The Unexpected Napping Success

Mama Tiger sighed, a puff of warm air that ruffled the rug. Roary, nestled deep within his carefully constructed pillow fort, was finally, blessedly, quiet. Not a peep, not a wiggle, not even a tiny tiger snore, though Mama Tiger strained her ears for one. Papa Tiger, who had been pacing the room like a nervous jungle cat himself, let out a long, shaky breath.

“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” Papa Tiger rumbled, a grin spreading across his face. “Hide-and-sleep. Who knew it would actually work?”

Mama Tiger padded over to the edge of the fort, peering through a gap in the pillow walls. Roary was curled up, a tiny orange and black ball of fluff, his little tiger tail twitching ever so slightly in his sleep. His favorite squeaky mouse toy was clutched in one paw, its usual squeak silenced by the grip of slumber. It was a sight so peaceful, so utterly unlike the whirlwind of energy that had been Roary just moments before, that Mama Tiger felt a lump form in her throat.