🔤 F Is for Fuzz

Cola could read. She read the labels on the treat boxes, the names on the doors and even the words on the fridge magnets. Fuzz thought it was the cleverest thing ever.

"Can you teach me?" he asked, his tongue sticking out with excitement. "Of course," said Cola, and she fluttered her eyelashes. "Let's start with your name."

She arranged some fridge magnets on the floor. "This is F," she said. "It looks like a flag on a pole. F says fff, like when a cat is a tiny bit cross. Fff!" Fuzz tried. "Fff!" It came out with a little spit, and they both giggled.

"This is U," said Cola. "It looks like a cup, or a smile. U says uh." "Uh," said Fuzz. "Like when I don't know an answer." "Exactly," said Cola.

"And this," said Cola, "is Z. It looks like a zigzag, like lightning. Z says zzz, like a sleeping cat." "Zzz," said Fuzz, pretending to snore.

"Your name has two Zs," said Cola. "F, U, Z, Z. Fffff, uh, zzzz. Fuzz!" Fuzz stared at the four letters on the floor. "That's me," he whispered. "That's my name!"

He was so happy that he jumped up and down, and his bell went jingle-jingle. "Now let's do yours!" he said. Cola put out C, O, L, A. Fuzz sounded them out slowly. "C-o-l-a. Cola!"

That night, Fuzz pushed the magnets around until they spelled FUZZ + COLA, and put a heart magnet in the middle. When Cola saw it in the morning, she purred all through breakfast.