Ten Pounds of Chocolate

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Abbey nodded. "Me, too. But we got away, at least. And we still have our bags." She was beginning to wonder if it had been her imagination. There couldn't really have been a creature chasing them. But she knew one thing for certain. "She sure is a nice old lady."

"Yeah," Wendy said. "She's really nice."

Abbey saw two boys walk past, heading down the hill. She opened her mouth to warn them about the beast, but then decided not say anything. They wouldn't believe her. And, to tell the truth, she'd begun to doubt the experience herself. There couldn't really have been a creature chasing them.

"Come on," Wendy said. "Let's go to some more houses." She walked away from the hill.

"Good idea." Abbey followed her.

At that same moment, down at the bottom of the hill, the sleek, black panther opened his jaws and gently placed the two huge chocolate bars on the porch. Then he clawed at the door of the small house while his waving tail made question marks in the air.

"Well done, Jackson. We've made so many friends tonight," the nice old woman said. She picked up the chocolate bars, one by one, and placed them back on the table, then petted the panther as it again took the form of a cat. "And just in time," she added, peering up the hill. "I think there are a couple more youngsters heading our way."