The Elusive Rebound

Slipping beneath the door sweep from the cold lawn, I shook the dry grass grit from my talons. Near the baseboard in the quiet hallway lay an ultralight white ping-pong ball, hollow and deceptively still. Left head hissed at its weightless poise; right head dipped low, murmuring at the faint seam encircling its flank. Center head brooked no taunting stillness. I struck its curved shell with a swift downward thrust of my center snout. With a crisp, hollow pop, the ball darted across the hardwood, ricocheting erratically off the skirting board. Left and right heads snapped in pursuit, while center lunged, slamming both clawed feet down to trap the spinning sphere dead underfoot.