Seemingly, swallowing a squirrel was a bit much even for the powerful, indomitable, indoor/outdoor Ulysses 2000X. Mrs. Tickham’s birthday machine let out an uncertain roar and stuttered to a stop.

Mrs. Tickham bent over and looked down at the vacuum cleaner.

There was a tail sticking out of it.

“For heaven’s sake,” said Mrs. Tickham, “what next?”

She dropped to her knees and gave the tail a tentative tug.

She stood. She looked around the yard.

“Help,” she said. “I think I’ve killed a squirrel.”