On a dark, gloomy night Louisa was taking the trash to the garbage can in the driveway when she heard a rattle. Ignoring the sounds, she proceeded to the trash can, convinced she had imagined the noise. However, when she opened the garbage can, a skinny masked creature jumped out at her. Louisa nearly screamed, but stifled the shout before it had a chance to escape her lips. Quickly, Louisa plopped the trash in the garbage and dashed back inside, fleeing from the creature who prowled about the night. 

Later that night Louisa was still pondering her scare by the trash can. She wondered whether to tell her parents or not – would they even care about the encounter? As she pictured the event again in her mind, she pauses, for the first time noticing something strange about the creature. He had been so skinny! Immediately, she felt bad for the raccoon, for it probably just wanted to eat, which explains why it was hanging near the trash. With new purpose and resolve,  she decided she wanted to help feed the hungry creature.

Around ten-thirty that night when her parents had already gone to bed, Louisa hatched a plan: every night she would sneak out and open the trash can for the raccoon to eat out of. She figured her parents would not approve of inviting animals to dine on their trash, so she thought it best to keep this a secret. She grinned happily as she sat on the couch, for now the raccoon would be healthy again. 

When  it was nearly eleven-fifteen at night, Louisa set out to help the raccoon. She quietly opened the back door and tiptoed outside. She spotted the raccoon, who looked at her curiously as it lurked near the closed trash can. Startled by the stare, her heart quickened and she paused momentarily. Louisa took a deep breath and then another,  breathing to calm herself; she knew that  raccoons aren’t nice animals, but wanted to help it all the same. Silently, she opened the lid of the can and stepped away. Soon enough, the raccoon had jumped into the trash and was chomping on the contents. She smiled contentedly, knowing that she had helped the hungry animal. 

After the raccoon finished dining and jumped out the trash, Louisa went to close the lid, and as she was doing so, the still skinny raccoon walked up to her. Shivers ran down her body, but she tried not to show fear. The creature stood still, looking up at her as if he wanted to speak. Then, she understood. The raccoon was grateful. She bent down and whispered, “You’re welcome, little buddy.”

The next morning Louisa woke up and her mind bounced back to the night before. What was she thinking? Raccoons are wild animals! Did she make a mistake in feeding him? Then, she remembered his look of gratitude, and she decided that she would keep feeding the raccoon. This raccoon needed her and she wanted to help the raccoon so that the raccoon lived a good healthy life. She also knew that her parents could not find out about this. 

Night after night, she snuck out to open the trash can. And while she continued this for weeks, she didn’t catch sight of the creature for some time. After about a month, after her parents had gone to bed, Louisa snuck out again to find the raccoon. Then, she spotted him lurking in the shadows! However, she almost didn’t recognize him because he had gotten so fat, but when he approached her and gazed into her as he had done before, she knew this was the same raccoon. She opened the trash, and he dove in. Then, when he was done he jumped out and approached Louis once more. This time she reached down and pet his head gently. She beamed with joy to see him so happy and healthy.