Silently, I Watch

What is that small creature? It smells good, but it's nothing I have ever tried. It has golden eyes like me and longer fur—oh, it has claws, but they don't look helpful!

It doesn't know I'm here. Wait! I hear the noisy creatures, the ones with humans. I have to get out of here before they smell me. They will never catch me.

I must run; an easy leap over that log, now shifted into a full-out, ears flat pace, not looking back, using my tail as a rudder helping me zig and zag.

There's a tree...wait, no! Mom told me not to go up the tree unless the dogs were on my tail. She said they would run until they dropped over.

One of my brothers had to go up a tree. She watched from the woods while the dogs howled under the tree; the man with the firestick shot him, and he fell to the ground dead.

I won't leap up a tree. I will turn and rip the hounds apart.

Run, run, run. There's a stream; jump over it. Up the hill, go faster, hide in the bushes, don't leave tracks. Don't pee; that dog will smell it; keep going. He's barking, but it's not because of my scent; I'm too far away. There's no close danger now, and I'm hungry.

**

Something ate part of my food, so I'll have to hunt again tomorrow. At least I have enough for tonight. This water tastes great, but I can't linger here; I need to sleep. There, the dirt and branches should help to hide my food.

**

That long sleep felt good. It's going to be dark soon. I'm glad Mom taught me how to walk along the water's edge and catch fish if needed today, though. Wow, this water is cold but tastes great. Okay, it's time to get going.

A human is passing nearby. I can smell his horrible human odor. I see him, but he is so stupid that he doesn't know I'm watching him from behind this tree.

Something smells good in the place with the people and chickens on the other side of the trail. I'll wait here where they can't see me. No dogs are around; I hate their baying and yipping and the men yelling.

Odors tell me when they are close. Everything about them stinks - their bodies, their breath, and the smell of a forest fire that follows them.

I hear the voices of the little humans. They shriek like me but also make other noises. Nope, they are not a danger to me, only those with that long object that belches and smells like forest fires.

I smell that creature from yesterday. There it is! It sees me; it's running. I'll chase it; I can easily catch it! Dang, it was faster than me, and I ran into that building. It got away. Oh no, there is a human over there. She's running and yelling.

Whew, that was close. I pivoted back to the woods before they got their firestick. I'm returning to the higher lands and looking for another deer. It isn't safe by that place, and I'll leave the chickens for the fox I smelled sleeping behind the rock.

Author note: The poem below was created from a news story (embedded above) of a cougar in a rural area near here chasing the cats and ignoring the chickens; the woman ran into the house with her baby. The cats outran the cougar.

This is for Belle's Unofficial Challenge Inside the Animal's Mind