TRAVIS FINDS HIS COURAGE


A cold wind blew all morning, shaking the leaves from the trees and bending their boughs. Travis shivered. His garden friends were gone now. The butterflies had flown away and the flowers had lost their brilliant colors. The family was raking leaves into giant piles. Lindsay watched from her wheelchair while the twins, Stephanie and Steven, helped their dad, Darrell, with raking. They were hooting and hollering, jumping in the dry, crackling piles. When the leaves were all scattered they piled them up into new heaps. They threw leaves on top of Travis then watch him find his way out of the piles when Lindsay called him.

Soon it was time to put all the leaves into a barrel. Everyone carried huge armfuls of leaves and stuffed them into the barrel. Travis was having so much fun. He scampered into one of the piles just when Darrell picked up the pile and dropped it into the barrel. Oh no, thought Travis, this is not right. Something terrible has happened.

Travis could hear the voices but he could not see anyone. He was stuck in the barrel and couldn’t get out. His large frightened eyes looked up through the layers of leaves on top of him. He could only see bits of the sky above him.

“Steven,” he heard Dad say, “Will you go in the house and ask your mom for some matches?”

“Wait,” said Lindsay, “Where is Travis?” Travis was nowhere in sight.

Frantically Travis tried to climb out of the barrel. He tried to climb up the side of the barrel but his little claws could not pull him out. This was not like climbing a tree. The sides of the barrel were smooth and his feet just slipped down the inside of the smooth surface.

The door slammed, and Travis heard Steven’s footsteps on the porch.

“Here, let me light the leaves in the barrel,” Dad said.

“Come on, Dad, can’t I?” asked Steven.

“Just a minute, Steven,” said Darrell, “We can’t seem to find Travis.”

I am so frightened, thought Travis. Whatever can I do? He mewed and mewed but there was no one near enough to hear his little cries.

“Travis!” Lindsay called. “Where are you, Travis?”

Travis could hear the wheels on her chair crunching over the dry grass and the leaves that had escaped the rake.

Lindsay cried, “Traaaaa-vis!”

Travis cried at the top of his lungs. His feet were frantically peddling, trying to get his claws into something that would pull him up out of the barrel. Then finally a claw struck a small twig, and then another. Slowly Travis made his way to the top of the barrel.

Still meowing, he placed one big paw over the rim of the barrel, then another big paw. Then his head emerged, his eyes dark with fright.

“Travis!” Lindsey cried, practically shrieking. “Oh my gosh, Dad, he’s in the barrel!” With practiced hands, she wheeled herself over to the barrel and plucked one very frightened kitten from his trap. “Oh, kitty,” she laughed with relief, “Look at you with that big leaf stuck to the top of your head—it looks like a hat.”

After giving him a big hug, Lindsay put him down on the ground. Let me get away from this barrel, thought Travis. As far away as I can get! He streaked to the back porch and onto his favorite place, the soft cushion of the swing.

“Is it safe to light the leaves now?” asked Darrell, “There aren’t any more kittens in there, are there?” everyone laughed and dad lit the leaves.

Knowing that Travis was safe now, Lindsay stayed at the back of the yard and watched the fire with her family.

The sparks flew high into the air and the wind blew sparks and bits of leaves around. Suddenly a burning leaf blew toward the porch. It floated down like a bright orange feather, back and forth, back and forth, and then landed on the cushion where Travis sat.

Travis leapt off the swing and onto the porch railing, cautiously eying the burning leaf. He didn’t want to be anywhere near leaves. Presently the cushion started to smoke. Frightened, Travis sprang off the railing and went scooting back to Lindsay. She would know what to do. He jumped onto her lap and began digging his claws into her leg, meowing as loud as he could.

“Ouch, Travis, that hurts!” Lindsay said. Travis glanced back to the porch swing. A small flame was now flicking up from the cushion. He spread his claws wide and dug into her leg again.

“Ouch, Travis, what’s the matter with you? You never hurt me.” Again Travis looked back to the house. Oh, how he wished he could talk.

Steven and Stephanie continued to run and play while the leaves in the barrel burned down to ashes. It had been a long day of work and fun but Lindsay was getting chilly and turned her wheelchair to go back to the house.

Then she saw it.

“Daddy, look, there’s a fire on the porch!” Lindsay shouted.
The shouting brought their mom, Wendy Jane out of the house. She quickly put out the small fire with the garden hose. The cushion was ruined but there was no other damage.

“It was good that Travis noticed the fire, wasn’t it, Dad?” asked Lindsay. “The fire could have done a lot of damage if he hadn’t dug his claws into my leg.”

That evening after dinner, Darrel took Steven into town. “We’ll be back soon.” Darrel told the rest of the family.

When they came home, Steven was carrying a big blue ribbon with HERO printed in the center.

“This is for Travis,” said Steven. He was the hero of the day.”

They hung the blue ribbon on the wall right above Travis’s bed. He swelled with pride. He thought about his mother, Lady Gray and his sisters, Jackie and Jenny, the show cats. They might win ribbons for ‘best of show’ competitions, but they would probably never win a blue ribbon for heroism.

Sighing, Travis settled into his soft, warm bed and gazed up at the handsome ribbon. He might have five funny toes, but he also had the courage of a lion.

What a day!