I am a Cheetah

I am a cheetah. I chase the gazelle through the golden waving wild grasses that grow tall. I run faster then the fastest car. I am a cheetah.... 

My name is Desta. I am a cheetah, a member of the wild cats.

I live on the African savanna. Here I prey on the impala, gazelle, and, deer. I am presently hungry. I see a group of impala nearby. My long, black-spotted tail swishes back and forth. I lick my obsidian-black lips with my coral-colored tongue.

I rise, still slightly crouched. Slowly and soundlessly, I creep down the stone and stalk through the grasses. My golden pelt helps me blend into the tall stalks. The impala are oblivious to my presence. I slink still forward. Just a little bit farther....

I stop dead in my tracks. I am close enough now.... I wriggle my haunches, preparing to spring.

Jut as I am about to attack, five lionesses leap out of the grasses. They chase the impala into the horizon, leaving me with nothing but an empty stomach. My muscles loosen. The lionesses have beaten me to the impala once again. With a sigh, sigh I turn away. I'll have to catch something else later.

~~~

In vain, I prowl. I know that I cannot catch zebras, with the exception of their young. All of the black and white stripes are dizzying. I, in desperation, try to pick out the weakest. All of the babies are hidden withing the circle of zebras. Abut, I know that I won't be able to catch them, so I leave.

I creep underneath a large fig tree to escape the persistent heat that beats my back with uncaring rays. I lie there, in the shade for only a few moments. A leopard, who had been roosting above me, felt threatened by my presence and chased me away.

Dejectedly, I prowl into the shade of an Acacia tree. Its branches are outstretched as if arm waiting for an embrace. Panting, I am grateful for the shade the large tree provides. There, I rest. Soon, my eyelids become to heavy to keep open and I fall into a deep, contented sleep, the whistling wind acting as my lullaby, the grass being my bed.

~~~

I awaken about an hour later. Nearby, a herd of gazelle are drinking from a huge watering hole. It is sapphire blue, clear as the cloudless sky. I realize my thirst at the sight of it. But I know that my hunger pains are grater. So I crouch in preparation to spring.

I creep closer, despite the fact that they are within leaping distance. Patiently I wait for just the right moment....

I leap.

The herd scatters. In their panic, they leave the elders behind. I chase an old gazelle. My claws--which are not retractable, as all other cats' claws are--help propel me forward. My long tail provides me with the balance when turning that I need. My streamlined body cuts through the wind at unimaginably fast speeds. My powerful legs zip in and out, in and out.

Even  when they are old, gazelle are very fast. But I outrun  it, and I am able  to catch the old gazelle.   

I drag it into the shade where I eat my righteous meal. Hyenas wait, peering out of the golden grasses, for me to have my fill. I might take me a whole week to finish feeding, so, one eaten enough, I leave the rest for the hyenas.

I walk over to the watering hole to have a drink. I lap the crystal-clear waters until my thirst is quenched.

The day looking much brighter, I prowl over to the very same rock that I had been basking on a only few hours before. I sprawl over the warm, smooth surface of the stone, purring contentedly. And, happy, I fall asleep.

I am a cheetah, proud and strong; fast and willy. I chase the gazelle through the golden waving wild grasses that grow tall. I run faster then the fastest car. I am a cheetah....

-KittyLover8

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