A few weeks after I got Nels, a friend showered him with a basket of goodies – food, kitty litter, and a few toys. Nels fell in love with a long, brown fleece strip which has a black plastic handle. I have called it his snake, for that’s what it brings to mind. During the night – on those occasions when he’s allowed in my room, using his teeth, he brings the snake up onto my bed and burrows under the covers next to me. I never feel this toy in my bed while sleeping, but find it when I make the bed the next morning.
A couple of weeks ago, the snake went missing. I looked high and low – in all the usual places. I even looked in some unusual places. Where could this toy be? I knew it couldn’t be behind my TV in the cottage, since he is no longer allowed in my cottage unless I pick him up and bring him in to sit ONLY on my lap. [He has a history of chewing electrical chords, and I don’t want to give him a chance to chew through my TV or computer cables.] There was a time he had deposited the snake behind my TV and for days I fought him to stay out of that area – only to reach back behind it one evening to discover his snake.
This noon it got the better of me. I got out my flashlight and began searching the "unusual" places in my home: above the upper kitchen cabinets (Yes, he has been up there.), under the sofa, behind the piano and breakfront, behind the cabinet in my laundry room. No luck. Then I decided to check behind all the furniture in my bedroom. When I was coming up empty handed, it suddenly dawned on me: Nels goes in the corner of my bedroom every evening, behind the rocking chair, and stays back there for a bit. A week or so ago, I had shoved my mattress up to the wall as close as I could get it. Then I moved the night stand close to my bed to keep him from getting at the lamp and telephone chords. Could this snake possibly be lodged between the wall and front of my box springs? Today I pulled out the mattress. YES! There it was. The lost snake has been found!
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