran after him,
shooting as he went. He did not hit the cougar so easily; the cougar was
agile and he ran fast, so he dodged the bullets. But then, suddenly, pain
seered through him. He looked back behind him, and saw the beautiful shiny
black tip of his tail streaked with blood. That made him run even faster.
I will not die! thought the cougar. And then, as his hind legs went
out, a much worse pain engulfed his body. He looked back again and saw a
bloody spot on his left hind leg. No! he thought. Then, whenever the time
came for him to use his left hind leg, he gave a little hop. He could run
almost as fast. Then a lake appeared. And although he hated swimming (most
cougars do), he knew he must. He sprung into the lake and swam as fast as he
could. Charles, who was very close behind, did not want to get his fancy
hunting outfit muddy, so there he stopped, and turned to go home.
When Charles got home, he decided to pay a visit to his friend, Sam
Silly. So he ate a cold meat sandwich, and he was off to Sam's house. It was
a half-hour walk, but he didn't care. He felt very triumphant to have almost
killed a strong, agile, brave cougar. He went on his way whistling as he
walked.
When he finally got to Sam's house, Sam was happy to see him.
Charles told the cougar story to Sam and his wife.

Sam's reaction to the story was, "Well, a cougar, huh? Be careful,
remember that."

"Why?" Charles asked.

Sam replied, "Well... uh... I don't know. Just be careful."

* * * * * *

Charles went on the half-hour walk home, and on the way, he thought,
Why should I be afraid of a cougar? I almost killed a spectacular one! But
Charles did not know the power of a cougar.
When he got home it was 6:00. He made a dinner of mashed potatoes,
peas, and a lamb chop. Then he read his favorite book, Rally Of Rifles, a
book explaining about different types of guns. Then he went to bed because he
planned to hunt again the next day.
Charles had many dreams, so many little ones that he couldn't
remember them all. Then he was startled out of a dream by a large thump. He
opened his eyes abruptly. He saw nothing but his own regular bedroom, so he
closed his eyes and started to drift off to sleep, when something, thump!,
hit him on the chest. His chest hurt badly, and when he opened his eyes, he
was more surprised than ever.
There he saw a handsome, furry face and two glittering green eyes.
He saw the creamy, white chest and a golden brown tail with a tip of shiny
black streaming out behind him. His eyes looked angry.
Then something scared Charles even more. The cougar spoke.

He said in a very deep voice, "What is the point of your hunting?"

Charles said in a shaky voice, "Are you the cougar I hunted today?"

"Yes," the cougar replied.

"It's for fun," Charles said. "I enjoy it."

"Perhaps you should think of me and all the other animals. Do you
think we think it is fun?" the cougar said.

"Well, no, but what does an animal's opinion count for?" said
Charles, who was extremely scared.

"Well!" the cougar snarled. "It looks like I'll have to teach you a
lesson."

"What's a stupid cougar going to do to me?" replied Charles, trying
not to sound scared.

The cougar growled back, "You'll see."

With that, the cougar jumped off Charles and the bed, and went out
the door. Charles thought, A lesson, huh? That cougar won't do anything to
me. Then he fell asleep.

* * * * * *

Charles woke up at dawn. Not remembering anything that had happened
the last night, he tried to get out of bed. Suddenly he noticed that he was
in the woods, lying on the forest floor. Dazed, he tried to get up. His legs
were up, but his body was still drooping. He looked behind him. He saw a
deer's spotted back, a tuft of a tail, and two hind legs. Gaping in horror,
he looked up and saw two antlers. He had been turned into a deer! He was very
scared and surprised because he still didn't remember what had happened last
night. Trying to make the best of it, he lifted his two hind legs up. He was
standing all the way up now, and he looked around and thought, Maybe being a
deer won't be that bad!
Charles looked around again, and took a step. He then took another.
Then he sprang into a trot, looking at the world through a deer's eyes.
Everything was very interesting, and he thought nothing could go wrong. Then
he met another deer! They sniffed around for a minute, and the other deer
made a few whimpering-like sounds. The he charged at Charles!
Charles didn't know what to do. He just ran and ran. Finally, he
outran the other deer. He wondered if he would ever be a human again. It was
late afternoon, and he became very hungry and thirsty. He ate mouthfuls and
mouthfuls of the sweet, salty grass. But he was still thirsty, so he walked
along until he came to a large lake. He sniffed the air. It smelled strange,
but not having enough sense to pay attention to it, he put his head down to
drink.
There was a cliff behind Charles, but he thought nothing of it.
Little did he know it was very dangerous for him to be there. The cougar, the
one he had tried to kill the day before, was on that cliff. He was crouched
down, very silent, and ready to spring. He is close enough, thought the
cougar. He crouched down even lower, and when the time was right, he sprung
high up into the air, dropping a mere sixty feet and landing directly on
Charles's back. Charles cried out in surprise. The cougar's claws were
extended, and they were scratching Charles's back. Then the cougar reached
his head out, and with his sharp teeth, bit Charles in the neck. Everything
went black.
Charles jumped out of bed, sweating hard. He looked down, and
realized that he was human again! Or, was he always human? Charles realized
that it was just a dream! A stupid old dream! He chuckled and went back to
sleep peacefully.

* * * * * *

Charles woke up at dawn. "It's morning!" he said. "Another day of
hunting!" At that moment, the cougar jumped down and bared his teeth. "All
right! All right! No more hunting!" Charles said. The cougar's shape faded,
and then fully disappeared.
Charles knew the dream was not a dream. He knew that the cougar
meant what he said. So Charles ran out the door and joined the World Wildlife
Fund. He worked hard to save endangered animals that he would have been
killing if he had not had help from a certain majestic animal.

The End