Tale #27 -- The McDougall Dilemma

"Whatever are we going to do with that David McDougall?" Oreo asked Bandit. "He's impossible!"

Bandit yawned and looked up at Oreo. She was sitting on the back of the couch and he was stretched out on the floor. "You've been complaining all day," he said. "Can you please let me get some sleep?"

"He just sits there and stares at the television," Oreo said. "Sometimes it isn't even turned on."

Bandit yawned again and closed his eyes.

"He doesn't go out except to go to work," Oreo complained. "Nobody comes to visit. He doesn't talk to us. Sometimes he forgets to feed us. He hardly ever brushes me any more."

Bandit pretended to be asleep.

"WAKE UP!" Oreo yowled. "This is a serious emergency!"

Bandit opened his eyes, got up, and jumped onto the couch. He stared at Oreo eyeball to eyeball. "I am bigger than you, and you are getting on my nerves."

Oreo's fur stood on end all over her body, even her tail. She looked as fierce as she could. "You may have grown a little, but you are still nothing but a whippersnapper!"

She threw herself at Bandit. They fell off the couch and wrestled on the floor. Oreo squirmed away and ran down the basement stairs. Bandit followed her. He caught up with her in David McDougall's woodworking shop, and they wrestled in the sawdust on the floor. Oreo tried to bite Bandit, but all she got was a mouthful of fur. Bandit ran upstairs. Oreo was right behind him.

Bandit stopped suddenly. Oreo crashed into him and they both fell down. They didn't feel like fighting any more, so they just lay there.

"If I promise to do something about David McDougall," Bandit said, "will you let me get some rest?"

"Okay," Oreo said. "Just make sure you remember." She jumped onto the back of the couch. Bandit jumped onto the other end. They settled themselves comfortably and went to sleep.