Chapter
177

©Jeannie
St. John Taylor

Atarah froze and
her eyes grew wide.

Shem waited until
the skunks almost reached her before swooping forward and snatching them up by
the tails.” Keeping them upside-down and vertical he walked past a long row of
cages, casually opened the door of last one, shoved the skunks inside, slammed
the door of the cage and hurried away.

Atarah released a
breath. “You did that without getting sprayed! Or getting me sprayed.” She
grinned. “I’m impressed.”

“Don’t be,” he
said, but the open admiration sparkling from her eyes made him stand a little
taller. “If you keep their tails in the air they can’t share that lovely
perfume with you.”

Walking ahead of
Atarah to clear the way to the family quarters for the mid-day meal, Shem battled
the oncoming flow of animals picking their way down to the lowest level. When
two badgers waddled past, he stopped and held out a restraining arm to keep
Atarah from running into one. “Need to be careful of badgers.”

“Thanks. I need
all the help I can get,” she said. “I don’t want to squash anyone.” She kept
her eyes fixed on the floor, concentrating.

He chuckled at the
‘anyone’ comment. “I meant the badgers might chomp your ankle. They’re
cantankerous. You’re doing fine. This isn’t easy.”

“You’re telling
me,” She side-stepped seven geese marching in a stately line, and nearly bumped
into a pair of zebras. “Forty-five thousand animals, you say?”

“More or less.”

“The ark won’t be
loaded for months.” She did a quick-step over and around a couple of
centipedes.

He had just opened
his mouth to let her know all the animals would be aboard and locked up in four
days because that’s when God told Father the Flood would start, when a monkey
landed on her shoulder. She dissolved with smiles of pleasure. “Ooooh, what a
sweetie!” she cooed. She cuddled the animal while it purred like a kitty cat
snuggled in her arms. “He’s purring! I didn’t know monkeys purred.”

“Only that kind
purr,” Shem responded. “Weird, isn’t it?” The adoring glow on her face wiped
his brain clean and all he could think about was what a good mother she’d be.
He tried to erase the goofy smile he could feel on his face, but the silly
thing stuck fast. He forgot all about the four-day deadline.

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About Jeannie St. John Taylor

Jeannie St. John Taylor, best selling author and two-time Gold Medallion finalist, is the author of five non-fiction books as well as fifteen books for children. She writes and illustrates in the office-studio her husband built on their beef farm ten minutes from the skyscrapers in downtown Portland, Oregon. She and Ray have three grown children. Her books include: Culture-proof Kids, Building Character in Your Children, AMG Publishers, Am I Praying, Kregel and How to Be a Praying Mom, Hendrickson Publishers

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