Juniper Joins the Jazz Band

Every Thursday, music floated from the room at the end of the hall. Juniper listened from outside until a door left slightly open gave her the invitation she had been waiting for.

A brush whispered across a snare drum, a bass walked steadily below it, and the piano scattered bright notes overhead. Juniper found an empty instrument case and tapped its brass latch with one precise paw: click, click, pause, click.

The musicians repeated the phrase and left room for her answer. Juniper never learned the name of the tune, but from then on the band called it the Thursday-night kitten blues.