“Great pass!”

“Watch out, they’re gonna try to steal!”

“Nice dodge! Keep going!”

A small group of field mice entertained themselves with a ball that had recently fallen into their possession. The bright red bouncy ball had made its way into the field in which they occupied, a patch of land sandwiched between various houses in a residential area. The rodents had built a couple makeshift goals using blades of grass, and were passing the time playing soccer. It was a friendly game, grey mice versus brown mice, with the latter currently driving down the little field they were playing on. Skitter, a chubby brown mouse and an almost too-white-for-living-outdoors underside, ran on all fours, guiding the ball with his snout as he weaved between defenders. The shade from the house looming up near the goal provided relief when he entered its shadow, further driving him to score.

“That’s it, Skitter, take the shot!”

Skitter just had the goalie to beat now. He drove the ball up near the goal then halted, tricking the goalie into a dive that left the goal wide open. Skitter stood up straight, brought back a hind and gave it all he got! The red bouncy ball soared straight through the goal, a rousing cheer building up from the brown rodents in tandem. The happiness died as quickly as it came when the ball took an unlucky bounce against the side of the house. It plunked an empty soda can that sent the ball careening into an air conditioning unit. It bounced and ultimately soared through a window open just high enough for it to squeak through.

The entire field fell silent. Skitter turned nervously to the others and offered a meek grin. “S-so that counts for two, right?”

“Aw man, that was our only ball and we just found it!” a grey mouse lamented. “Now it’s gone forever.”

“Why?” a youth chimed in. “We could squeeze through that window no sweat! If you’re careful you can avoid humans and sneak in and get it!” The young mouse’s snout twitched as uncomfortable gazes were shared by the rest.

“There’s a cat in that house,” one informed. The youth’s eyes widened.

“Yeah. Don’t want to chance it.”

“Me neither.”

“Guess the game’s over, everyone...”

“Wait! I’ll go get it!”

Beady eyes from all directions turned to stare at Skitter, who was brushing himself off and dusting his paws. “I kicked it through so it’s my responsibility, right? It can’t have gone far into the house. I’ll be in and out in two minutes, tops. Then we can keep playing!”

The confidence exhumed from Skitter’s plan encouraged the crowd of mice. Less-nervous nods were shared, the goalie grey giving Skitter a pat on the back.

“Alright Skitter. We’ll give you that extra point if you do! Go get ‘em!” Skitter grinned before falling back onto all fours and making his way through the well-kept grass, reaching the house siding in no time. He looked around momentarily, then went for the air conditioner unit. It had many footholds and easy-to-grip places, and Skitter climbed it deftly. The mice started to cheer, though several shushes quelled them: No-one wanted to give Skitter away. In silence, the rest of the mice watched as Skitter climbed the unit, the chubby-yet-athletic mouse making his way to the top. Skitter completed the climb and made to jump for the window sill inches away when the air conditioner suddenly thrummed to life! A collective gasp rang out from the mice watching as Skitter nearly lost his balance, fores and tail waving in the air wildly. He managed to turn the momentum into a leap, however, getting halfway onto the sill. He pulled himself up and waved to the crowd, who reciprocated eagerly in silence.

Skitter peered into the house under the small gap of the open window. He saw a living room decorated in whites: White couch, white carpet, white wall, white coffee table. The only stand-out was a silver floor lamp with a cream-colored shade, perched right by the window itself, and the bright red bouncy ball he’d managed to kick in. Skitter’s whiskers twitched but he saw neither human nor cat. He rubbed his paws together and jumped from the sill, collecting around the silver pole. He could’ve slid down to the ground but opted for a more entertaining route: Skitter let go and flew onto the arm of the couch bounced to the cushion, then easily hopped to the floor. A quick scramble under the couch followed, giving Skitter a rodent’s eye view of the place. Still clear, he kept to all fours and made a bee-line for the bouncy ball.

“Got it!” Skitter squeaked quietly, clutching the ball in his paws. He about-faced and fell into a lopsided run along the carpet with the ball tucked under one foreleg. Silence rang in the air as he hobbled along, the climb up the couch easy despite his burden. Skitter climbed the arm and made the easy leap to the lamp pole that he was now working his way up. “Almost there,” he self-coached, climbing higher than needed to reach the window sill for safety. He disengaged from the lamp and still just made the sill, back paws scrambling in air before they made it securely. Skitter nodded to himself and jumped for the small gap in the open window towards freedom.

