Winter had settled firmly over Hartola. Temperatures had already begun dipping below zero degrees Celsius, and although snowfall was yet to arrive, every morning the village woke up wrapped in white frost. The grass sparkled under the morning sun, and while the days had grown noticeably shorter, the winter sun felt especially warm and comforting.
Across the village, people were busy gathering grass and laying it out to dry, preparing fodder for their cattle for the harsh winter months ahead. Others were gathering firewood to keep the fireplaces running to ward off the cold.
Chloe, however, remained blissfully unaware of the changing season.
Every morning she would pester her parents relentlessly, insisting on long walks around the village. Her father would then spend at least an hour playing fetch with her favourite possession: a red, spiky rubber ball. Chloe was not just fond of it; she was obsessively possessive. She carried it everywhere, even to bed at night. On many occasions, she would fall asleep with the ball clenched firmly between her jaws. Katie, ever the responsible elder sister, would gently pry the ball out and place it back into the toy box.
They often played on the ramp beside the road, where Katie maintained her usual vigil beneath the pear tree from above. The tree, once lush and green, now stood bare; its canopy reduced to a web of naked branches, mirroring the starkness of winter.
This year, however, winter brought with it something more unsettling.
With forests thinning and human settlements expanding, wild animals had begun venturing closer to the village. Barking deer were now a common sight, but it was the leopards that caused real fear. Several pets in nearby areas had already fallen prey. Just the previous evening, a group of women collecting firewood near the jungle had come face to face with a leopard and returned home screaming in terror.
Chloe, as usual, remained unconcerned. Katie, on the other hand, grew even more watchful.
That Sunday was particularly bitter. The cold cut through layers, and Chloe shivered despite her excitement. Thinking a game of fetch might warm her up, her father took her outside. Dusk crept in as they played, and the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the Kokila Devi Maa temple perched atop the mountain.
Just as her father was about to throw the ball, a deep, rasping growl echoed nearby, the unmistakable sawing sound of a leopard. Softer purring sounds followed, possibly from a smaller animal.
In a split second, her father scooped Chloe into his arms and sprinted up the ramp towards the cottage. Katie, who had been barking furiously all along, as though trying to warn them, charged down the ramp towards the sound. She stood her ground at the edge, barking relentlessly for several minutes. Her mother screamed and pleaded for her to come back.
Katie glanced back once. Seeing Chloe and her father safely inside, she turned and bounded up the stone staircase, taking two steps at a time. With her long ears flying behind her, she looked like a gazelle in full flight.
Darkness had fallen by the time everyone settled indoors. The leopard’s roars continued for nearly half an hour before finally fading into the night.
Chloe, however, was restless.
She refused her dinner and paced anxiously around the cottage, repeatedly checking her toy box. That’s when her mother realised the truth. The red ball had been left behind on the ramp in the chaos.
Chloe did not sleep all night.
Early the next morning, the family searched for the ball, but it was nowhere to be found. By afternoon, five or six new balls of different sizes and colours were brought home. Chloe rejected them all. She hadn’t eaten since the previous evening and now looked weak and withdrawn.
Everyone was worried.
Katie watched silently. Somehow, she seemed to know exactly what had happened to the red spiky ball.
While the others were busy coaxing Chloe to eat, Katie quietly slipped away, following the concrete path beneath the road towards the forest; the same direction from which the leopard’s roars had come. A villager spotted her and called out, but she continued forward, eyes fixed ahead, moving with an eerie determination.
By the time the alarm was raised, Katie had crossed the small stream at the base of the mountain and disappeared into the jungle.
She moved cautiously, avoiding dry leaves, towards a natural cave believed to be a leopard’s lair. Soon, she could hear the soft purring of cubs. Taking shelter behind an oak tree, she edged closer.
The leopard cubs playing with Chloe’s ball as their mother slept
There they were, three leopard cubs playing gleefully with Chloe’s red spiky ball, while their mother lay nearby, basking in the late afternoon warmth.
Retrieving the ball directly was impossible.
Katie retreated silently and returned home. Relief washed over everyone when she appeared, but she didn’t stop. Without hesitation, she selected three of the newly bought balls. One by one, she forcefully tore out the squeakers and motion-activated LED lights.
Her parents watched in disbelief. This was unlike her. Katie had always been gentle with her toys.
Once the squeakers and lights were removed, with great effort, she clamped all three balls in her mouth and set off again towards the forest, despite the pain and discomfort.
Katie taking balls for the leopard cubs
Back at the cave, the cubs were now squabbling over Chloe’s ball while their mother slept with her back turned. Katie gently rolled one of the new balls towards them. Instantly, two cubs pounced on it. As they fought, the third cub grabbed Chloe’s ball.
Katie secretly watching the leopard cubs fight over Chloe’s red ball
Katie rolled the second ball towards the fighting pair. One cub abandoned the struggle and chased the new toy.
Suddenly, the third cub noticed Katie and approached her, still holding Chloe’s ball. Katie froze. If the mother leopard woke up, it would mean certain death.
With trembling resolve, Katie nudged the final ball towards the cub. Miraculously, the cub dropped Chloe’s ball, picked the new one and ran off to join its siblings.
That was her moment.
Katie grabbed the red spiky ball and fled silently.
The leopard cubs with their new balls
It was dusk when she finally appeared at home. Her fur was covered in burrs and hitchhiker weeds. She walked straight up the ramp and placed the ball gently in front of Chloe.
Chloe leapt up, squealed with joy, and smothered Katie with kisses, licking her face in gratitude.
At that very moment, a loud, thunderous leopard roar echoed through the valley; a warning, perhaps, that the mother had realised an intruder had come too close.
With her ball back, Chloe returned to her mischievous self and finally ate her meal.
As the parents sat down for dinner, the father suddenly slapped the table.
“Now I know why Katie removed the lights and squeakers,” he said.
“Why?” her mother asked still unable to comprehend Katie’s destructive display earlier in the day.
“With those inside, the cubs and their mother would have been easy targets for poachers. The sounds and lights could have given them away.”
Her mother smiled, pride shining in her eyes.
Katie, curled up nearby, heard everything and rested peacefully, knowing she had been understood.
Chloe fell asleep first, the red ball tucked safely beside her.
Outside, the long, echoing roars of the leopard continued deep into the winter night.
