Grandmothers Bedtime Stories

MILLIE THE MAGNIFICENT

Once upon a time there was a black panther. She had midnight black fur from her nose to the tip of her tail. Large bright yellow eyes that shown like two lights thru the dark night. Her four paws were covered with soft fur, and each paw had razor sharp claws.

The panther's mother had named her little panther "Millie" for her gentle behavior with her brothers and sisters, and, "Magnificent" for the beautiful silky shiny coat of fur. She was the most beautiful of all the baby panthers. Well, her mother thought the panther kitten should have the full title of Millie the Magnificent. Therefore, begins a tale of play, exploring, climbing, learning, hunting, and finding a partner for a lonesome panther.

Millie's mother had fed her young panthers until she knew it was time for them to learn to hunt on their own.

One morning each of the well taught young black panthers left their mothers den to make a home of their own in the great forest.

Millie started out very slowly, slinking very low thru the thick brush of a dark new world. As the breeze grew into a wind, the leaves of all the bush's and tall trees rustled and cast shadows across Millie's path. At first she was scared but after realizing it was just dancing shadows, Millie began to chase the shadows and pat them with her paws. At the same time trying to figure out where they disappeared to once they crossed in front of her and over to the other side of the path. The wind stopped and so did the dancing shadows. Oh Well!

Millie quickly found something else to do. She tried climbing one of the huge forest trees, but they were so big and round, Millie slid back down to the ground. The tip-top branches looked like they could almost reach the sky.

"Oh all right," Millie thought, "I will try another day, when I am bigger and stronger, I will climb to the very top and survey the WHOLE forest."

Just then a mouse jumped out of the bushes and ran past Millie. She gave chase but could not out smart that little mouse. The mouse ran into a fallen log out of Millie's reach and scampered away to his nest in the great forest.

A few bushes away another mouse was busy eating some seeds. Millie hay very still, not moving a muscle or making any noise. As quietly as she could Millie began slinking toward the mouse. No luck! That little mouse got away too!

Now Millie came upon a baby deer eating some wild berries. Millie just wanted to play but the deer was frightened and ran away. My! Oh My! I just want to be friendly and play ROARED Millie. (Of course she was too young for a loud roar, it sounded more like a big house cat).

The young panther was getting very hungry and those red berries sure looked inviting. "That baby deer had been eating those berries, so they must taste good," Millie thought. Very gently she took one to taste. YUM! YUM! That was sweet. So Millie decided to make a meal of those sweet berries. When she was full she sat down and began to clean her paws and prune her whiskers. (All cats like to keep themselves clean).

Feeling tired Millie wanted to find someplace safe to take a nap. After wandering thru the thick bushes Millie came upon an opening in the side of a small hill. Cautiously she approached, sniffing the air for Tell-tale scents of another animal. When Millie was sure nothing was Around, she very slowly entered the opening while still sniffing the air, looking in every corner with her bright yellow eyes, she made sure the cave was empty. "This will make a good place to take a nap," Millie softly roared. Realizing she needed a permanent place to say, Millie roared again, this time louder, "I CLAIM THIS CAVE AS MY HOME".