Chomps, Flea, and Gray Cat (That's Me!) - Tapa dura

I need this puppy
like I need more rats
in the barn!

Jealous? Me?

Well. . .maybe a little. My people got a new white puppy named Chomps. That's because he bites at everything, especially flies. What could a gray cat -- me -- want with a Scottish terrier, anyway? The little nipper got into some trouble with the big rats in the barn. It was partly my fault. So. . .I had to save him. Problem is, now I can't get rid of him. What am I supposed to do with a dog who's determined to get himself into trouble?

When my mockingbird pal, Flea, came home for the spring, I thought she could help me train the little furball. But all she wants to do is build her nest. Chomps needs to learn how to hunt. But how can I teach a dumb dog that an opossum is not a rat, and a skunk is not a kitty? Even worse, how can I keep him from turning Mama's fancy new car into a muddy mess? Nothing but trouble. I just thought I knew what trouble was. But now Mama is in danger. . .This is serious. Talk about trouble. . .

One of the most memorable trips took place on the far side of Lake Lawtonka, at the base of Mt. Scott. He and his best friend, Gary, spent the day shooting shad with bow and arrows, cutting bank poles, and getting ready to go when their dads got home from work.

Although there was no "monster" in Lake Lawtonka, one night there was a "sneak attack" by a rather large catfish tail. Checking the bank poles was not nearly as fun or "free" after that point, but it was the inspiration for this story.

Bill Wallace has won nineteen children's state awards and been awarded the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award for Children's Literature from the Oklahoma Center for the Book.