Natty Stories/Page4

Little Girl Lost
Sarah Williams completed her purchase of her new daughter's wardrobe, one part angry, one part glad to be able to finish her shopping, and feeling a little bit guilty. She had only called to the child once, after all. But new parents were SUPPOSED to crack down, let the child know who was boss.

Oh, well. She might as well let Natty get those study materials. Striding towards the place where she'd left her wayward daughter, Sarah prepared to watch the girl's face light up, feeling quite generous - until she realized there was no child in the corner.

Sarah's fury ignited. So Natty thought she could get away with something like this, did she? She'd find different as they got her Very Own Spanking Paddle and hairbrush today, after all. And so much for the study texts.

Looking around, Sarah could not see the child anywhere. Going over to the sales attendant who had watched her spank Natty with amusement, Sarah asked, "Have you seen that naughty little girl?"

"No. Why, I thought you'd come back and got her!" said the very young attendant. "I went off to help a customer, and when I came back she was gone."

Through clenched teeth, Sarah thanked the attendant and began to look around the store. She couldn't have gotten that far!

Actually, she was 50 miles away by this time.

After fifteen minutes, Sarah gave up. Let the child be humiliated then.

Sarah spoke to the attendant, who picked up the phone. A moment later, her voice boomed across the entire mall. "Alert! A Penitatas is loose. All unaccompanied children to be restrained. All doors are to be checked. Penitatas is a three year old girl in a blue dress."

Sarah waited. Five minutes…ten minutes…twenty minutes…growing angrier by the second.

"Nothing," said the attendant, shaking her head in puzzlement. "She must be hiding really well."

But two hours later, following an evacuation of the mall and a scan for life signs, nothing was produced.

"She couldn't have gotten out of the mall!" cried Sarah, who had gradually gone from frankly furious to very worried. "She's too short to reach the doors. And there are guards!"

"Oh, she could have," assured the attendant. "Slip out with a big group of people, most likely."

"Or," said Sarah, her blood turning to ice at the thought, "she's been kidnapped."