Gus
had a problem. Every night, when the lights went out, he saw them … one
hundred eyes.
Sometimes
they were under the bed.
Sometimes
they were inside the closet.
Once
they were in the hallway on his way to the bathroom.
Mom
tried to help. She brought him a bear to stand watch, but bear eyes are
too small.
Dad
tried to help. He read stories until Gus fell asleep, but if Gus woke up, the eyes were waiting for him.
One
afternoon Mom and Dad asked Gus to close his eyes and hold out his
hands. He felt something warm and soft so he opened his eyes and
looked down. Looking up was a fluffy orange kitten with brown stripes and
big green eyes.
“Gus,”
said Mom, “this is Leopold.”
“Leopold,”
said Dad, “this is Gus.”
At
first Gus and Leopold were both nervous, but Mom showed Gus how to hold out his
hand for Leopold to sniff.
Next
Gus put a bit of tuna fish on his finger, and Leopold really liked
that! His rough, scratchy tongue tickled as he licked off all the
tuna.
Soon
Leopold was climbing on Gus’s shoulder and purring in his ear.
Dad
showed Gus how to drag a string along the floor for Leopold to chase and Gus
found a furry mouse that Leopold could whack across the floor before he pounced
on it!
They
played together all afternoon, and Gus forgot all about the hundred eyes.
At
bedtime, Gus used an old sweater to make a warm place for Leopold next to the
refrigerator.
He
left Leopold some water, some food, and the furry mouse, but the kitten had
played so hard he just curled into a ball and went right to sleep.
Gus
climbed the stairs to his bedroom. He changed into pajamas, washed his
face and brushed his teeth. Mom tucked
him in and Dad started to read a story, but Gus was asleep before the second
page.
Later
that night, Gus woke up. He rubbed his eyes, yawned … and snatched the
covers up to his nose! At the foot of his bed, all one hundred eyes,
stared at him from the darkness!
Gus
couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe.
When
something small landed on his bed, Gus started to shiver!
When
something small started walking towards him, Gus started to shake!
When
something small breathed right next to his ear, Gus let out a tiny “yelp!”
Then
a small, rough tongue licked him on the nose and Gus saw Leopold’s two big,
green eyes looking back at him. Leopold
turned his two green eyes toward the foot of the bed so Gus bit his lip and
turned to look too.
At
first, nothing happened, but then … something did. All one hundred eyes
blinked! They blinked again and, with a little “pop”, they disappeared!
Carefully,
Gus and Leopold leaned over and looked under the bed. The eyes were
there, but they seemed nervous. When they saw Gus and Leopold, the eyes
opened wide and disappeared again.
Eagerly,
Gus jumped to the closet and pulled open the door. The eyes were there,
but they looked scared. They started to shake before popping away.
Excited
now, Gus ran to his bedroom door and looked down the hallway. The eyes
were all there, huddled together at the end of the hall.
They
stared at Gus, and Gus stared back.
They
stared at Gus, and Gus smiled.
They
stared at Gus, and Gus laughed.
The
eyes blinked.
They
grew wide.
They
shook.
And,
one by one, they disappeared. Popping like soap bubbles, until only two
were left. The last two eyes hung in the air, watching Gus watch
them.
Gus
gave them a loud raspberry and the eyes slowly closed as they disappeared for
the last time.
Gus
was still smiling when Leopold rubbed against his leg.
Gus
scooped up the kitten and cuddled him next to his cheek. Leopold purred
loudly and gently touched Gus’s nose with a paw.
They
went back to Gus’s bed and Gus climbed under the covers, while Leopold curled
up next to him on the pillow.
Both
of them yawned, looked each other in the eyes, and went to sleep.