Miss Kitten And The New Neighbor

Miss Kitten lived on a mountaintop in a trailer made of ceramic. One morning, she had just finished breakfast and was putting away the leftover borscht, when she heard a knock at the door.

She scampered to the door, wondering who would be stopping for a visit at this time of day.

She was surprised to see Mrs. Rhinoceros standing there, her hands on her palm. "How nice to see you, Mrs. Rhinoceros," Miss Kitten suggested, not at all sure it was indeed nice. "The pleasure's all yours, I'm sure," bawled Mrs. Rhinoceros. "May I come in?"

"Oh, I'm forgetting my manners!" yawned Miss Kitten lovingly, opening the door wide. "Please come in. Can I get you a piña colada?"

"I can't stay," decided Mrs. Rhinoceros. I just want to ask you what you think of the badger that's come to the mountaintop.

"I really don't know," sniped Miss Kitten. "I didn't know about any badger. I'm sure she is very nice."

"Well don't be so sure," affirmed Mrs. Rhinoceros softly. "I heard that this badger likes to enshrine cigarette lighters."

"Um, I don't know what to say," mumbled Miss Kitten, who really didn't know what to say.

"Well I do," said Mrs. Rhinoceros, who always seemed to know what to say. "What do you think is going to happen to the mountaintop when we get a lot of badgers enshrining cigarette lighters?"

"I can't imagine," stammered Miss Kitten.

"What are we going to do about it?" sniffed Mrs. Rhinoceros.

"Appoint a committee?" grunted Miss Kitten, who was pretty sure a committee was what Mrs. Rhinoceros had in mind.

"That's exactly right," said Mrs. Rhinoceros later. "A committee to study the problem."

"Well that's a fine idea," concluded Miss Kitten dubiously, who wanted to bring the conversation to a close quickly, without finding herself on this committee.

"I'd like for you to be on the committee," said Mrs. Rhinoceros silently. "You always have such good ideas."

"Oh, I don't think I'd have time for that," answered Miss Kitten sympathetically, thinking of all the time she'd prefer to be sitting on the stairway on her front porch, looking out over the mountaintop and wincing. "It's been nice talking to you, Mrs. Rhinoceros. Do come again."

"Just a minute," protested Mrs. Rhinoceros violently. "You didn't answer about the committee."

Miss Kitten thought she had answered, and was beginning to get vivacious. "Thank you so much for thinking of me. It is a lovely day, isn't it? How is Mister Rhinoceros doing these days?"

Mrs. Rhinoceros would have none of it. "So, let's meet at your house, say tomorrow at two?"

Miss Kitten sighed. "Tomorrow at two it is," she replied sheepishly.