"You'll make friends soon," Mom said. "But we could get a cat to keep us company." 

"I like cats," said Kyle. 

They went to Pat-a-Cat Pet Shoppe. A few people were already inside. 

"Welcome," said the owner. "I'm Belle Gatta.” She opened a door. In strolled a cat. It stretched, pointing its toes like a ballerina. 

"Here kitty, kitty!" Kyle called. 

The cat flattened her ears. 

"Not so loud, Kyle," whispered Mom. "You're scaring her." 

"Miss Gatta," Kyle said in a quieter voice. "I want this cat." 

Belle laughed. "Here at Pat-a-Cat Pet Shoppe, the cats do the choosing. If you don't like the cat who chooses you, simply say no thank you." 

"Mitzi," she said to the cat, "it's time for you to choose." 

Mitzi sauntered across the room. Her tail swished like a dancing snake. She hopped onto a man's lap. 

"What a beautiful cat!" he said. "I'll take her." 

Next came a cat called Tiger. He strutted over to a woman and put one paw on her knee. "How sweet," she said. 

More cats came in. Kyle tried to sit still, but it wasn't easy. A cat named Pumpkin started to walk toward him.

Pumpkin hissed. Her hair stuck straight up like porcupine quills. 

Kyle hung his head. None of the cats liked him. He started swinging his legs back and forth. 

Belle opened the door again. In marched a very big cat. "MRROWW!" it said in a loud voice. It paced back and forth. "MRROWW!"

"Buster," said Belle, "it's time for you to choose." 

Buster crouched. His tail flipped back and forth. Suddenly he dashed across the room and pounced on Kyle's swinging foot. 

Kyle jumped up. "Yikes!" 

Buster didn't hiss. He didn't flatten his ears. His fur didn't stick out like porcupine quills. He looked up at Kyle and said: "MRROWW!" 

Kyle grinned. "Hello, Buster," he said. 

At home, Buster ran under the couch. Just his tail was sticking out. 

"He's probably afraid," Mom said. "This place is strange to him." 

Kyle lay down on the floor next to Buster. He reached under the couch and scratched Buster's head. "It's okay, Buster. This place is strange to me, too. We'll make friends soon." 

He listened for a moment and then he smiled. Buster was purring.

~The End~

Illustration Copyright © 2008 Robbye Nicholson

Text Copyright © 2008 Scotti Cohn