Archive: Around Town

Lansing student Brigit Alano, 11, won the TST BOCES Creative Writing contest with her story 'A Puma Alone'.  She also won the Velma Van Buskirk Memorial prize for Creative Arts.

A Puma Alone
By Bridget Alano

On a hill in front of a row of pine trees, two excited puma kittens played together while their mother peacefully dozed nearby. They clawed at each other, the orange evening sun illuminating their beautiful, spotted fur. Finally, one of the kitten brothers looked up and noticed a small blue butterfly gliding through the air, like a leaf slowly falling from a tree. The puma kitten left his brother to run off and chase this great source of amusement. The butterfly was slow, and it never flew too high. He trotted along, pawing up in the air every now and then. At last, the butterfly sailed out of sight, and the puma kitten was left alone to gaze up into the setting sun. He glanced around. He quickly realized that he wasn’t sure which way to go. Letting out an agitated “meow,” he fell to the ground, curled up into a ball of creamy brown and fell immediately into a long sleep.

The next morning, he awoke; stomach growling. He remembered that his mother used to bring home delicious chipmunks, mice, and marmots. Maybe he could find some yummy snacks to fill him. He set off, heading toward some unfamiliar boulders. Wet dew drops hung on every branch of the pine trees, making them gleam luminescent, like a diamond-studded jewel. He saw a flash of dark, silvery brown and sprinted forward, extending his long muscular legs into the air. A loud growl thundered in his ears as a huge male puma propelled himself forward from behind a boulder. The puma kitten yelped and flailed out, tumbling to the ground as the big puma hurtled like a cannon, mere inches from him. Though flustered, the kitten scrambled up, just as a huge, sharp claw flew by his face, barely missing his nose. Like he was on fire, the kitten ran, dodging boulders, bushes, and trees. Finally, as he dodged another swing from the older puma, he extended his claws and quickly scrambled up a tree. The other puma clawed the tree in frustration and hissed, spitting saliva specks up at the trembling kitten. Finally, he trotted off, swinging his long, strong tail proudly in the air.

Cautiously, the kitten hopped down from the tree. He sprinted far away from the area. Finally he lay down, tired out, next to a rodent hole. After he caught his breath, he pressed his face to the hole and then started to paw in it. He scratched at the dirt, then hit his paw on a rock and jerked it out quickly. The kitten crawled under a pine tree hurt, exhausted, and lacking food. He woke up late that day; the red sun surrounded by pink and blue sky. Still insistent on getting a meal, he leaped up the tree and tentatively climbed out to the end of a branch, resting neatly on the soft blue pine needles.

After hours of patient waiting, a small, white-furred rabbit hopped by, his tiny pink nose twitching. It stopped under the tree, sensing danger. The kitten silently pulled himself to the edge of the branch and leaned forward. Then, he flew into action, springing out of the tree into the air. The branch cracked loudly, and the bunny turned and jumped to the side one second too slow. The kitten fell on the hard ground, landing on padded paws. He reached his head out and lunged at the rabbit’s neck, killing him in an instant. He proudly stood by his catch, curled up under the pine tree, and feasted. He had caught his first meal.

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