“Hush!” Stormkit demanded. “You’re gonna scare away the frogs!”
“Alright, bossy paws,” Mudkit muttered. “But something tells me yowling like that is gonna chase all the prey away.”
“You don’t know anything about hunting!” Stormkit shot back.
Mudkit shook his head. “Well, Cranefeather told me all about it! You have to be quiet or they’ll run back into the water!”
Specklekit sighed, listening to her littermates bicker. Yarrowleaf, the medicine cat, had suggested the kits practice their hunting at the edge of the camp, where a small pond was. The kit may have been young, but she was smart enough to know the tom had just wanted the kits out of his den.
Snowfur and Cranefeather, Specklekit’s parents, went hunting almost every day together and left the three kits to do what they wanted. At first, it was fun exploring camp and bothering the medicine cat, but it soon became so boring. That’s why, when Yarrowleaf offered a new game, neither of her littermates could protest.
I wish they did, Specklekit thought. She didn’t know if she could spend all day listening to her siblings argue about what was the right way to hunt frogs. Though she loved them both dearly, she knew they got along like mice and hawks.
Mudkit was smart but grumpy, with a bit of a know-it-all complex. Smokekit, on the other paw, was rowdy and brave. She thought she could do anything at any time and no one could stop her. Specklekit hoped she was seen as something in-between: smart, but not grumpy, and brave, but not overly confident.
“Wait!” Smokekit said suddenly. “Look! There’s one!” The enthusiasm in her voice was infective. Specklekit looked up, eyes wide. A small brownish frog was poking its head out of the pond, the ugly bulbous eyes blinking.
Mudkit, stubby tail flicking, crouched down and started to wiggle. Specklekit watched him closely. He really must have gotten training Cranefeather! Lucky kit. I wonder if Snowfur will teach me when she comes back.
Still, Mudkit’s legs were short. As he tried to spring, he fell short by a good tail-length. Stormkit giggled and said, “I don’t think we should do it that way.”
Huffing, Mudkit climbed to his paws. “Fine! You show us how to do it!”
Stormkit stalked forward, head held high, then crouched down and began creeping towards the frog. She got closer than Mudkit had been, but then the frog noticed her! With a ribbit of alarm, it made one leap and disappeared back into the water.
“Good job!” Mudkit called. “Now we’ve lost it completely.”
“I got closer than you did!” Stormkit shot back. The two started bickering again.
Specklekit sighed and turned back to the pond, watching it glumly. After a little while, the surface rippled again. The frog, seemingly thinking the threat was over, was now creeping back onto shore. “Um, guys?” Neither kit seemed to hear her, too intent on blaming the other. They were coming up with more and more creative insults now, and Specklekit knew they wouldn’t stop until one started laughing at the absurdity.
No matter. Specklekit thought. She suddenly realized that if she could get in between the frog and the water, it would have no choice but to run towards her littermates! I can do this… I’m just scaring it a bit.
Carefully copying Mudkit’s crouch and Stormkit’s creep, Specklekit slowly made her way between the frog and the water. It was a slow process and she was bored halfway through, but the thought of showing off to her littermates was enough to keep her going.
Now! Once she was close enough, Specklekit let out a yowl. The frog was startled so bad it fled right towards Mudkit and Stormkit!
Both of them turned in surprise, but Mudkit was faster in responding. He pounced on the frog, pinning it down, and Stormkit rushed over to deliver the killing bite.
Once it was over, the kits were silent. Then they started cheering for themselves, carrying the frog over to Yarrowleaf to show off.
Specklekit was pleased with herself, but even more excited that all three kits could show off to their parents!