Cheetah Read online

  Cheetah

  Cheetah

  Wendy A. Lewis

  Illustrated by Graham Ross

  Text copyright © 2007 Wendy A. Lewis

  Illustrations copyright © 2007 Graham Ross

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Lewis, Wendy A., 1966-

  Cheetah / written by Wendy Lewis ; illustrated by Graham Ross.

  (Orca echoes)

  ISBN 978-1-55143-465-0

  1. Animals--Juvenile fiction. I. Ross, Graham, 1962- II. Title. III. Series.

  PS8573.E9913C44 2007 jC813’.6 C2006-906706-6

  First published in the United States, 2007

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2006939247

  Summary: Despite Mia’s longing to have a pet, she must learn that wild animals, even frogs, belong in the wild.

  Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

  Typesetting by Christine Toller Cover artwork and interior illustrations by Graham Ross Author photo: Amelia Murray

  ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS

  PO BOX 5626, STN. B PO BOX 468

  VICTORIA, BC CANADA CUSTER, WA USA

  V8R 6S4 98240-0468

  www.orcabook.com

  Printed and bound in Canada.

  Printed on 100% PCW recycled paper.

  10 09 08 07 • 4 3 2 1

  For Amelia, Maddie and Rob,

  who brought Cheetah home,

  and for Julie Spillman,

  teacher extraordinaire.

  W.A.L.

  For Pat McNeely—the cheetah,

  a true friend and believer.

  G.R.

  Cheetah Number One

  Mia looked in the mirror. Her human face looked back at her. She sighed. If only she had been born an animal. They were so much more fun.

  Mia got out her black marker. She drew spots on her face. She drew stripes under her eyes. She put on a furry-ear headband. She tucked a tail into her pants.

  Now she was a cheetah, the fastest runner of all the animals! Mia the Cheetah zoomed around her room.

  “Grrr!” her tummy growled. It was time to hunt. She slunk into the hallway. She peered through the open crack of her sister’s door. Maggie was rocking her doll, Baby Uh-Oh.

  “Uh-oh!” Baby Uh-Oh cried. “Uh-oh! Uh-oh!”

  Mia knew that cry. It meant Baby Uh-Oh had wet her pants. She did that a lot.

  Maggie took off her doll’s wet clothes. Mia the Cheetah saw Baby Uh-Oh’s chubby, bare legs. “Grrr!” her tummy growled. She licked her lips. She knew it wasn’t nice to eat people. But she was hungry!

  “Girls, breakfast is ready,” their mother called.

  Maggie looked up. She saw Mia ready to pounce.

  “Don’t hunt my babies!” she yelled.

  Mia had hunted Maggie’s dolls before.

  “Girls!” their mother called again. “Come for breakfast now or I’ll feed it to Fang.”

  Fang was the dog that lived next door. Mia’s family didn’t have any pets. Her parents said, “No pets until the house is finished.” They had been working on the house for Mia’s whole life. She was afraid it would never be finished. And that meant no pets, ever.

  Mom, Dad, and Maggie had bacon and eggs for breakfast. Mia the Cheetah sneered at the eggs. But she dove face-first into the meat.

  “I guess leopards don’t use forks,” said Dad.

  “I’m a cheetah, Dad.” Mia rolled her eyes. “Cheetahs have eye-stripes. Leopards don’t.”

  “Of course,” said Dad. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “I’ve heard that cheetahs are very smart,” said Mom. “Smart enough to use a fork.”

  Mia the Cheetah growled softly. She ate the rest of her meal with a fork.

  “I have to work at home today,” Mom said. “Daddy’s going to take you out.”

  “No, please, no!” Mia begged.

  “That makes me feel good,” Dad sniffed. He wiped away pretend tears.

  “Well, Dad, I love you,” Mia said. “But you always take us to the drop zone.”

  The drop zone was a place for skydivers. They jumped out of airplanes and floated down under parachutes. Mia liked the drop zone at first. But now she was tired of it. And with parachutes all over the place, she wouldn’t be allowed to run around like a cheetah.

