Leafkit pushed his way out of the den excitedly- everything was huge! Much bigger than anything in the nursery. He pounced on a few tufts of grass beneath the snow. Behind him, Sunkit padded nervously out of the den. She was much smaller than he was- so she sank right into the snow, up to her chin. With a sharp mew she struggled back up. What is this new feeling? It hurt and it ran right through her pelt. Sunkit gave a small shiver and leapt back into the den, watching the new world from the warmth and safety she had known. But not Leafkit. He scampered through camp, pouncing on everything he could find. Meanwhile, Sunkit had taken some tentative steps out of the den once more and was busily attacking a lump of snow. Leafkit padded over curiously and soon the two were play-fighting.
"Gotcha!" Leafkit yowled triumphantly.
"No fair!" Complained Sunkit, squirming under him. "You're bigger than me!"
Pride and fur ruffled the wrong way, Sunkit padded back into the den, curling up. Leafkit, on the other hand, left to go find some other adventure. He padded into the winter forest unnoticed, the snow up to his chest, following a wounded sparrow. It flopped, lifeless, on the snow. Leafkit leapt onto the sparrow with a triumphant yowl. He snatched the sparrow in his jaws, struggling to pull it behind him, following his own tracks that he had made. He padded happily into camp and sat down in the middle and taking his milk teeth into it's chest, chewing furiously. Within twenty minutes or so, he had finished the half of it and was back where he belonged, in the den with his sister (who complained that he smelled like snow), sleeping at the edge of the den so he could see everything.
______________________________________