Skitter could almost taste the sweet sugary success when the window snapped closed. His head crashed into the glass and left him stunned, stumbling drunkenly backwards. Skitter’s vision swirled, and let out a shocked squeak when he tumbled off the window sill. “Yah!” he yelped, losing his grip on the ball and windmilling all his legs, headed straight for the rather hard surface of the floor lamp’s base! Skitter scrunched his eyes closed and braced for the worst, when his fall came to a sudden stop… on something that felt considerably softer! Feeling not so much as a scratch, Skitter peeked one eye open, then the other. He looked down on himself, white underside exposed to the same-colored room at large, tail dangling off whatever he was on. He looked down to see he was on something pink… A paw?! Skitter’s breath caught in his throat, wide eyes tracking the paw up a furry white leg, and the beautiful feline that had caught him. Skitter’s eyes locked with the bright blue eyes of the cat, whose grin was a mile wide and oozing with delight.

“Hello,” Skitter heard her purr, a puff of stale air from that simple greeting racing across his body. On instinct Skitter curled defensively despite himself, knowing there would be nothing to stop the cat from doing whatever she wanted to him. The feline chuckled. “You rodents scare so easily… And what is your name, little mousie?” Skitter lay stunned a moment, taking in the full view of the pristine white cat that didn’t seem to have a hair of fur out of place. Her long fluffy tail swayed casually along the floor as she waited for his answer.

“S… Skitter,” he croaked, ears folded and cringing as those feline eyes bore down on him. “I’m just here for… f-for...”

“The ball?” the feline guessed. “Well, seeing as you clumsily kicked it into my home, I believe it’s my ball now.” Skitter trembled when the cat’s grin grew wider, showing off a set of rather deadly white teeth. “An ill-fitting gift for Precious, but one that I’ll accept either way.”

“Oh, a-alright then, M-Ms. Precious,” Skitter squeaked. He rotated onto all fours on the squishy paw that held him aloft. “I guess that now you have the ball I’ll just be on my way now nice to meet you bye!” Skitter yelped and turned to make a dive for the lamp. He got an inch off the paw before the tip of his tail was yanked, a sharp pain stinging at its base.

“Ah ah ah,” Precious chided, leaving the panicked Skitter dangling. “You’ve made your way into my home as well. And just like the ball...” Precious hefted Skitter up near her snout and purred with her mouth open, the stale, dank air of past meals wafting over the rodent. “You belong to me.” A shot of terror sparked through Skitter’s chest at those words, making him flail his dangling chubby body about. Precious chuckled daintily, holding the mouse right up to her muzzle and not budging an inch. He was subjected to every exhale of breath, every puff of foul air that was pushed out from Precious’ humored laugh. Skitter threw a paw over his snout in a vain effort to block it when Precious casually let him drop. He let out a squeak when his body thumped against the base of the lamp, head ringing from the impact. Too stunned to move, he could only look up, seeing double, as a teasing paw ladled over his body. Squishing into his form, he heard an approving purr. “A lot of meat on you, for such a little field mouse.”

“A-am not,” Skitter denied, reaching to grab at something to pry free but finding no salvation. He let out a choking gasp when the paw pressed down and began rolling him along, from lamp to carpet in what seemed like an age. When the paw lifted off, a very dizzy mouse tried to woozily make his way to his paws, but couldn’t even manage that. He waved a paw in front of his face until the world stopped spinning and his eyes focused properly. Precious was still there, looming over Skitter and slowly circling him. “Couldn’t you j-just let me go? I didn’t mean to kick the ball in here, honestly! The last thing I wanted to do was upset a cat!”

“Upset? Me?” Precious tittered. “Why, I couldn’t be more delighted. A plump rodent such as yourself volunteering to enter my home.” Skitter cringed as the feline’s head loomed over him, her little snout twitching away. “It’ll make this morning far more entertaining.” As Precious moved towards him Skitter found himself frozen stiff in fright, her pristine white fur billowing in all directions and tail swishing gaily behind her. He could do nothing but gawk as the cat walked right over him, Precious’ belly directly above when all that white fur came crashing down, engulfing the mouse. Skitter was compressed against the malleable belly with his face forced to the side, cheeks against the floor and stomach. One big mouse ear was fully-squished to Precious body, giving him an audible glance into the active cat stomach. Grrrrrlllln… glorp. “Hear that? Breakfast was a couple hours ago, and I must say I’m famished with all this excitement.” Precious rocked her hips to squish the protesting mouse back and forth a bit under her. Skitter whined meekly as the chilling sounds of digestion vibrated over his whole form and were drilled into his ear. Chrrrll, grooowl.

