Ben sighed with relief as the owl flew over to Waldo.
"Drop!" Waldo said, and Oswald released the kitten.
Winnie ran over to scoop up Inky.
Then she looked up and glared at Waldo.
"Oswald could have eaten her, Waldo!"
Waldo hung his head. "I'm really sorry, Winnie.
Oswald has a mind of his own.
And it's hard to train a pet who's invisible half the time."
"That's for sure!" Ben chimed in.
Winnie cuddled her kitten for a few minutes and then let out a breath.
"Inky seems fine. Thanks for saving the day, Ben.
I had no idea what was going on when she shot up in the air like that."
Ben nodded. "Sid's spots were the clue. I realized Oswald was nearby."
"I guess I'm allergic to owls too," Sid mumbled.
"Have you thought about a pet rock?" Waldo joked.
Ben rolled his eyes. "Not funny," he said.
Once things had calmed down, the pet tricks show continued.
Ben was rooting for Winnie or Mog to win.
But he enjoyed watching other pets do tricks, especially Pixel's pig and two dogs.
A ghoul hound spun a ball on its nose, like a seal.
A skeleton dog impressed everyone by fetching bones.
After all the pets had performed, the judges huddled on the stage.
Finally they signaled to Miss Bungle that they had selected a winner.
She smiled as she stood in front of the microphone.
"And the first-place winner is . . . Priscilla, the pet pig!
Second place goes to Slimy, the singing slug."
"Yes!" Waldo cried. "Jen won a prize!"
"So did Pixel," Ben said.
"Our next event will be the obedience show," Miss Bungle announced.
"It will start in about one hour.
And after that comes our final event of the weekend—the best pet competition.
While you're waiting for the next show, please visit our pet adoption booth.
We have some wonderful pets there who need great homes."
Ben and Sid looked at each other.
"I have more volunteer duties right now," Ben said.
"But we can try to check it out later."
Ben and Sid found a couple of good seats for the obedience contest.
Mrs. Hubbletree hurried onstage first, beaming as she held up her valuable rainbow gecko for everyone to see.
Ben noticed that she had gotten dressed up for the event.
She had on a colorful dress with a matching handbag.
"Rainbow geckos are very rare," the mayor's wife said proudly.
"Especially in People Place.
Bowie can change to any color—sometimes he even changes to patterns."
"Can we see?" a monster shouted from the front row.
"Sure!" Mrs. Hubbletree said proudly.
"I'll demonstrate."
She spread several colorful fabric squares on a table.
Each time Bowie was placed on a fabric square, he matched the color and pattern perfectly.
"That is pretty amazing," Ben said and others nodded.
A judge smiled politely. "Lizard behavior is quite fascinating, Mrs. Hubbletree.
But I'm afraid it's not really a demonstration of a pet's obedience."
"Oh." Mrs. Hubbletree hung her head, looking deflated. "Are you sure?"
The three judges nodded.
She hurried offstage, and one by one, other pets performed.
As he watched, Ben couldn't help thinking that none of them seemed very talented.
A goblin fish just swam around its bowl.
A spider scurried around the stage instead of following a "stay" command.
Right now a skinny cat was supposed to be heeling, but all she did was stare off into space.
The judges looked bored.
"Next," one called, propping up his head in his hand.
The show continued.
At last it was Mog's turn.
"Go, Mog!" Ben watched his friend take the stage with his two-headed dog.
Everyone clapped as Rex-Rex perfectly followed Mog's commands.
The dog sat, heeled, and lay down.
"He's helpful too," Mog said.
He demonstrated how Rex-Rex could open a latch, and find shoes.
"He can retrieve both of my shoes at once!"
The audience applauded as Mog and his dog finished performing.
"Nice job," Ben thought. It had been a strong, solid performance.
Suddenly the skinny cat's owner rushed toward the stage.
"Excuse me!" she called.
"Judges, please look at this! I got my cat to heel!"
She ran onstage, her cat closely following her.
A judge frowned. "Excuse me! You can't—"
Hiss! The cat froze as she spotted Rex-Rex.
Hissing again, she arched her back and stared at him.
A low growl started in each Rex's throat.
Then the two-headed dog barked like mad.
The cat took off, and Rex-Rex chased after her!