Theresa almost jumped out of her skin when Jared tapped her on the shoulder.

“What are you doing, Sis?” he asked.

“Ssshhh,” Theresa whispered. “Spooky just ran under Miss Crabtree’s shed.”

“Who’s Spooky?”

“That stray kitten that’s been hanging around. Mom said if I can catch it, I can keep it. I’ve wanted a kitten for so long!”

Theresa looked over the fence and could see two yellow eyes peeking out from under the shed. She had spotted the kitten many times over the past two days and really wanted to take care of it.

“Well,” said Jared, “you’d better not go into Miss Crabtree’s yard. She’ll call the cops if you do! The kids don’t call her ‘Crabby Crabtree’ for nothing.”

“Why do they call her that?”

“Why? Because she’s the meanest teacher in the whole school, that’s why.”

Theresa and Jared saw Miss Crabtree’s back door open, and they both ducked behind the fence when she walked into her yard. They heard the shed door open, and Spooky ran through the fence and right over Theresa’s lap. Theresa ran after the kitten.

“Did you get it?” Jared asked.

“No, I couldn’t find it. I have to figure out a way to catch Spooky when it’s in Miss Crabtree’s yard.”

“You’d better not go in her yard. It’s trespassing, and I know Crabby Crabtree will call the cops.”

Theresa had trouble falling asleep that night because she kept thinking about her plan to catch Spooky the next day. Would Crabby Crabtree really call the cops because she went in her yard?

Just after lunch the next day, Theresa saw Miss Crabtree drive away, so she grabbed a box and some food. She quietly opened the gate to Miss Crabtree’s yard and propped the box next to the shed. She carefully placed the food inside, and she waited. And waited.

The kitten’s eyes glowed like bright yellow stars, and it twitched the whiskers on its gray, striped face, but Spooky stayed under the shed.

“I don’t think your plan will work,” said the voice behind Theresa. She turned and saw Miss Crabtree standing with her hands on her hips.

Theresa’s eyes almost popped out of her head. Her heart was pounding. There she was right in the middle of Crabby Crabtree’s yard with no where to hide.

“Uh… Miss Crabby… I mean, Miss Crabtree, I’m sorry. I was just trying to get…. Well, Spooky is under your shed, and I was trying to catch it. It’s a stray and my mom…. My mom said I could keep it.” Theresa was so nervous, she could barely finish a sentence.

“Spooky?”

Theresa didn’t know if she should answer or run away. After all, she was trespassing, and Jared said Miss Crabtree would call the cops.

“Have you already named the kitten Spooky?” asked Miss Crabtree.

“Um… yes. Because of the yellow eyes.”

“That’s a fine name for the kitten. Would you like me to help you?”

“You would?” asked Theresa who was very surprised by Miss Crabtree’s offer. Theresa realized she wasn’t going to call the cops after all.

Miss Crabtree went into her house and came back with a cage and a cat toy on a string. She put the food into the cage and handed the toy to Theresa.

“This has catnip in it, so dangle it in front of the shed and drag it slowly into the cage. Let’s see if Spooky will follow it.”

Theresa wiggled the toy, and the kitten slowly came out from under the shed and followed the toy right into the cage. She quickly closed the door, and Spooky was safely in the cage. It worked! Theresa was going to have her kitten after all!

She looked up at Miss Crabtree and saw tears in the teacher’s eyes.

“What’s the matter, Miss Crabtree? It worked. I’ll have my kitten now.”

“Don’t mind me, Theresa. It’s just that Spooky looks so much like my old cat that died a few weeks ago. I still miss him very much.”

Later, Theresa was walking home when Jared ran up behind her.

“Hey Sis,” he said. “Did you catch the kitten? Did Crabby Crabtree call the cops?”

She told him the whole story and explained how she found out that Miss Crabtree was really a nice lady.

“So where’s Spooky?” asked Jared.

“It turned out that Miss Crabtree needed a kitten more than I did, so Spooky is going to live at her house,” answered Theresa. She was sad not to have a kitten of her own, but she knew she made the right choice.