It was a warm late spring day. I was walking along the railroad tracks towards my favorite wild strawberry patch. I felt a bit nervous because I knew I wasn’t supposed to be there. I had asked my Mum a few days earlier if I could go to the wild strawberry patch up by the railroad, and she said. “Absolutely not, you are too young, you are only eight years old, and that area of the railroad is too far from home for you to be going there alone.” Well, right or wrong, I was here and I felt certain that if I could find some ripe strawberries, Mum would be so happy, she would not be mad at me.

Suddenly I was sure I heard the cry of a kitten. My first thought was that some one’s mamma cat had either had her babies a long way from home, or mamma cat was teaching her babies how to hunt. Regardless of the reason, the kittens were there, and I wanted to see them. I remained silent for a few minutes hoping they would cry again so I could find where their mamma had hidden them. Patience really does have its rewards and soon enough the cry sounded again. I guessed it was somewhere around a huge old rock a few yards to the right of the railroad tracks. I went toward the rock as quietly as I could. Once there, I looked all around the rock for the place where the kittens might be. But, there was no sign of them. Then I heard the cry again. It sounded like it was coming from inside the rock. I climbed up on the rock and sure enough, there was a huge entrance into the rock and there before my eyes were three sweet, fat, fluffy kittens. They saw me and scurried out of sight. I called to them softly, and then waited patiently for them to come out.

The entrance to their private little home was too small for me to squeeze through, so I had to be contented just watching them. Soon they came back out where I could see them. They were adorable. I wanted so much to touch them. I reached my hand down through the opening, all three of them hissed and spit at once and I was sure one of them even sounded a kind of growl. Of course, they ran and hid again. I figured they were spitting at me because they had been born away from people and my presence there made them very nervous. I wanted very much to make friends with them so I climbed down off the rock and pulled a long thin wisp of grass. Once back up on top, I wriggled the wispy piece of grass through the opening. They stared inquisitively as I moved it closer to them. Suddenly, one kitten, the bravest one, reached out with a paw and swatted at the grass. That was all the other two needed, and they were in the game swatting away, each one doing their very best to catch the wisp of grass. They soon forgot I was a stranger. That is until I reached in towards them again. They all three, began to hiss and spit. This time they ran and hid, and they refused to come back out. I waited for a while, and finally I decided that I might as well leave, as it certainly didn’t appear that they were in the least ways interested in my attention. I didn’t have any luck finding strawberries ripe enough to pick so I decided to go home.

When I arrived home, it was close to suppertime. I went out to do my chores and when I had finished I went back to the house to help set the table for supper.

It was the custom to wait for my father to arrive home from work before sitting down to supper. We didn’t have to wait very long. After my father washed up, we all sat around the kitchen table. “Well,” asked my father. “What have you been up to today?” I was so happy he asked, as I was just nearly dying to tell him, my Mum, and my sisters about the darling kittens I had found up by the railroad tracks. However, his question was not directed towards me but to my Mum. “Oh,” she said. “Not much, our old clucky hen brought out a new brood of chickens.” “Good,” he answered. “I have some good news also, I will be bringing home two baby pigs tomorrow for us to raise. We will have lots of pork, sausage and hams for the coming winter.” That caused a stir of excitement. Then he looked at me. “What were you up to Skizex?” I drew in a very deep breath and blurted out, “Kittens! I found the most sweetest kittens today.” “Oh you did, where? Are they out in the barn?” “No.” I answered. “They are way up by the railroad tracks.” My Mum drew in a deep breath. “The railroad tracks! What ever were you doing up by the railroad tracks? You know you are not allowed to go to