The Cat Bandit

The Hot Dog

Mom left a hot dog on a shelf in the den, the family's living room. The hot dog's smell drifted through the house, spreading farther and farther until it reached the porch, where the cat bandit sat wishing for a snack. The instant that smell reached his nose, he began sniffing eagerly, over and over again.

The cat bandit dashed into the den and spotted the hot dog resting on the shelf. He hopped onto a bench, then leaped onto the television set, and finally launched himself with one big jump onto the shelf itself. Once he landed, he devoured the hot dog bite by bite—the perfect picnic lunch for a sneaky cat.

The Chicken Nugget

Hank set his dirty dish in the sink, leaving behind a large, still-warm chicken nugget. The tempting smell of chicken drifted up from the sink and floated into the den, where the cat bandit was napping. Even while he slept, he kept sniffing the air.

Suddenly the cat bandit sprang awake. He dashed over and spotted the nugget sitting in the sink. After pausing to think up a plan, he gathered a stack of boxes from the closet. He lined them up carefully—one box, then a bigger one beside it, and finally the biggest box of all, right next to the sink. Then he took off running, hopping from box to box like stepping stones, until he reached the nugget and gobbled it up completely.

The Snack Mix

Beth left a basket of snack mix on a shelf. The cat bandit noticed it right away and knew he had to have it—but the basket was too high to reach directly. He sat and thought for a while, then hurried off to the porch.

There he found the metal tongs Dad used for grilling and carried them onto the rug. Next, he gathered a pile of small rocks. He placed a rock on the raised end of the tongs, then pressed down on the other end with his paw to build up pressure, almost like using a lever, before letting it spring free. The rock shot across the room and struck the shelf—but missed the basket.

He tried again and again, launching rock after rock. Six shots in a row missed their target. Finally, on the seventh try, the rock hit its mark. The basket tumbled down onto the rug, scattering snack mix everywhere. The cat bandit wasted no time gobbling up every last piece.

The Ham

Mom left a pink ham resting in a large black pan. The cat bandit, lounging on a quilt, caught a whiff of the delicious smell and immediately wanted to know where it was coming from. He followed the scent, sniffing his way through the house until he found the ham sitting high up, far out of his reach. He needed a plan.

He hurried to the closet and grabbed a belt, then dashed to the shed to find a strong magnet. After attaching the magnet to the end of the belt, he swung it toward the pan. The magnet clanged against the metal and stuck fast. In a flash, the cat bandit began tugging and yanking on the belt with all his strength. Eventually the pan slid off and crashed to the floor, leaving the ham within easy reach for a satisfying meal.

The Fish

Once, Mom hung a fish up to dry on a string. While scratching an itch, the cat bandit caught the scent and dashed straight into the kitchen. There he spotted the fish dangling from its string and sat down to work out a plan.

He fetched Mom's glasses and set them on a sunny bench, where the two lenses caught the light and gleamed brightly. Carefully, he shifted the glasses until one lens focused a beam of sunlight directly onto the string. Then he waited patiently.

The concentrated sunlight heated the string until the wax coating on it melted away. With a sudden rip, the fish dropped free—and the cat bandit made quick work of his catch.

The Milk

One day, Beth left a glass of milk out on the deck, up high where the cat bandit couldn't reach it. Disappointed, he looked around and spotted a clothesline stretching from the shed to the deck, where Mom had hung wet socks, pants, and a jacket to dry. An idea began to form.

The cat bandit fetched Dad's belt and climbed to the top of the shed. He looped the belt over the clothesline, held on tight, and leaped off, zipping along the line like a rider on a zip-line. As he fl