Barbara was hopping mad! The...
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Barbara was hopping mad! The family cat had broken the Mexican figurine which Barbara's roommate had given her the year before. Barbara was fed up with that cat! How dare he jump on top of the bookcase! Barbara had put the statue up there to keep it safe, and now Tom-Tom had done this!
Barbara flew out of her room on the warpath, a piece of the figurine clutched in her hand. "Whoa!" her mother cried as Barbara whizzed through the laundry room. "Just where do you think you're going in such a towering rage?" There was no doubt about Barbara's emotional state; it was written all over her face.
"I'm gonna kill that cat when I find him, Mom. I'm gonna break him in two."
Carol didn't know that she'd ever seen her daughter quite this angry. "Well, what did Tom-Tom do to upset you?" Carol said.
"He broke it, Mom!" Barbara screeched, holding the evidence up in a white-knuckled fury.
Carol knew how much the little statue had meant to her daughter, not because it was inherently precious, but because it had been a gift from her roommate.
"He jumped up on the bookcase, Mom! He never gets up there. I think he did it on purpose."
"Hold on, there," Carol cautioned. "Think about it for a moment, Barbara. Your little statue was something new to him. You know how curious cats are. He probably saw it up there and went to take a closer look. You mustn't be so angry with Tom-Tom for doing what cats do. How would you feel if I had flown into a rage every time you got a bit clumsy?"
As that sobering thought slowly began to sink in, Barbara walked over to the trash and let go of the piece of statuary.
--Fannin
Barbara flew out of her room on the warpath, a piece of the figurine clutched in her hand. "Whoa!" her mother cried as Barbara whizzed through the laundry room. "Just where do you think you're going in such a towering rage?" There was no doubt about Barbara's emotional state; it was written all over her face.
"I'm gonna kill that cat when I find him, Mom. I'm gonna break him in two."
Carol didn't know that she'd ever seen her daughter quite this angry. "Well, what did Tom-Tom do to upset you?" Carol said.
"He broke it, Mom!" Barbara screeched, holding the evidence up in a white-knuckled fury.
Carol knew how much the little statue had meant to her daughter, not because it was inherently precious, but because it had been a gift from her roommate.
"He jumped up on the bookcase, Mom! He never gets up there. I think he did it on purpose."
"Hold on, there," Carol cautioned. "Think about it for a moment, Barbara. Your little statue was something new to him. You know how curious cats are. He probably saw it up there and went to take a closer look. You mustn't be so angry with Tom-Tom for doing what cats do. How would you feel if I had flown into a rage every time you got a bit clumsy?"
As that sobering thought slowly began to sink in, Barbara walked over to the trash and let go of the piece of statuary.
--Fannin