“N-no!” he protested. “I’m not some cat toy and you’re not gonna eat m– ack!” Precious put all of her weight down on Skitter, which pancaked him out more against the ground with pressure nigh unbearable. The flattening feline belly splayed all around to lock him in place and surround him with the groans and gurgles emanating from within.

Precious laid there for several minutes, enjoying the feel of the trapped mouse squirming futilely under her. After a particularly nasty grrrrrrwn from her stomach she sat up, tail flicking about behind her. “You do not get a say, little mousie.” Skitter’s eyes were half-lidded, still recovering from the bout under the belly, when he found himself being bounced back and forth between Precious’ paws. “You’d make a pretty good ball yourself, if I’m being honest.”

“I’m… ergh… Stop… stop!” Skitter cried as he flumped back and forth, growing dizzier by the second. Eventually Precious did cease, and when Skitter tried to flee the cat slapped her paw down on his tail again. Skitter’s heart pounded when Precious’ muzzle pressed to his side and idly knocked him over, belly-up to the cat that leered hungrily down at him. “No… p-please...” Precious buried her snout in his underbelly and sniffed loudly. Smiling, Precious raised her head, closed her eyes, and yawned loudly. The mouse, rooted to the spot, shuddered as the rank breath of the cat blew over him. He covered his snout but it did no good, gross odors invading and making his eyes water. Through blurry vision he saw a large cat tongue cupping and flicking, thick strands of saliva connecting the top of the mouth to the tongue, and glistening pink insides twitching about. Teeth that were still stained somewhat with breakfast, adding their aromas to her breath. Skitter’s gaze locked on the back of Precious’ throat, so petrified of being eaten that he almost didn’t notice a stinking drop of drool land on him. Precious closed her mouth after her lengthy yawn and smacked her lips, gracing Skitter with a last puff of her breath. 

“Mmmm, you smell scrumptious” Precious commented, once more patrolling around the mouse that lay stunned from the foul odors that assaulted him. He held back the urge to say that the feeling wasn’t mutual, knowing that he’d be in much more danger had he said what was on his mind. Skitter’s paws twitched now and then but otherwise he found himself immobile from what Precious had just done. Even when his vision saw nothing but a white furry feline rear looming over him, tail pointed skyward, he could only utter a squeak of protest. Precious looked over her shoulder with a sultry smile and sat on Skitter, purring all the while, crushing the chubby rodent against her rump. His tail was barely visible between her legs, but otherwise the mouse was once again awash in cat fur. Precious giggled when she felt mouse paws squishing up against her rear and trying to move her, but with the exception of her swishing tail she was immobile. She looked down to see the Skitter’s own tail thrashing about more madly by the moment, and she only stood when it was flailing wildly. Skitter gasped for air and sputtered out a few white hairs from his mouth, other loose fur clinging to his own coat. He tried to roll back onto his paws to escape, but groaned in defeat when his tail was once again tugged backwards.

Paws scrabbled against carpet as Skitter was towed upward and swung back and forth, protests fumbling out of his mouth to try to convince Precious to stop. His vision blurred with dizziness when Precious leapt up onto the couch and let him fly into the arm rest headfirst. He bounced to the cushion and clutched his head to try and stop the room from spinning but quickly reassigned his paws to defend his snout again: Precious was laying down in front of him, mouth open a little, rank breath pouring over the mouse in puffs. She was silent, save for some quiet grumbles emanating form her belly. Precious looked back at herself and grinned, giving Skitter a side-eyed glance. “I’m sure you hear that, little mousie: I’m getting hungry, which means our fun’s going to have to end in short order.”

Skitter pushed himself up against the arm rest and shuffled onto his hinds, chest heaving. He took those settling breaths despite the foulness of the air about him, growing worse with every breath the feline before him took. Frightful eyes met that mischievous glance and Skitter backed into the corner of the couch, pressing himself against it. “Y-you c-can’t… P-please...” He choked out a gasp when Precious licked her lips, stinking drool now matting down the fur about the cat’s muzzle.

