Misty the Scared Kitten (3 page)

In the kitchen, Misty trotted up to the cat flap that Jenny’s stepdad had fixed in place that afternoon. She nimbly dived through it, landing on the other side with an excited little wriggle. The flap swung shut again, and Kitty poked her nose against it cautiously. She didn’t want to get stuck halfway! She pushed it with her paw, then took a deep breath and jumped. She managed to get through in one go, but lost her balance as she landed, and sprawled on the grass.

‘Sorry, Kitty,’ Misty giggled. ‘I should have held it open. This must be so strange for you.’

‘That’s OK,’ said Kitty, pulling herself back to all fours and looking around excitedly.

Jenny’s back garden seemed like a different world: a moonlit jungle, full of exciting sounds, smells and places to explore. Kitty’s cat eyes could see every blade of grass perfectly, and her sensitive ears could hear a mosquito buzzing at the other end of the garden! Looking around, she padded over to a puddle on the ground, shimmering in the moonlight like a mirror. She peered down at her reflection.

Instead of a small girl with dark hair, a little black cat stared back at her! Kitty gazed at her furry ears and the sprinkling of white whiskers on either
side of her little black nose. All four of her paws were white and, as she curled her tail up into the air, she saw that had a white tip too.

And what was that around her neck? Kitty looked closer. It was the special necklace that Grandma had given her – but it had transformed into a collar! One thing was different, though: the picture of the cat had disappeared from the charm, and now there was the outline of a girl instead.

‘This is all so weird,’ Kitty said. ‘I don’t know what’s happening to me!’

Behind her, Misty miaowed in agreement. ‘I’ve never heard of a girl turning into a cat before!’ she said. ‘But I know who we can ask: the Cat Council.’

‘What’s that?’ asked Kitty.
This dream is getting stranger by the moment!
she thought.
But I guess I’m just going to have to go with it until I wake up – or turn back into a girl!

‘There’s a Cat Council in every
town. It’s where all the local cats meet to talk and help each other with problems,’ explained Misty. ‘I can’t wait to go to my first meeting here. The Council and their Guardian will help you. And apparently, this Council’s Guardian is really special!’ Her eyes were bright with excitement.

‘What’s a Guardian?’ said Kitty. It sounded very impressive.

‘Every Cat Council has an extra-wise cat who can help with any really serious cat problems,’ Misty told her. ‘I’m sure the Guardian will be able to help you, Kitty. Why don’t we call a meeting for tomorrow night? It’s done the same way everywhere, so all cats know what to do.’

‘OK! So how do we do it?’ asked Kitty.

‘Watch!’ said Misty. She padded up to the garden fence and scratched three claw marks on it, making a triangle shape, and rubbed her fur against the marking. She then made a long miaow that echoed into the night. Kitty’s ears pricked up excitedly as she heard other cats miaow back in the distance.

‘That’s the sign that a cat needs help from the Cat Council,’ explained Misty. ‘If cats hear the signal, they check fences and lamp-posts for this special symbol! They’ll be able to tell from the scent of my fur that I called the meeting.’

Kitty gave the post a sniff. To her surprise, she could make out Misty’s unique scent.

‘Wow,’ she said. She had so many questions for the Cat Council already, even if she
was
dreaming all this! ‘So cats can talk to each other?’

‘Of course! Just like we are now. And cats can understand humans too,’ Misty explained. ‘So I could listen to you and Jenny chatting today.’ Her blue eyes lit up. ‘Jenny’s great,’ she purred happily. ‘I’m so happy I get to play with her all the time! And I’m glad we’re friends too, Kitty. It’s going to be really fun having a human friend who can turn into a cat!’

Before Kitty knew what was
happening, Misty gave a mischievous
miaow
– and then pounced! Kitty squealed in surprise as she tumbled to the ground. As she and Misty rolled playfully in the grass, Kitty felt a warm, happy feeling in her tummy and then
heard a low rumbling sound. She realised the sound was coming from
her
. ‘I’m purring!’ she gasped.

This was amazing! Kitty decided not to worry too much about whether this was a dream or not. She was just going to enjoy it while it lasted!

But unexpectedly, there was a soft
thump
and a low hissing sound behind them. Kitty and Misty spun around, and Kitty felt her ears prick up and her fur stand on end. In the shadow of the garden fence stood a large Persian cat with fluffy white fur, glaring at them through mean yellow eyes. Crouched on the fence was a second white Persian, with an expression just as nasty as the first. With another
thump,
he
bounded down into the garden.

