The Cat and the Lincoln Logs

We have a fourteen year old cat named Sketch.  Most days, she lays by the windows and sleeps in the sun.  She is very friendly and loves to be scratched between her ears.  At night, she'll cuddle up with one of our sons as they fall asleep for the night.  Sketch is a very sweet indoor cat.  However, she has one small flaw.

Sketch enjoys stealing small objects.  We discovered this one day while moving the sofa to deep clean the carpet.  As my husband and I scooted the sofa away from its usual resting place, we spied a treasure trove of our missing items.  A tube of lipstick, a bolt, a few pencils, and some other random objects were strategically nestled in her favorite hiding spot.  My husband and I were shocked.  We scolded our cat and retrieved our items.  From that day on, we eyed our naughty cat suspiciously when she got too close to one of our possessions. 

A couple days ago, the boys were constructing small buildings with their Lincoln Logs.  The logs were strewn across the living room floor as they created one and two story dwellings.  As soon as they were done, Son #1 knelt down to inspect each building carefully.  Son #2 grabbed a plastic bear, dog, and little man.  Our youngest son crawled to the Lincoln Log neighborhood and gently placed each toy near one of the houses.  When all had be inspected and approved by both of our children, my husband and I were called over to look at their creation. 

"Hey.  That's pretty cool!"  I said as I bent over to check out the tiny houses.

"Good job, boys!"  My husband exclaimed.  Then, he gave the kids high fives.

Son #1 yelled out excitedly.  "Look at this house!  It has a garage for the car and an upstairs so the bear won't get the person!"

"Ya!  Da bear is owtside!  Is scary!"  Son #2 agreed in a loud voice.

"Oh yes.  You're right."  I said gravely.

After showing my husband and I the houses, the boys trotted off to their rooms to place a car racing game.  Shrieks of laughter and also periodically shrieks of discord could be heard from Son #2's room.  Then, we heard the growl of pretend engines as the boys raced their cars up and down the hallway. 

While the boys were playing, Sketch slowly crept into the living room.  My husband and I were relaxing on the sofa.  I looked up from my magazine and asked.  "What do you think the cat is doing?"

My husband peeked over the newspaper and replied.  "I bet she's going to steal something."

Sketch arched her back and stretched her front paws forward.  She yawned and swished her tail casually.  However, her ears were tilted toward her whiskers and her whiskers were pointed at the toys.  I squinted my eyes as I observed her body language.  "Ske-e-e-tch."  I admonished.  "Don't you dare."

Sketch twirled in a circle and meowed innocently.  My husband disregarded her innocent meow and scolded.  "Sketch!  You leave those toys alone!"

Sketch flattened her ears, tucked her tail, and scrambled to the door of our bedroom.  As soon as the cat disappeared, my husband shouted for Son #1 and Son #2.  "Boys, come pick up the Lincoln Logs before the cat steals them!"

The kids scurried out of their rooms and hurriedly began to clean up their toys.  As they cleaned, Sketch quietly peered out from behind our bedroom door.  Disappointment could be seen in her eyes.  Clearly, she wanted to play with a Lincoln Log but her plans had been foiled.  However, I'm sure she'll soon be scouting out a new location for her next toy heist.