Tiger by the Tail Read Online Free Page A

the straw. He used to stay mostly here in the house. He’d snuggle down at the foot of my bed, under the covers.”
    I made a face like I was going to gag.
    Mr. McCurdy looked at me and shook his head. “Let me guess. You probably think that snakes are all slimy?”
    “Well … not really. I just …”
    “Probably never held one. Have you, Nicholas?”
    “Yes. But never one that big,” Nick answered hesitantly.
    “Well, remind me to introduce you to Brent, maybe even pick him up. He’s as soft and warm as a pair of old leather shoes. Gentle as a kitten too.”
    “How about if I just pick up a kitten?” I asked.
    “She isn’t a kitten anymore but if you want gentle you can’t beat that old girl in the corner there,” he said, pointing.
    Both Nick and I followed his finger to the couch, where a large animal was lying down.
    “It’s another tiger!” Nick yelled, backing away.
    “No, it’s a cheetah,” I corrected him, but backed awayas well.
    “How do you know about cheetahs?” Mr. McCurdy asked.
    “I read about them. You know, from
National Geographic
and books. They’re really fast —”
    “The fastest animal on this planet. They take off and before you can count to five they’re travelling faster than any car along the highway.”
    “That’s amazing,” Nick said.
    “And do you know why they can run that fast?” Mr. McCurdy asked.
    “The secret’s in the spine. Its whole back, from the top of the head to the tip of the tail, is like one big spring,” I answered.
    Mr. McCurdy and my brother exchanged looks.
    “You get used to her knowing everything after a while,” Nick said.
    “Laura, wake up!” Mr. McCurdy barked.
    The cat turned its head to one side and its eye opened up.
    “Laura, come on over here,” he ordered.
    The cat closed its eye and turned its head away.
    “Laura, you come here this minute!” he hollered, louder.
    Once again the cat turned to face us and its eyes opened. Lazily it rolled off the couch and landed on the floor. It stretched, its back dipping downward, almost touching its belly to the ground. Then it shuffledacross the floor and plopped down, right on top of Mr. McCurdy’s feet, and continued its nap.
    “Boy, that was fast,” Nick said sarcastically.
    “She’s an old girl. If she was a human she’d be even older than me and I don’t run races anymore. Still, once she stretches out the old muscles she could run faster than any other animal, young or old, except for maybe a gazelle or a deer. Come here, I want you to feel something.”
    We both hesitated, exchanging looks.
    “Don’t be afraid. This is a cheetah, not a tiger. Cheetahs aren’t like other big cats. Tigers, lions, cougars, leopards and jaguars, you can’t really trust one hundred percent. Even if you raised them from a kit, even if you’re their friend, even if you never ever saw them act aggressively, you still can’t trust them completely. You turn your back and WHACK,” he smacked his hand on the table and both Nick and I jumped.
    “They smack you on the neck. Maybe they only mean it as a little love tap, but you’re dead just the same. But Laura is different,” he said, motioning to the cat asleep on the floor, covering his feet. She hadn’t even raised an eyebrow in response to the noise.
    “Cheetahs are more like dogs. They like people, want to make them happy. See these claws,” he said, lifting up one of her front feet. “Other cats, even little house cats, have sheaths where they keep their claws when they’renot using them. Cheetahs don’t have those. Their claws are always out, like studs in snow tires, to give better traction. Everything about them is designed for speed.
    “They aren’t big like the other big cats. Can’t be big
and
fast, and speed is everything with them. You need to be fast, not sneaky or strong, to outrun your lunch. A cheetah, sometimes a pair of them, gets close to a herd, usually gazelles, and then just bursts after them, running at top