The Button Under the Rug

Amelia the kitten found a shiny red button under the rug. It was round, and it was as big as her paw.

"What are you?" said Amelia. She gave it a pat. The button rolled away across the floor.

Amelia wanted to know where it came from. She was a very curious kitten, and she wanted to know about everything.

She looked at Grandpa's coat. It had no missing button. She looked at the sofa. No missing button there either.

Then she heard it. Tick, tick, tick, from the kitchen. The button had rolled right across the floor and stopped at the edge of the cellar stairs.

"Oh no," said Amelia. The button was balanced on the very top step. One more tick and it would tumble down into the dark.

She crept closer. She reached out her paw, but the button wobbled. Amelia pulled back.

She tried again, slowly, with her claws in. Her paw was too big. The button slid to the edge.

"Think, Amelia," she said. "Think, think."

She looked at her tail. It was long and soft, like a feather duster. She slid it down low, and she curled the tip under the button, as gently as she could.

Then she lifted. The button sat on her tail like a cookie on a plate.

Step by step, backward, she carried it out of the kitchen. Her whiskers shook, but her tail stayed still.

In the sitting room, Grandpa was patting his old teddy bear. "My bear has lost an eye," he said. "Now where is it?"

Amelia set the button down in his hand.

Grandpa sewed it on. The bear looked at Amelia with one shiny red eye and one brown one.

Amelia curled up in Grandpa's lap. Tick, tick, tick, went the clock. Purr, purr, purr, went the kitten, until the room was quiet.