‘You are on
our
territory,’ hissed the first cat, flicking his tail.

‘I’m Claws, and that’s my twin brother, Fang. And guess what? This garden belongs to us,’ said the other cat, baring his sharp teeth.

Kitty gulped. The garden felt very dark and dangerous all of a sudden, and these cats were big. Misty took a brave step forward and gave her friendliest miaow. ‘I’m Misty, and this is Kitty,’ she explained. ‘It’s nice to meet you. I just moved here today, so –’

Fang interrupted her rudely. ‘We don’t care who you are, New Cat,’ he spat. ‘All gardens around here belong to us now, including this one.
So you’d better scram! And if we see a
whisker
of you here again, you’ll be dog food!’

‘B-but this is where I live!’ Misty protested, her eyes wide in alarm.

‘We don’t care!’

The Persian cats stepped closer, their eyes narrowed into cruel slits, and began prowling in a circle around Kitty and Misty, who huddled close together. Kitty felt her heart beating fast and noticed her back was starting to rise into an arch, the way she’d seen cats do when they were scared. ‘What shall we do, Misty?’ she whispered.

‘Quick!’ miaowed Misty. ‘Run!’

She darted across the garden. Kitty didn’t stop to think – she sprang past
the Persian cats and raced after Misty as fast as her new paws would carry her, just as the first cat swiped his sharp claws right where her head had been! There were angry snarls behind her, and Kitty glanced back to see Claws and Fang chasing after them. Quickly, she and Misty squeezed inside the thick hedge at the end of the garden. Misty backed away, but Kitty peered out of the leaves, panting hard. To her relief, the Persian cats stopped outside the hedge. Kitty heard them growling menacingly.

‘You’ll have to come out of there sometime,’ she heard Fang snarl. ‘And when you do, we’re going to get you!’

Kitty turned to Misty. ‘Shall we make a run for it?’ she whispered.

‘I’m not sure,’ said Misty, looking very worried. ‘We might be able to sneak out and run back to the cat flap before they notice – oh – what’s that?’

She nodded at the ground by Kitty’s front paws. Kitty looked down and saw something glinting in the moonlight. Her collar! It must have fallen off as she squeezed into the hedge.

Picking it up, she saw that some tiny words were etched on the back of the silver charm. Without even thinking, Kitty read them aloud.

‘Kitten paws to human toes,

Kitten whiskers, human nose.’

Right at that moment, Claw lost his temper. ‘Fine – I’m coming to get you!’ he growled, and Kitty saw him
crouching down as he got ready to pounce.

Suddenly, Kitty’s nose began to tickle. Her tail itched and her paws twitched – and just as the Persian sprang into the hedge, everything around her went dark.

‘Girls! Time to get up!’ called Jenny’s mum.

Slowly, Kitty opened her eyes. The sun was streaming through the gap in her friend’s bedroom curtains. Jenny was still cuddled up in bed with Misty curled by her feet and Kitty was safely in her sleeping bag. She reached for her necklace and saw that it was
the tiny cat charm again – not a collar.

Kitty lay there for a moment, as the memories from last night flashed through her mind. She remembered the amazement she had felt as she looked down at her furry black paws … being able to speak to Misty … the nasty Persian cats in the garden … and then, as she’d read the strange words on her collar, turning back into a girl. The Persians had been so shocked they had fled the garden as quickly as their paws could carry them. When she was sure they’d gone, Kitty had carried a trembling Misty back inside the house.

It had all
felt
so real, but …

Kitty sat up and reached over to stroke Misty. ‘Can you understand
me?’ she whispered softly. But Misty just rubbed her head against Kitty’s hand, purring.

Kitty felt a little bit relieved – and a little bit disappointed too.
It must have been a dream,
she told herself.
But it was the strangest, most magical dream I’ve ever had.

Just then, Jenny stirred. ‘Kitty,’ she said sleepily. ‘Were you talking to Misty?’

Kitty felt herself blush. ‘I was only saying good morning,’ she told her friend. ‘Come on, let’s get ready for school.’

By the time Grandma picked them up from school that afternoon, Kitty had almost forgotten about her funny dream.