“Better choose your next words wisely, my plump bonus breakfast,” Precious purred, “for you only have a few scant moments remaining before I eat you alive.”

“No!” Skitter hollered, eyes wide and whiskers quivering. He turned and frantically climbed the armrest. “Please! Please don’t eat me!” This time he didn’t get another tail-tug: A giant paw appeared in front of him and snagged him away from the sofa, bringing his body up to those stained cat lips and pressing him to them. Precious extended her tongue and slowly, gradually licked her way up Skitter’s back and head, slimy odorous drool baking into his fur and ensuring the stench would never be apart from him.

“Oh no, you’re far too tasty to let go,” Precious informed between smacks of her lips. She clutched her paw around the chubby mouse, squishing his more malleable parts about as he struggled and cried out fear. He was brought around to face Precious head on, only able to thrash his head and tail about in protest as her maw yawned wide open again. Precious’ tongue hooked under Skitter’s chin and gradually lapped up it, then coiled around his face to slurp and taste him thoroughly. Skitter’s eyes drooped, the sheer impact of the disgusting-smelling tongue and slobber intruding on most of his senses, the mouse hardly able to catch a breath. He was a shuddering mass in Precious’ paw by the time she was done tasting him, drizzling in saliva and still entrapped in the squeezing paw. “Delicious.” Grrrrrwwlll… Skitter was too woozy to move when the paw opened, leaving him belly-up and exposed to the encroaching tongue. No hair on Skitter’s body was spared the torment of tasting, Precious’ lips even locking around his stomach and hefting him up an instant, before letting him plop messily onto the extended paw once again.

“Don’t eat me...” Skitter shivered, rolled to his side. “Don’t eat me...” he chanted, blinded by the tongue slathering gross-smelling viscous slime across his face. “I-I don’t wanna be eaten!” He laid there with his paws limply airborne, on his back, as Precious pinched his tail and lifted him up. The limp brown-and-white furred mouse swayed slightly, shining from the cat drool all over him, and now hovered inches over Precious’ smirking muzzle. His eyes blinked out-of-sync as he heard a bubbly growl from the feline’s eager stomach. He saw her run a spare paw over it, patting the tummy gently.

“I’m afraid you have no choice, my plump delectable treat.” Precious leaned up until the mouse could feel the cat’s whiskers tickle his ear. The next words were a whisper, but they may as well been roared: “I’m going to eat you.” Skitter snapped out of his mental paralysis, gawking when Precious yawned her mouth open wide below him. Strings of saliva sagged and broke apart from shining fangs while the tongue lazily lolled out of her mouth. The pink insides were glowing with slimy saliva, built up from the cat’s constant tasting of Skitter. The throat in the back pulsed wide and narrow, in time to a horrific stench blowing past the mouse.

And Skitter was being lowered right into the gaping cat maw.

“No! Noooooo!!!” he screamed, chin and chest already brushing along the tongue. Precious’ eyes fluttered closed in pure delight. “I don’t wanna be eaten! Don’t eat me! No no n–” SCHLMP! “Mmmmpph!!!” Stained furry lips sealed around the terrified mouse’s body, whose fores were trapped and hinds free to kick and protest. Skitter’s chubby backside swayed and flailed in tune to his tail, while its owner’s head was mushed into the slimy festering flesh of the slobber-coated tongue. Skitter wailed in darkness as his nose burned from the combination of putrid odors that now assaulted him from all angles, making his kicks and protests more frantic still. Precious purred deeply with the mouse’s tantalizing flavors lighting her taste buds alight, the reverberations shaking Skitter to the core. His ears were flooded with suckles and slurps from the hungry cat, tongue riding over and under him time and time again. “Someone, anyone! Helllllp!”

