Leapin’ Lizards!
“Get that--that thing out of the house this instant!” screamed Katie’s mom. Katie had fallen in love with collecting animals. First it was sewing, then it was origami, and now this, thought Katie’s mom.

“Aw, Mom, can’t I keep it? It’s just a little lizard! Why do you have to be so touchy around these things?” questioned Katie.

“Get rid of it! Get it out, I say, out!” snapped her mom.

“I really like animals, and you cannot blame me for it, anyhow. Why, I’ve been--”

Katie’s sentence was cut off as her mother screamed. She said in a high-pitched voice, tight with fear, “It jumped out of your hand. It jumped! It could be anywhere. . . .” Seeing that a small green lizard was on her dress, she promptly fainted.

The frightened lizard leaped again and disappeared into the piano. Katie did not see where it went. She searched everywhere for the reptilian fiend, but it was nowhere to be found. Katie’s mom was eventually revived. She told Katie that she had had a horrible dream about lizards. Katie hoped she would not have recurring nightmares.

The next day was extremely busy for Katie. Right after school, she had soccer practice, then a dentist appointment. She came home feeling exhausted and had completely forgotten about yesterday’s affair. Her piano lesson was at six o’clock, and it was already five. Her piano teacher, Mrs. Walski, would come soon. She had to start on her homework.

At 6:00, Mrs. Walski arrived at the door. Katie had finished her homework just in time. She welcomed Mrs. Walski in. As they sat down at the piano (located upstairs), four things happened in the same moment. Katie bent down to get her piano books off the floor. The lizard jumped out of the piano key it had crawled into. The startled Mrs. Walski hit a lamp, which hit a table, which broke a window, which gave an innocent passerby a glass shower.

Thankfully, Katie learned her lesson and never took any of her “animal findings” into the house ever again.