That Furball Puppy and Me Read Online Free Page A

behind my ears and under my chin.
Hey, this isn’t so bad,
I thought. Fact was, it felt pretty good. Iclosed my eyes. Maybe Grandkids weren’t so horrible after all.
    A noise made my eyes open. They flashed wide when I saw three more faces staring at me.
    â€œLet me have him, Kensey. You’re too little to hold the cat. Give him to me!”
    â€œNo, I like the kitty. He likes me, too! Look at him. He’s happy!”
    â€œGive me the cat! I’m the oldest. I want to hold him!”
    Gentle hands suddenly turned rough. I felt tugs on my fur and skin.
    â€œMomm … eee …”
    â€œJosh, leave Gray alone. If you can’t play nicely with him, I’ll have to put him outside. Kensey can pet him for a while, then Jenny and Katie will have time to hold him. You’re the oldest and you know you have to take turns.” Mama handed me back to the little girl. She carried me into the living room and sat down on the couch.
    The rest of the people came in there, too. Feeling restless and nervous with all these strangers around, I tried to wiggle away. The little girl held me tighter.
    â€œI wanna be Santa,” the boy yelped.
    â€œJosh, sit down and be quiet!” one of the big people said in a deep, growly voice. “You know Grampa always gets to be Santa.”
    â€œCan I open my presents first, then?”
    â€œWell take turns, just like always.” A woman spoke in a soft, gentle voice.
    â€œWell, if I can’t play Santa and if I can’t open my presents … I want to hold the kitty.”
    â€œNo! It’s still my turn.”
    The little girl squeezed me so tight, I thought my eyes were going to pop out.
    â€œJoshua!” The big man with the gruff voice glared at the boy. His look reminded me of the way the Daddy looked at me when I climbed the tree. The boy sat back down and folded his arms. His bottom lip stuck out. For a moment or two everyone was quiet. Slowly, Daddy walked to the tree. He bent down and picked up one of the packages.
    â€œLet’s see. The first one is for …” All the people seem to straighten and suck in a deep breath. They held it while he peeked inside a little piece of paper on top of the package. “Well, I’ll be,” he said finally. “It’s for Joshua.”
    The little boy bounced up and down on the couch when Daddy handed him the package. Then Daddy took another and another from under the tree and handed them to the people in the room. The little girl, who was holding me and giving me a nice rub, didn’t take her package. So Daddy put it down beside her.
    When everyone had a package, Daddy stood inthe middle of the room. He looked all around and took a deep breath.
    â€œOkay,” he said. There was almost a laugh in his voice. “Ready. Set. Go!”
    I never heard such a commotion in my life!
    All of a sudden there was a tearing, ripping sound. Papers and ribbons flew from the presents. The girl released me. There was more ripping and tearing and talking and laughing. Bright paper fluttered to the floor and ribbons flew. It was like a roar. Before I could make it off the couch and run, another set of hands grabbed me.
    This girl looked me over carefully. I struggled to get away. I wanted to run. I wanted to hide. She stroked my fur and talked real soft to me. It made me relax a bit, but I still wanted down. Ribbons and paper and string cluttered the floor and the furniture.
    â€œJenny, it’s okay to let Gray down. He can’t tear up anything now. We’ll just have to make sure that he doesn’t climb up in the tree again.”
    The girl put me on the floor and rubbed my fur the wrong way. It made my tail flip. I pulled away and hid behind the tree.
    I didn’t hide for very long. There was too much going on—too much excitement. I reached out to bat at the shiny things again. The little people pulled strings in front of me. My claws popped out when I tried