Precious brought a paw up to the protruding mouse’s rear end and used a single digit to press against it. A loud slurping noise filled the room when the squealing rodent sank deeper into the stinking mouth, Precious stopping when the mouse butt was surrounded by her own furry lips. The tongue lapped out to smear fresh drool across that white rump, little mouse legs straddling and kicking wildly as Precious reveled in the juicy rodent flavors. As she did, tears were forming in Skitter’s eyes. The putrid stenches flowing up from every cat exhale was almost too much for him to handle. Between each short, desperate breath he could feel his rump teased and tasted over, nothing more than a snack to Precious. Sloppy drool coated his whole body and then some, puddling around him on the constantly-shifting tongue that he was practically stuck to. Precious’ purrs were a constant rumbling menace as well and Skitter was too short on breath to utter more than pathetic squeaks. Precious played with her food for some time, drool dripping down the protruding rump and too the floor. After having her fun and growing hungrier by the moment, she opened her jaws with an audible “ahhhhh.” Smelly, goopy saliva interconnected teeth, tongue, and mouse, Skitter’s weak pants now audible to the outside world. Skitter squinted as light flooded the maw, showcasing the twitching gullet that was eagerly awaiting him. He barely had a second to register though, as Precious cupped her tongue up against his protruding rear and lapped him up. The mouse managed his loudest squeal yet, though it cut off mid-yelp when Precious sealed her lips shut around the entirety of his body. He heard the teeth clack behind him as all light faded, head pushed up to the brink of the throat. The smells increased tenfold with his snout against the gullet.

“Uhhn… I-I can’t t-t-take this anymore!” Skitter moaned as his head was shoved harder into the yawning throat, where foul smells awaited. Digested meat teased around his senses and the slimy tongue and throat made sure to rub the stench into the mouse’s fur. Precious allowed her taste buds to be placated just a little longer, worming her tongue to cover as much of Skitter as it could before lifting him to the roof of the mouth and squeezing hard. Reality beyond the terrible smells set in to Skitter’s mind that very instant, his plump body pressured towards the throat. “NO! NOOOO!” One last purr filled his senses as he felt the world shift with Precious tilting her head up.

GLP! GLURK! Precious swallowed Skitter whole and alive, his squirming bulge briefly visible along the fur of her neck before sinking below. Skitter writhed as the gullet squeezed and squelched him rapidly downward, taking the path of many a rodent towards the stomach that made itself known with a sudden glrt. Skitter couldn’t move and was forced to bear the brunt of the putrid odors snaking up from below, but nothing compared to when he was squeezed through the entryway: The mouse had to fight to hold down his breakfast as he sloppily landed in puddles of stomach fluids, saliva, and what little remained of Precious’ breakfast. A loud, elongated grrrrrrrn rocked him about until his face slammed into the floor that ground the stenches into him permanently. In a fleet of terror he picked himself up and backed into another slimy wall an inch away, scrabbling at his face to try and stop the constant foul stench from torturing him. “S-she ate me! Let me out! Nooo!”

Precious couldn’t hear a word from Skitter, all that flesh and fur preventing all but the loudest of groans from escaping. She licked over her paw and lips, idly swishing her tail, reveling in Skitter’s aftertaste. “Yummy.” She stood and sauntered over to the discarded ball that had drawn the mouse to her in the first place, and smiled. She laid down to idly play with the ball, and Skitter squealed to no-one as the stomach he was trapped in suddenly squeezed against him loudly. The slimy, sticky walls beneath pressed up to his saliva-coated underside and acted like glue. Skitter’s legs were stuck out in all directions leaving him immobile, with his muzzle pressed into a wet stomach wall with stinking fluids flowing all about it.

Every breath was one of torment for Skitter. The belly loudly gurgled and groaned around him with more stomach fluids flooding in by the second. Dozens of past meals left behind bits of stench in the efficient cat stomach, and Skitter was now subjected to all of them at once. The walls of the belly continually squeezed him tightly, rubbing fluids and saliva and mostly-digested food into his fur coat. He thrashed his tail (the only thing he could do) with every muscle in his body tensed up, trying to escape the foul-smelling prison any way he could. His vision in the pitch-dark stomach was blurred as tears flowed from the putrid nature of it all, every breath laden with reminders of where he was and of what Precious had devoured in the past. A bit of chewed-up meat actively digested near him, bits rubbing into his cheek and giving the mouse yet another awful smell to enjoy for what little time he had left. “Please… P-please...” he mumbled to himself, only able to take the shortest of breaths to spare himself. As the many acidic fluids of the cat’s stomach began to pool around him Skitter had to press his head upward and expose himself to the full force of what was within. Gaining a tiny bit of leverage, he pounded the fleshy walls with balled-up fists and panted out screams and curses and pleads, all of which Precious was deaf to as she entertained herself with the ball.

