I barely noticed the black fur peaking out of the entrance of the small cave. My heart jumped into my throat as I realized how close I was to unknowingly stumbling into the den of a terrifying beast. I quickly ran behind the nearest tree and fell to the ground with my back against the rough surface of the trunk. To my luck, the beast was sound asleep and had not noticed me. Feelings of fear and dread washed through my body, the same way it used to when my mother put me to bed at night and all the lights got turned off. My mother used to tell me that she had fought off all the monsters in my closet and under my bed, so there was no point in being scared. I wished I had my mother around now to help me fight off this monster.

I dared to peak around the trunk of the thick tree to see the beast still motionless within the cave. I had come here for a reason and I couldn’t let my fear get in the way of my goal.

The beast possessed something important of mine and I was determined to get it back.

In my right hand I held a sword capable of slaying even the most powerful of monsters. I gripped it tight and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I slowly and quietly left the safety of my tree and tiptoed closer to the beasts lair. I calculated each and every step I took in order to avoid making any unnecessary noise. The beast possessed an advanced sense of hearing, which made my surprise attack all the more difficult. My only advantage being that the beast was sound asleep. If I could manage to sneak around the beast I would take what was mine and leave. The beast would not be harmed unless I had no other choice.

As I neared the entrance of the cave I had to pause to calm my rapidly beating heart. I pushed my body tightly against the outside of the entrance and poked my head through the narrow passage.

The white round object of my desire came into my view, lying inches away from the beasts nose. I gripped my sword so tightly in my fist that my knuckles turned white. With one final deep breath, I crawled into the cave.

Carefully, avoiding physical contact with the beast, I made my way around its backside towards its head. Before I knew it, I was face to face with the sleeping creature. I reached my hand out to grasp the object but all of a sudden the beasts eyes ripped open.

In the same second, the beast snatched the white ball into its mouth and I bolted towards the exit. The beast was quick on my heels, bounding out of the den right behind me. Y white ball in its mouth. The beast, on all four legs, was larger and faster than I was. I lunged toward it with my sword, but the beast was quicker and it pounced toward me, knocking me over with one jump. I fell backwards into the grass, the beast hovering over me. We looked each other in the eyes before it dropped the white ball next to my head and licked my face from chin to forehead.

I began withering on the ground and giggling as my big black labrador dog attacked me with his tongue. His tail wagged frantically, and I managed to wiggle out from underneath him. I stood up and quickly snatched the ball off the ground. The ball was soaked in slobber but I didn’t care.

“This isn’t yours! Dogs can’t play baseball, silly!” I said to my dog with a giggle. The dog responded by wagging its tail and sticking its behind in the air in anticipation of me throwing it. Instead, I threw my sword which was actually just a large stick that I took off the tree I once hid behind.

“Get your own ball!” I laughed as I began walking back to the gate of my backyard fence. The neighborhood kids and I could finally resume our game of baseball, now that the beast had been slayed.