Smelly Cat

This one smells like muffins, thought Dottie. The aging Dalmatian was losing her agility, but certainly not her sense of smell. The world was her oyster as she wandered down the street. She stopped abruptly as she noted an unusual scent just up ahead.

It smelled like a cat! No, wait, it smelled like barbecue! Not right either... was it the smell of rain coming? Not quite. Dottie’s tail drooped with confusion. She’d be surprised to know that she was smelling something completely new in the world.

Dottie could not let it go. She'd lived in this world for seven dog years and was practically a pup the last time she smelled something truly new. Dottie followed the trail deep into the woods until she came across a cottage with smoke coming from the chimney.

She nudged the front door open with her wet nose just enough to peek into the house. A woven rug lay on the floor in front of a roaring fireplace, and an old woman sat knitting in a nearby armchair. Dottie couldn't help but think how nice it would be to curl up at her feet.

Unfortunately, as she slipped through the door, a giant tabby wheezed a guttural meow, and the old woman looked up, startled. “Well well,” the kindly woman said. The tabby paced, grinding itself against the bannister with menacing force.

And while the cat was pacing at the open door, seven mischievous kittens snuck silently into the woman's home and feasted on her precious Sardine Sampler. Alas! Now the old woman would never win her top chef contest! She had no dish in sight, merely a wiley false feline flag