Skitter’s short breaths became rapid as his belly fur began itching, more acids coating his body and piling higher still. He eventually was forced to draw in deeper breaths, gagging on every effort, all stomach contents congealing around him with the stomach walls holding him firmly in place. Chrrrrrgle… Glrp… Groooowl. His sensitive ears heard everything, his own imminent digestion included, but all of Skitter’s conscious thought was anchored to the foul-smelling slobber and foodstuffs that coated his whole form. He wasn’t able to even form words due to how bad it was getting, every breath a stinging disgusting experience for the devoured rodent. Skitter tried moving or even rolling onto his back, but with the walls pounding in on him from all angles it was a futile waste of energy.

The stomach acids rose further still in the confined belly, Skitter’s chin tickling the surface despite how high he tried to keep his head raised. He could hear his heart thudding away in the enclosed environment despite it being submerged in gurgling stomach fluids. Only his head was kept above the surface, snout pressed against the putrid-smelling wall, the only place he could draw breath. Every inhale was pure agony at that point, whole body itching, the chubby mouse nearly submerged completely. As he scrabbled and attempted to survive just a bit longer, a particularly loud groan sounded out and the stomach scrunched in from all angles. Skitter got out a pathetic squeal before his head splashed down into the digestive enzymes, his snout barely kept above surface for a few last breaths. The last ones were the worst of all with his body completely coated in stomach acid, the full brunt of the putrid stenches etched into his nostrils with his desperate intakes. Skitter’s olfactory nerves screamed when he sank completely under due to the pressure from the stomach walls, leaving him conscious with the stink nearly a full minute before the mouse mercifully passed out. Grrrrgle… glop! Chrrrrn… Precious, ignoring her actively-digesting stomach, grew bored with the ball after a while and eventually slept on the spot. She napped away the remainder of the morning peacefully, tail curled around herself, belly quietly digesting away the eaten mouse.

Skitter’s friends had seen the window close though not by who, and were feeling more dejected with every passing hour as Skitter did not return, ball in tow or otherwise. They tried to entertain themselves while they waited, but each one continued to steal glances towards the window in hope that the chubby mouse would emerge victorious. They didn’t see any activity whatsoever for hours, until their sharp ears heard the sound of the window opening again. Hopes were dashed when, instead of a mouse or even a human, the white furry form of Precious was framed by the window, the cat lazily lounging on the window sill, letting her tail dangle outside. Little mouse screams filled the field and they all rushed to hide in various nooks and crannies, though after a moment it was obvious that Precious wasn’t leaving her perch.

“Thank you for your generous donation,” Precious lazily announced, holding up the red ball for all of them to see. A looming sense of dread built up among the mice, all staring up to the feline from their hiding spots in morbid curiosity. “I’ll occasionally enjoy playing with it.” Precious flicked her paw and tossed the ball back inside, and every mouse knew they’d never see it again. Precious’ sharp gaze fell over each spectating rodent and she grinned, before starting to pick at her teeth with a claw. She successfully extracted a clump of mouse fur and idly flicked it away with the hairs carried off in a warm breeze.

No words were needed: The mice knew what fate befell Skitter, their hearts sinking. “And that mouse that tried to retrieve it was... purrrr… quite the treat as well.” A shiver broke out among the field mice. Precious stood up and stretched, arching her back and letting a languid yawn escape. She was amused by their fear, deliberately turning her open jaws outside for good measure. Any mouse catching a glimpse into the maw looked away in haste, imagining their friend sinking down that glistening gullet. “But don’t worry. I’m all finished up with him. Plus, you won’t leave empty-pawed: You can play your little games with this.” With a flick of her tail, Precious swiped something previously-unseen out of the window and sent it tumbling across the grass to where the mice hid. A dripping mouse skull, cracked down the middle and acid-washed, now lay before them, with an awful odor emanating from every bit of it. Precious laughed as a chorus of terrified squeals roared out, seeing Skitter’s companions flee for their lives with the horrifying image – and aroma – baked into their minds. “Enjoy,” Precious called, running a paw over her now-quieted stomach and licking her lips. “Don’t be shy. I love entertaining guests.” Precious smirked at the now empty field and turned inward. She leapt to the couch and curled up around the little red ball, purring to herself as she settled down to nap the day away.