The apartment was not all that large, and especially not suited for frolicking with a dog. A very flustered mother ran in with two arms of groceries and yelled, "Jenny, stop fooling around like that! You simply must keep that dog under control!"

"Oh Mommy, but it's been so long since I've played with Pepper. Why did those men make us leave our house? Pepper loves the nice fields and stuff for playing. And she misses her ball so much!"

"I'm sorry dear, but you'll just have to wait. Don't you want your house to look nice? It won't be long, and then Pepper can run through the fields and play ball with you all she wants."

"Okay, Mommy. Hey, Mommy, what happened to Pepper's ball, anyway? I made sure we took it in the car so Pepper could play here."

"Gee, I couldn't tell you. Maybe it was put into storage by accident." This was really a lie. Mrs. Lentype had hidden the ball in her bedroom to keep it out of Jenny's hands. She did not want THAT DOG running around the apartment chasing it.

The next day, Mrs. Lentype was washing dishes when she heard a series of thumps, followed by a loud squeal of pleasure from Jenny. This meant only one thing - They were playing "Quicky Catch," which required a certain ball! She ran into the living room. There was Jenny bouncing the ball and watching as Pepper chased it.

"Stop doing that!" she uttered.

But it was too late. Jenny bounced the ball a little too hard and it bounced out the window. Well, in this game, the object was for Pepper to chase the ball and bring it back. Well, Pepper attempted the first part, right out a tenth story window.

Both mother and daughter ran to the window and looked down. Mrs. Lentype didn't bother to scold little Jenny. She was sure the loss of Pepper would be enough punishment. They just stood there and watched in horror the window that had just ended Pepper's life.

Then Jenny looked at her mother, and Mrs. Lentype was sure she saw a look of total grief, and a loss of that usual brightness that normally lit Jenny's blue eyes. It hurt Mrs. Lentype very deeply to think of the pain that Jenny must feel, and her not be able to fix it.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, dear?" she said with all the grief and sympathy she felt causing her voice to quiver..

"Mommy, does this mean we can get a cat?"