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Freddy Gets a Forever Home
By Gwen W Segal
Mr. Plumber had a cotton field. On the edge of the cotton field was a little house. In the old days Mr. Plumbers’ Grandparents lived in the house. His Father was born in the house.
For a long time, no one lived in the little house. It sat on the edge of the cotton field empty and all alone. As time went by Mr. Plumber forgot about the little house.
One day farmer Juan called Mr. Plumber and asked him if he could live in the little house. “It would be so much easier for me to go to work early to pick the cotton if I lived next to the field” said farmer Juan. “What a good Idea” said Mr. Plumber, “I will have to do some work to fix it up. Then you can live in the little house.”
The next day Mr. Plumber went out to the little house to make a list of all the things he would need to buy to fix up the house for farmer Juan. Some of the walls had wholes. Some of the windows were broken. The plugs in the walls
needed to be fixed. The bathroom needed a new tub. The list kept getting longer and longer. Mr. Plumber thought to himself, “I will never be able to fix everything by myself.”
So, he called some people to help him fix the house. There was Sam the painter, and Nick the electrician, and Jane the carpenter. They all came out to work on the little house. Sometimes Mr. Plumber would work by himself and other days he would have help, but every day Freddy would come in and walk around the house and ask if there was anything she could do to help.
Mr. Plumber wouldn’t let her help because she was a cat. “What can you do to help?” he asked. “All you will do is get in the way. Now go on and get out of here before you get hurt." He warned. Everyday Freddy would come, and every day he would send her away. Freddy would come and Mr. Plumber would chase her out.
One day Nick the electrician got to the house before Mr. Plumber and started working. Freddy saw that there was someone new in the house. Mr. Nick was sitting on the floor fixing a plug in the wall when Freddy climbed right into his lap and started to try to help. Mr. Nick laughed and said, “You are a good helper, but I bet you would rather be eating than helping.” So, he got up and went out to his truck to see if he could find some food for Freddy. All he had were some cheese crackers, but Freddy didn’t care because she was starving.
Mr. Nick was still working when Mr. Plumber came in. “Why did you feed that cat?” Mr. Plumber asked in an irritated tone. “I have been sending her away every day. Now she will never leave.” “Well, said Nick, she looked hungry. You don’t have to worry about her. If she is still here when I am finished today, I will take her home with me.” “OK, said Mr. Plumber, but you might as well know, he sighed, there is another little one outside somewhere.”
At the end of the day, Mr. Nick asked Freddy to help him find the other little cat. So, they went outside and found her hiding in a block. She was so small. Too small to live all alone, so Mr. Nick picked her up and put her in his pocket. He looked down at Freddy and he said, “You did a good job today. You saved this little one’s life by helping me find her. You are a hero!” Freddy climbed onto Mr. Nick’s boot and rubbed his leg. “Yes, he said, you are a good girl. I will take both of you home with me and take care of you.”
That is the day that Freddy found her forever home, little Scooter got her name, and they all started their new lives together.
Mr. Nick went back to the little house a few more times to finish his work, but he left Freddy and Scooter at home. When the work was done, farmer Juan moved in and everybody was happy.
This story is based on the true story of how Freddy and Scooter came to live with us. I know because I was there.
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