Flora & Ulysses

He woke in darkness. His heart was beating very fast. Something had happened. What was it?

He couldn’t think.

He was too hungry to think.

He sat up and looked around the room. He was in bed, and Flora’s feet were in his face. She was snoring. He could see the outline of her round head. He loved that head.

But, man, he was hungry.

The door to the bedroom was open. Ulysses got off the pillow and went out of the room. He crept along the dark hallway. He went down the stairs and past the little shepherdess.

The house was dark, but there was a light on in the kitchen.

The kitchen!

That was exactly where he needed to be.

He put his nose up. He sniffed. He smelled something cheesy, wonderful. He ran through the living room and the dining room and into the kitchen. He climbed up on the counter. And there it was! A lone cheese puff, perched on the edge of the red Formica countertop. He ate it. It was delicious.

Maybe there were more cheese puffs.

He opened a cabinet. And, yes, there was a big bag with the beautiful word Cheese-o-mania written in golden script on the front of it.

He ate until the bag was empty. And then he burped softly, gratefully. He looked around the kitchen.