Zima yelped as her brother pushed her over. "Ha ha!" he snorted while she was pinned on the ground. "Mama!" she cried, blowing her tail out of her face. Before anyone responded, her older sister, Pheonix, crashed into Griffin, bowling him over. They tumbled over and over until they ran into their mother. "What is it, Zima?" she said tiredly. Zima guessed she had just woken up from a nap. "Well, you see-" said Zima before Griffin cut her off, "Hey mama! Look what I can do!" he flipped over, Pheonix on his back, and stood up. Pheonix purred. He started running around and Pheonix clung to his back. Zima looked at them. That looks fun.. She thought. She wagged her tail and pounced on Pheonix, clinging to her back. Pheonix giggled in excitement. They ran around until Griffin collapsed, panting. "I called it the crazy zebra ride!" he mewed triumphantly. "You mean we," said Pheonix with a snort. Zima bounced to her mother's paws. "Can you hunt dinner now?" she whined. "Yeah," agreed Pheonix and Griffin at the same time. "Jinx!" said Pheonix promptly. "You owe me a hare!" she teased. "Cubs, get in the den." said their mother. "I'm going to hunt."

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Zima blinked her eyes open as she heard footsteps outside. She saw her mother's beautiful fur. "Guys!" she shouted to her siblings. They opened their eyes. "Mama's come back!" They went outside to see what she caught. And when they did, they couldn't believe what they saw. There was gray spotted fur soaked with blood, clamped between their mother's jaws.
         It was a cheetah.