Snorting Cat

         It had been a very good day for the mouse detective agency. After all, they

had solved the maze and found the cheese. They couldn’t wait for their next case.

They didn’t have to wait long. A Little Mouse scampered through their hole.

“I have to find my cat! I think she’s run away!” he panted.
         
The mice twitched their whiskers. “Little Mouse, you are lucky.

may she never come back."
         
“But instead of purr, purr, purr, my cat goes SNORT, SNORT,

SNORT, HA-CHOO, HA-CHOO, HA-CHOO,” Little Mouse jumped up and down.

Suddenly, the mice detectives understood, “A cat that cannot surprise a mouse, is

the perfect cat for any house.”

They grabbed their magnifying glasses. “What does this cat look

like?”

“Black and white with a tan nose,” described Little Mouse.

“Now we must go to your house and search for clues.”

They searched in closets.

They peeked under beds.

They questioned the fish.

And asked the dog.

No one had seen the cat.

“Aha,” they said. “We are looking for clues, when we should be

listening.”

         Wheeze. Wheeze. Wheeze.

         “Quick. Down the stairs!” said the mice.

         It was only the washing machine in the basement.

         Cough. Cough. Cough.

         “It’s coming from outside!” They scurried through a crack into the yard.

         It was only the gardener mowing the  lawn.

         Sniffle. Sniffle. Sniffle.

         “Over there!” Little Mouse said.
         
A caterpillar was slurping dew off a leaf.

         Purr.  Purr. Purr.

         It was coming from the tool shed.

         “We are three blind mice!” said the detectives pointing to paw prints.

Little Mouse frowned, “It can’t be my cat. No snorting.”

         Quietly, the detectives squeezed through a loose board into the shed. A

cat groomed her kittens, black and white with tan noses.

They scurried back out and began to congratulate themselves. Little Mouse

shook his head, “No snorting.”

         The mouse detectives scratched their fur and checked their notebooks.

“Perhaps, we were too far away to hear. We need to get closer.”

         Again, they crept through the tiny hole, making their way towards the kittens.

         Purr. PURR. PURR.

SNORT, SNORT, SNORT!  HA-CHOO, HA-CHOO, HA-CHOO!

          “It’s her! You’ve solved the case!” said Little Mouse.

“Not only that,” said the mice detectives. “I think we’ve discovered the first

family of cats allergic to mice!”