Ricky Raccoon and His Kid Kitster

Ricky looked like a bandit ,for across his face was a wide black mask that he never could erase. See, Ricky was a critter who was born that way, and to think folks hated him caused him great dismay. Often Ricky wondered why God had made him look like what he was born to be: just a common crook! Other critters that he knew got to look so sweet - like that kitty he once saw living down the street. She got fed and got to live in a pretty house - Not like Sam, the alley cat. That cat dined on “mouse.” Dogs lived indoors often too, sitting on folks’ laps, hiding under people’s chairs, sneaking table scraps. But let HIM be caught just once sneaking one small scrap in a human’s yard or house; then they’d set a trap! One house had a door for pets. Good food was inside. Folks caught on and left for him nasty pesticide. Ricky didn’t fall for that, but it left him sad. He just wanted to be loved - not thought of as bad. Kitty one day wandered out from her house too far. Ricky saw that poor Kitty got struck by a car. Quickly Ricky grabbed her up, and he carried her to her door, where he collapsed. All became a blur…… When he woke, he saw Kitty near him, safe and sound and the human parents, their children all around. “Can we pet him?” one kid said. Mother shook her head. But the smallest reached out to pat his raccoon head. Kitty nuzzled him. The kids said, “He’ll be our pet!” Dad said, “This is strange, but I’ll check this with the vet.” As it turns out, Ricky now stays in a small shed in the family’s yard and each day by them is fed. Ricky tells his outdoor pals, “I have a sister! A kitty and a sister too. She’s my kid kitster!” For the story poem contest of Carol Eastman