  Mia rolled off her chair. She lay on her back on the floor. Her eyes were closed. Her four paws stuck up in the air.

  “Are you dead?” asked Maggie.

  Mia nodded.

  “That’s too bad,” said Dad. “I was going to show you the frog pond today.”

  “Frog pond?” said Mia. She opened one eye.

  “It’s in the field behind the drop zone. Want to go see it?”

  “Duh!” said Mia.

  Mia jumped up. She was alive! But she wasn’t a cheetah now. She was a frog, a big, spotted frog. She hopped to the front door.

  “Come on, guys!” she croaked. “What are you waiting for?”

  Cheetah Number Two

  It took a long time to drive to the drop zone. Then Dad took a long time talking to his friends. Mia tugged on his hand.

  “Remember the frog pond?” she said.

  “Just a minute,” Dad said. He watched the sky.

  “There they are!” Maggie yelled. Maggie’s eagle eyes always saw the skydivers first. Mia thought they looked like specks of pepper in the sky. Specks of pepper were not as fun as frogs. The specks grew bigger. The skydivers opened their parachutes.

  “I like the blue one,” said Maggie.

  “I like the black one,” said Dad. “Which one do you like, Mia?”

  “I like the frog pond! Can we please go now?”

  The last skydiver swooped down.

  “Okay,” Dad said at last. “Let’s find those frogs.”

  They walked along a path through some trees. Then they walked through a field of long, tickly grass.

  “I think the frog pond is at the end of this field,” Dad said.

  Mia ran ahead. She heard the pond before she saw it. The grunts and snores made her giggle. The sounds stopped when Mia reached the water’s edge. Mia looked in the water. She looked on shore. She couldn’t see a single frog.

  “I see one!” said Maggie. She pointed to a log that rose out of the pond. It looked like the head of a sea serpent.

  Mia squinted her eyes. The frog was hard to see against the wood.

  “Come here, frog!” Mia patted her legs as if she were calling a dog. “Come here!”

  The frog didn’t come. Mia found more frogs, though.

  She surprised a big one hiding in some grass. He pushed off with his strong legs and dove into the water. Then she found another frog. He went hop-hop-SPLASH too.

  “They won’t stay still,” she moaned. Then she spied a perfect princess of a frog. Mia tiptoed forward...

  “GOTCHA!”

  Mia felt the frog’s feet move inside her hands. She laughed at the tickly feeling. She peeked in between her thumbs. The frog had pretty spots and gold stripes behind her eyes.

  “You look like a cheetah too,” said Mia. “Dad, look! This is Cheetah. Can I keep her? Please?”

  “I don’t think so,” said Dad.

&nbs
p; “I’ll take good care of her,” said Mia. “I’ll keep her in a box. She won’t get loose in the house. Please, please, PLEASE?”

  “Okay,” said Dad. “You can take care of it for a week. We’ll bring it back next weekend.”

  “Aww...”

  “It’s a wild animal, Mia. It doesn’t belong in a box. One week. That’s the deal.”

  Mia didn’t like the deal. She wanted to keep Cheetah forever. But having Cheetah for a week was better than not having her at all.

  They walked back to the drop zone. Mia carried Cheetah in her hands. She asked the man at the snack bar for an empty box. He washed one out that said Bean Salad.

  “You need some holes in the lid so he can breathe,” the man said. “And put some mud in to keep him moist.”

  “Cheetah is a her,” said Mia. “I’m pretty sure.”

  “That’s a good name for a leopard frog,” the man smiled.

  “You’re a leopard frog!” Mia whispered to Cheetah. “Isn’t that great?”

  She set Cheetah gently in the box.

  “She might miss her friends,” the man said.

  “She’ll have me,” said Mia.

  “We’re bringing it back next weekend,” said Dad.

  Mia hoped they wouldn’t have to come back. She’d show Dad and the snack bar man. Cheetah would love her new home. She’d never want to leave.

  Cheetah’s New Home

  “Yikes!” said Mom.

  “Isn’t she the most beautiful frog you ever saw?” said Mia.

