Where's My Shadow?
by
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Peter sat straight up in his bed, calling out in the dark, “Come here Shadow, come here!” He had been dreaming. In his dream Mr. Carter was sitting on the back of his truck eating tuna fish. Shadow kept creeping closer to the truck and Mr. Carter kept yelling, “Scat! Get away! Shoo!” Peter would call her back home and then she would creep over again. There was something fishy about this dream. “What could it mean?” he wondered. He lay back down again. He knew a lot about Shadow. She was curious and she sure loved fish.
He sat up again. He had the answer! He knew where she was! He lay in the dark waiting for morning to come.
A LONG SHOT
It was early in the morning when Peter tiptoed outside and sat on the back steps. The only sounds he heard were the waves crashing on the shore and the “put-put” of a motorboat out in the bay. He looked up at the new deck and waited. Everyday since the deck was finished Mr. Mullins had his morning coffee outside while he read the paper. Peter wanted to ask him the question before he started reading. He heard footsteps coming around the deck to the bay side. Mr. Mullins had the newspaper under his arm and a cup of coffee in his hand.
Peter called out, “Hi, Mr. Mullins. Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, come on up!”
Peter took the steps two at a time and was at Mr. Mullins side before he sat down.
“What’s on your mind, Peter?”
“Well, I was wondering if you knew where Mr. Carter lived.”
“He lives just the other side of the bridge on
Peter took a deep breath and answered. “I’m sure Shadow is over at his house. It came to me last night after we had been on your deck.”
Mr. Mullins pulled out a chair and said, “Sit down and tell me what you think.”
“I’ve been trying to find Shadow all over the island. It’s a mystery to me why no one has seen her. I never thought she might be on the mainland. But when I went over the clues last night it made sense.”
“Go on,” said Mr. Mullins.
“The first clue is the deck was finished the day of the storm. Second, Shadow disappeared that day. Next, Shadow was afraid of thunder and lightning. Clue four is Shadow always hid when there was a storm.”
“That all may be true, Peter,” said Mr. Mullins, “but how does that involve Mr. Carter?”
Peter bit his lip, then went on. “Well, I know Mr. Carter left the back of his truck open while he worked on your deck. That’s clue five. Next, Shadow needed a place to hide from the storm. Mrs. Mullins gave me clue seven when she said Mr. Carter ate tuna fish everyday, right out of the can. Clue eight is Shadow loves tuna fish. I share my sandwich with her all the time, but please don’t tell Mom.”
Mr. Mullins laughed.
Peter continued. “I wondered why Shadow always wanted to be over near his truck. Mr. Carter yelled at her, but she kept going back. She smelled the fish and wanted to lick the can
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About the Book
Peter’s cat, Shadow, had been a birthday present from his mom. She had said he was old enough to be responsible for a pet. But now Shadow had disappeared. Peter knew it was up to him to find her. He begins his search in the neighborhood on the island where he lives. He puts up posters and asks the summer residents if they have seen his cat, but Shadow is not found. Peter realizes that his cat may not be in the neighborhood, but somewhere else on the island. Clues eventually convince Peter that Shadow is not on the island anymore, but on the mainland. He tells his ideas to his neighbor, Mr. Mullins. Mr. Mullins praises Peter for his detective work and offers to take him across the long bridge to the mainland.
Is Shadow found where Peter thought she would be? Well, not exactly. Readers will love the happy, surprise ending!
About the Author
Carol McNamara has lived in
When she was a child she had a cat that frequently disappeared for days at a time. When her children were growing up they also had a cat who had more than its’ share of nine lives.
Writing a book about a cat seemed like a good place to start. When working on Where’s My Shadow? she remembered her feelings of frustration when trying to find her own cat, as well as the adventures of her children’s cat. Many of these memories found their way into this story.