The queue seemed quite endless. Every few minutes they shuffled their paws about a foot or so further on until eventually they reached a ticket office.

'Two adults and two cubs,' announced Papa Paws.

Money was exchanged, and the lady handed over four tickets saying with a smile, 'Be sure to enjoy yourselves at this years Ideal Home Exhibition.'

This had been Mama's idea. She had dropped hints about it for weeks. They trotted around endless stalls watching smartly dressed sales people trying to interest them in their wares. Soon Papa was laden with brochures, Puff with sweets, while Padders had escaped onto one of the fun rides for children and Mama was having an indepth discussion with a lady about dishwashers. She had never thought about getting a dishwasher before, but now the idea was sounding tantalising and she was beginning to see it was a necessity!

'When are we going to see the Ideal Home?' sighed Puff as she elbowed her way through the crowd.

'We'll go right now,' said Papa as he gathered them together and set out to join another queue. It seemed that everyone had decided to see the Ideal Home at the same time.

As they waited their turn, they chatted among themselves and the topic of discussion was in fact ideal homes.

'What's your ideal home, Puff ?' asked Papa.

'Well,' Puff started to describe her magnificent mansion in the greatest detail, not forgetting to include a jacuzzi in the bathroom suite and a Grecian-style indoor swimming pool with a big slide to swish her into its water.

'Alright, I get the idea,' interrupted Papa. 'Let's give Padders a turn. What's your ideal home?'

'Mine, Papa?' He went on to detail an extremely modern place with a variety of high tech gadgets, a large snooker room, one solely for his train set, and on and on he went allowing his imagination to run riot.

'And yours, honey. What is your ideal home?' Mama started to describe her own humble abode as it was, with the only addition being a dishwasher!

Papa got the hint too!

'And yours, Papa?' asked Puff.

'Mine? Well you have all described beautiful places, but none would compare with mine. Mine is the ideal home. And its not my design at all. It was designed by God and its details are found in your Bibles. It is heaven, a place where there is endless light, no crying or pain, only joy and love and happiness.' Papa described heaven in such wonderful terms that, as they reached the front of the queue and were ready to explre the ideal home itself, it was all a bit of an anticlimax, a let down. No home could be as good as heaven. Papa made sure to point out that only those who are right with God and good and obedient to Him can ever hope of seeing it. Suddenly, oh no, no, no! Puff remembered something. Papa jogged her memory as he mentioned being good. Panic struck her.

'Whatever is the matter, Puff?' asked Mama with concern.

'Tomorrow we ... we get... we get our school reports.'

' Well, sure there's nothing to worry about if you ahve been good,' remarked Papa, making her even more edgy!

Puff couldn't enjoy another minute of the exhibition. She could not even enjoy a good night's sleep. Her breaskfast even taster bland.

The postman usually came early and she was expecting the report through the post. Padders was expecting his too but he had an air of confidence which made Puff glare at him.

Suddenly, there was a thud as a bundle of mail dropped through the letterbox. Papa collected it. There were bright coloured circulars; and there were some brown envelopes which turned out to be bills. And there were two white envelopes - it must be them! They looked identical, but puff knew their contents wouldn't be identical! the problem was that Puff didn't know which one was hers, because they were both addressed to her parents. Papa tore open the first one wasting no time.

'A' for maths!'

Well Puff instantly knew it wasn't hers!

'Well done Padders.' In fact he had a list of 'A's' and one 'B'. The commentas were encouraging too - 'He mixes well with others; he was courteous with his teachers.'

Puff was feeling sick.

'What does it say?' asked Mama. Puff hadn't dared to ask.

'It says, Puff trys hard. I am pleased with your results, Puff.'

It couldn't be her report. What was Papa talking about? She looked at it for herself and saw a scattering of C's and D's. Had Papa misread it? Her results were terrible compared to Padders.

'Puff, I am pleased with you. Your grades maybe aren't the best but there are better than they were and it says you try hard. Well done!'

Puff couldn't believe her ears!

Then Papa went on to explain to them that every one of them, himself included, will have to get a report from God. 'It is He who search us and examine us to reward us according to our conduct, according to what our deeds deserve.

'That's the most important report you will ever get,' he reminded them, another lesson for them to be good and please God in their words, thoughts and deeds.

'Then we will get to heaven?' asked Padders, eager to get a good report from God too.

'Yes, then we will get to our ideal home.'