  “I never saw one this close,” said Mom.

  “Can I play with her?” Maggie asked.

  “If you’re gentle,” said Mia.

  “I’m always gentle,” said Maggie.

  “No, you’re not. What about when you ripped off Fred’s head? And threw him under the bed?”

  Fred was Maggie’s monster doll. “He likes that,” Maggie said.

  “Mia,” said Mom, “are you going to keep the frog in that box?”

  “I think it’s too small,” Mia said. “She can’t hop very far in it.”

  “No, she can’t,” said Mom.

  “I can let her hop around my bedroom.”

  “No, you can’t,” said Mom. “Let’s see if we have a bigger box.”

  They found a large plastic box with clear sides. Dad drilled breathing holes in the lid. Then Mia and Mom filled it with things for Cheetah. They put stones in the bottom. They covered them with dirt. They planted some grass and moss. Mia put in a stick. It looked like the sea serpent log at the pond.

  “A pond!” she said. “Cheetah needs water to swim in!”

  She filled a bowl with water and set it in the dirt.

  “Can I put something in?” Maggie asked. She held up one of her shells.

  “That would be perfect.” Mia smiled. “Thank you.”

  Maggie put the shell beside the pond. The girls sighed happily.

  “If you were a frog, Maggie,” said Mia, “wouldn’t you love to live in there?”

  “I wouldn’t like to be a frog,” said Maggie. “But I would like to live there. I’d have to be a lot smaller, though.”

  “See if Cheetah likes it as much as you girls do,” Mom said.

  Cheetah hopped right into the bowl of water. She floated like a bath toy. Mia clapped her hands.

  “She loves it!”

  “Now, what do you think she likes to eat?” Mom asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Mia.

  “Pizza’s good,” said Maggie.

  “Frogs don’t eat pizza,” said Mia. “Frogs eat...bugs, I think.”

  “Let’s see if we have a book that will tell us,” Mom suggested.

  They went to the bookshelves. There was a whole shelf of books about animals. But none of the books said what leopard frogs like to eat.

  “I’m sure Cheetah will be fine for tonight,” said Mom. “Tomorrow we’ll find out what we can feed her.”

  Mia put a quilt on the floor beside Cheetah’s box. Cheetah snuggled into her grass. Mia snuggled into her quilt. They watched each other.

  “Are you happy, Cheetah?” Mia whispered.

  Cheetah didn’t answer.

  “You’ll feel better tomorrow. I’ll get you some food.

  Then I’ll show you around. You’ll love it here.”

  Mia yawned. “Good night, Cheetah. Sweet dreams.”

  Cheetah Spots for Sam

  Mia checked the books in the science corner of her classroom. She found a book with a whole page on leopard frogs. Mia read: “Leopard frogs eat wood lice, worms and spiders.” The picture showed the roly-poly bugs that curl up into balls. Hooray! Mia’s backyard was filled with Cheetah food!

  Mia thought about Cheetah all day. They made graphs in math. Mrs. Rose asked the class what their favorite animals were. Most people liked dogs, cats and horses. Mia was the only one who said “frogs!”

  “I thought you liked giraffes,” Hailee whispered.

  “I have a new favourite,” Mia whispered back.

  Mia made the frog column on her graph extra special. She colored it green with black spots and gold stripes.

  “Very froggish!” said Mrs. Rose.

  Then Mrs. Rose read a story to the class. It was about a sad stegosaurus named Sam. She stopped reading before the end.

  “I’d like you all to write your own ending to the story,” she said.

  Mia thought and thought. She doodled some frogs. Then she wrote in her draft book:

  Sam was sad. He did not like his plain gray skin. He wanted spots like Cheetah the frog.

  “How can I get spots like you?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Cheetah. “Try rolling in the mud.”

  Sam rolled in the mud. He did not get spots.

  Cheetah said, “Try splashing in the pond.”

  Sam splashed in the pond. He did not get spots.

  “I know!” said Cheetah. “I will draw spots on you.”

