The snow melted.
Spring—
had finally arrived.
The kittens grew a little every day, and of course, they got… louder and louder.
Once their eyes opened, they took Xuân Lai for their birth mother. They followed her everywhere, never leaving her side.
“Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!”
Or else they’d turn to me and ask:
“Where’s Mom? Where’s Mom? Where’s Mom? Where’s Mom?”
Like robots running on a program.
Even so, it was quite an amusing sight.
15.
To my surprise, as soon as spring arrived, the kindergarten gates were already crowded with people.
Everyone had come to enroll their pets.
There were not only cats and dogs, but also parrots, turtles, spiders…
As the principal, I was used to this. I showed each pet owner into the school, sorted the pets into classes by species, and then screened them according to the kindergarten’s admission standards.
Once everything was in order, I treated myself to a sumptuous meal.
As I savored the delicious food, I suddenly heard one of the teachers let out a scream:
“Ah! A student in the Kitten Class ate a classmate!”
I rushed outside just in time to see an American Bobtail with a parrot in its mouth.
Before I could react, Tang Bưu appeared like a bolt of lightning, charged up to the cat, and smacked it right on the head with a paw.
“How many times have I told you? You can’t eat your classmates! Spit it out!”
The American Bobtail reluctantly let the parrot go.
Fortunately, the parrot wasn’t badly hurt. It just flapped its wings and flew away, but a cold sweat broke out all over me.
That very day, I called in a construction crew to put up fences, separating the outdoor play areas for each class.
I also bought lots of realistic toys to keep the pets with “hunting instincts” entertained and out of trouble.
Tang Bưu volunteered to be captain of the patrol team. Whenever he spotted an animal thinking of “eating a classmate,” he’d immediately smack it with a mighty swat.
With Tang Bưu’s help, I had a lot less to do.
To reassure the parrot’s owners, I personally brought a gift to their home to apologize. Tang Bưu was worried I’d get beaten up and insisted on following right beside me.
Fortunately, the owners didn’t blame me. They even invited me to stay for dinner.
16.
On the way back to the kindergarten, I kept thinking about how to make the school better.
Tang Bưu walked quietly beside me.
Suddenly, he began repeatedly looking over his shoulder.
I quickly realized something was wrong.
“What is it?”
“I think someone’s following us… or maybe not. I might be imagining it.”
I nervously looked back, but there was no one behind us.
I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.
I was probably just scaring myself.
As we got closer to the school gates, I gradually let my guard down.
Suddenly, a faint creak sounded behind us.
It was a quiet sound, but I still picked it up.
Tang Bưu immediately went on alert, his tail shooting up as he whipped around to look.
But before he could react, a kick sent him flying several yards.
At the same time, someone clamped an arm around my neck from behind.
“Ha! You’re so capable, aren’t you? You can even talk to pets, right? Then go ahead and talk—let’s see who comes to save you!”
That voice sounded familiar. I recognized it immediately—it was the thief Tiểu Hổ had caught last time!
I couldn’t believe he’d gotten out of prison so quickly!
He was so strong that it felt as if all the air around me had been sucked away. I struggled and tried to elbow him, but it was no use.
Before my vision blurred completely, I saw Tang Bưu stagger to his feet, apparently about to charge at him.
“Don’t come over here, Tang Bưu! Run!”
But this time, Tang Bưu didn’t listen. He charged straight at the man, crouched, and leaped.
Tang Bưu drove his claws straight into the thief’s eyes!
I twisted around and used the “monkey steals the peach” move, striking him right in a vulnerable spot.
The man let out another agonized scream.
He let go, and I immediately scooped Tang Bưu up and ran for the kindergarten as fast as I could.
The thief wouldn’t give up. He chased right after us, closing to within six to ten feet.
I wasn’t very strong, and he gradually caught up.
Suddenly, he produced a dagger from somewhere and plunged it into my back.
Blood immediately gushed out.
A searing pain spread across my back, and I staggered and fell to the ground.
