M.C. Striker Spring-Loaded Duel

I wriggled out of my fuzzy slipper bunker and stalked down the hallway toward a woven wicker laundry basket. Clipped right to its canvas liner was a two-pronged wooden clothespin, poised in silence. I crept close, flared my ears, and prodded its blunt nose with a claw. Nothing happened. Daring further, I threw my weight behind both palms and squeezed the rear levers together. Snap! The wooden jaws sprang wide open against the coiled steel spring. A startled hiss burst from my throat, followed by a raspy chitter. Leaning forward, I clamped the wooden maw onto the thick wicker rim, victorious over my little spring-loaded rival.