  “They will wash off,” Sam said sadly.

  “No, they won’t,” said Cheetah. “I will use permanent marker!”

  Cheetah drew spots on Sam with permanent marker. Then Sam and Cheetah jumped in the mud. They splashed in the pond. Sam’s spots stayed on. And Sam was happy!

  Hailee read Mia’s story.

  “Frogs, frogs, frogs!” she said. “What’s going on?”

  “You’ll find out on Wednesday,” said Mia. Wednesday was News Day at school. Cheetah was going to be Mia’s best news ever.

  Mrs. Rose noticed that Mia was thinking about frogs too. After school, she said, “I saw you looking at the frog book, Mia. Would you like to borrow it?”

  “You mean I could take it home?” Mia asked.

  “Yes, for a while.”

  “Thank you!”

  Mia hopped like a frog right up to Mrs. Rose’s desk to get the book.

  Creepy Crawlies

  Mia carried a pail and spoon into the backyard. She took a deep breath. Bugs and worms were not her favourite creatures. But Cheetah was hungry!

  She turned over a rock. Three roly-poly bugs were hiding there. The frog book called them “wood lice.” Mia knew that people sometimes got lice in their hair. She wouldn’t want these roly-polies rolling around her head! She scooped them into the bucket.

  Now for the worms. The garden was always full of worms. Mia turned over some dirt with her spoon. Two juicy worms poked their heads out. Or maybe it was their tails. It was hard to tell. Mia scooped them into her pail.

  She didn’t look for spiders. Wood lice and worms stayed in the pail, but spiders would crawl out. Mia did NOT want to have to chase them.

  Maggie came out the back door.

  “What’s in the bucket?” she asked.

  “An after-school snack,” said Mia.

  Maggie peeked in the pail. She pretended to throw up.

  “Very funny,” said Mia. “They’re for Cheetah.”

  “Do you have to kill them first?”

  “I don’t thi
nk so,” said Mia. She hoped not. If she had to kill them first, she’d feel like a murderer.

  “You mean she eats them alive?” Maggie asked.

  “I’m not sure,” said Mia. “I’d rather not think about that part.”

  She took the lid off Cheetah’s box. Cheetah was floating in the pool.

  “I brought you some food, Cheetah,” said Mia. “Be gentle with it.”

  She tipped the pail into Cheetah’s box. The roly-polies lay like balls on the grass. The worms burrowed into the dirt. Cheetah didn’t move.

  “Cheetah, what’s wrong?” Mia asked.

  “I told you,” said Maggie. “She likes pizza.”

  “Frogs don’t like pizza,” said Mia.

  “I think Cheetah does,” said Maggie.

  Mia had an awful thought. Maybe Maggie already fed Cheetah some pizza. Now she was sick! No wonder she didn’t want her roly-polies!

  “DID YOU GIVE HER PIZZA?” Mia roared.

  “NO!” Maggie roared back.

  “WELL, DON’T GIVE HER PIZZA! DON’T GIVE HER ANYTHING!”

  “I WON’T!” Maggie yelled. She stomped off to her room.

  Mia looked at the book from school. It didn’t say what to do if your leopard frog wouldn’t eat. Maybe she had an upset tummy. Mia’s tummy got upset when she was sad or mad. She lay down beside Cheetah’s box.

  “Please be happy, Cheetah,” she whispered. “I love you.”

  Thinking like a Frog

  For the next two days, Mia tried to make Cheetah happy.

  “Time for outside exercise, Cheetah!” she said.

  Mia set Cheetah on the grass.

  “Be careful she doesn’t get away,” Mom warned.

  “She won’t,” said Mia.

  Cheetah leaped forward.

  “She’s heading for the road!” Mom yelled. “Get her!”

  Mia got her. “She’s okay, Mom. Look, she learned a trick. Cheetah, HOP!”

  Cheetah hopped.

  “Isn’t she smart?” said Mia.

  Cheetah took a world-record leap.

  “GET HER!” Mom yelled.

  Mia ran to catch her. They had a nose-to-nose talk.