When I saw him raise the knife again, I hugged Tang Bưu tightly, closed my eyes, and braced for the next blow.
But just then, lights came on at the kindergarten.
Tiểu Hổ was the first to charge out, barking loudly:
“There’s a bad guy!”
Right after that, a commotion rose from inside the classrooms:
“Where? Where’s the bad guy?”
“Teacher, don’t be scared! I’m coming to save you!”
“I’m coming too! I’m coming too! Don’t leave me behind!”
“Anyone who dares bully our teacher, I’ll throw poop at him!”
Everything was utter chaos.
But it was also deeply reassuring.
17.
I was saved.
Seeing a pack of dogs charging toward him, the thief turned and ran in terror.
But no matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t outrun the dogs.
In less than a minute, they took him down, and he hit the ground.
Just then, a group of parents ran out of the kindergarten.
Thành Thành’s mother shouted:
“Call the police, quick!”
Đậu Đậu’s father cried out in a panic:
“No, wait! Call an ambulance first! The teacher’s hurt!”
Pip’s mother was the calmest of all:
“Stop the bleeding first! I’m a nurse. Get the first-aid kit!”
Lying on the ground, my head spinning and my vision swimming from blood loss,
I gathered the last of my strength and shouted:
“Help Tang Bưu first!”
Then I blacked out.
When I woke up, I saw a crowd gathered around my hospital bed.
“What about Tang Bưu? Where is he?” I asked anxiously.
Ms. Vương gently patted my hand and reassured me:
“He’s fine. The doctor said he only has some superficial scrapes. A little bandaging and he’ll be all right.”
When I heard Tang Bưu was all right, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
I was the one who’d decided to keep him at the kindergarten in the first place. I’d promised to take responsibility for him.
Right after that, I asked:
“What about Tiểu Hổ’s mother? Is she all right? That thief holds a grudge. I don’t know if he hurt her before coming after me.”
Ms. Vương smiled reassuringly:
“She’s fine. Tiểu Hổ’s mother wasn’t home that day, so luckily she escaped harm.”
Hearing that, I was completely reassured.
Ms. Vương added that the thief had been arrested by the police. For intentionally causing bodily harm, he’d be spending at least a few years in prison.
Besides, by the time the police arrived, the pack of dogs had bitten him all over, leaving him covered in blood. He howled in pain all night.
I nodded to show I understood.
18.
But I was still curious:
“Why were you all at the kindergarten so late?”
The whole group scratched their heads, at a loss for words.
Finally, Xuân Lai stepped forward to explain:
“Yesterday was your birthday. Your parents are both overseas, and you were all alone. We wanted to throw you a surprise birthday party, so we hid in the classroom to get everything ready.
“We never expected you to run into a bad person outside.
“Not only did we fail to celebrate your birthday, but you ended up in the hospital, too…”
So that was what had happened.
Ever since I opened the pet kindergarten, I’d been so busy that I’d lost track of the days. Honestly, I hadn’t even remembered that yesterday was my birthday.
Looking at their embarrassed faces, I smiled brightly:
“It’s not too late to celebrate! I’ll pick a nice day, and we can all celebrate together!
“How about three days from now? It’ll be the kindergarten’s six-month anniversary, too!”
Three days later, I sneaked out of the hospital and went back to the kindergarten.
Tang Bưu was the first to run out and greet me.
“Lục Kỳ Kỳ, Tang Bưu wasn’t worried about you at all!”
“I know. I wasn’t worried about Tang Bưu, either.”
He snorted, held his head high, and led me into the classroom.
The moment I stepped inside, there was a series of “pop, pop!” sounds. Confetti and streamers filled the air, dazzling in every direction.
Everyone gathered around me and shouted:
“Happy birthday, Principal!”
Ms. Vương wheeled out a huge cake and lit the candles for me.
I clasped my hands in front of my chest, closed my eyes, and made a heartfelt wish:
“I hope the pet kindergarten keeps thriving, and that all the animals stay safe and sound.”
— THE END —