The sleek black cat sat on the porch rail, sunning herself in the early morning rays; a satisfied smirk on her face. She had heard just enough of the conversation with the mother cardinal and her young ones the day before to know that the big, bright, bold son of theirs was going to be fun to tease along.

Oh, she had already decided to spare the young one his life.  After all, what fun would it be to destroy the very thing that gave her such pleasure. His bright plumage was a sight to behold, and his open friendly nature was hard to find among the bird world. One thing was for sure, if she wanted to catch him, and devour his lithe young body, she was certain that it would be no problem. But for now at least, she would humor him into thinking she was his friend.

The Cardinal family had been up early, feeding at the overflowing feeders taken care of by the older gentleman who lived in the little white house. He had made the rounds the night before, carefully filling each feeder, and shaking in just a bit of chili powder to keep the night varmints from eating all the seed. Lately, he and his wife had taken to adding some mixed seeds for the variety of birds visiting during this long winter month. There was never a lack for activity around those tubes and boxes filled with delight.

The young Cardinal saw Magic, the black cat, sitting on her perch. Flitting over toward her, he started up a conversation. “Where did you come from?” he asked. “What do you like to eat? and How come you can’t fly like us?”

The questions went on and on with the Magic cat answering as if she had all the time in the world. After a while she grew bored of the young one’s pestering questions and stood tall and arched her back as high as it would go.

“It’s time to stop all these questions,” she purred. “I need to do my walk around the farm.”

“I’ll go with you!” the young bird exclaimed.

“No.” I will go alone. This was firmly stated with no room for argument.

It was clear the cat had no intention of an audience to her foray into the forest. Little did the young bird know that hers was a mission of sorts. She did the walk around the perimeter of the land every morning and night, marking her territory, and occasionally finding a juicy treat to pay her for her time. The last thing she wanted was to have him scaring off the field mice or perhaps even a young rabbit that could be hers for the taking.

Making her way down the porch steps, she tried to mollify the situation. “If you are here when I come back, we can play the question game again. That is of course unless my mistress comes out to stroke my fur, in which case you may observe.

With the carriage of a queen, the glossy black cat tiptoed her way across the gravel drive and into the snow-covered yard. She hated this white stuff with a passion and if she had her way it would never invade her land. But, it seemed it was here to stay for a while so she must make the best of it for now. One good thing, it certainly made it easier to see the ground creatures that she sought.

As Magic cat slowly wound her way through the trees behind the house, the young red cardinal hurried to the feeder. The level was swiftly diminishing and he, ever hungry, scared away several lesser birds and began to fill his craw. He knew if his mother saw him being rude to the sparrows and finches that she would give him a good scolding. Yet, this particular feeder was the one he had established as his own.

Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal were sitting on the limb near their nest discussing the near debacle of the night before.

“My darling,” Mrs. Cardinal exclaimed, “I think we had best find a safer place for our nest in the coming year. This is twice now that we have almost fallen prey to a night predator.”

Ruffling his feathers against the cold, Mr. Cardinal grumbled, “It is in our blood to build our nests in low hanging bushes, my dear. You know that perfectly well. I’ve already picked out a spot in the old grapevine for the coming spring. It will hold a nest every bit as well as the rosebush without all the dang briars poking at you every time you turn around.”

“But the briars are part of our protection!” the mother bird exclaimed. “And besides, I simply love the smell of the red roses as they bloom, welcoming my babies into this world.”

“Well, we have a few more months to decide.” The affronted husband grunted.

“Honestly, sometimes it seems she never gives my ideas the credit they deserve.” He mumbled to himself as he shook his feathers and flew to the small apple tree out by the road.

Spying the black cat running toward the house with a small field mouse in her jaws, the father Cardinal shivered with disgust. Why must this creature be a part of their lives? Wasn’t it enough that they had to worry about snakes, coyotes, dogs roaming free, and now a cat? For goodness sake, whatever was the lady of the house thinking when she took in this stray.

Morning gave way to afternoon, and before they all knew it, night was falling once again. The snow had picked back up and as miserable as he could be, father Cardinal made his way home. Seeing that his brood was already there before him, he sighed a deep sigh of relief. Knowing that they had made it through another day with no danger overtaking any of them was enough for the moment.

Greeting his lady wife, he apologized for leaving her alone the entire day. It was never good to go to nest with anger in your heart, and he knew from experience that it would be a restless night indeed, if she would not snuggle close to his heart and warm him through and through. . .

To be continued. . . .