Misty the Scared Kitten (4 page)

‘How was the sleepover, Kitty-cat?’ asked Grandma, bending down to kiss her hello.

Kitty thought Grandma seemed nervous.
She must have been worried about my allergies
, she decided. ‘It was fun, Grandma!’ she reassured her. ‘And I didn’t sneeze much.’

Grandma nodded. ‘That’s good,’ she said. ‘Is there anything else you want to tell me?’

Kitty looked at Grandma, puzzled. ‘Like what?’ she asked.

‘Oh, nothing,’ said Grandma, shaking her head. ‘Come along, girls.’

All the way home, they talked about Misty. ‘Why don’t you come in and play with her again for a bit, Kitty?’ Jenny suggested as they walked down their street.

‘Can I, Grandma?’ asked Kitty hopefully.

‘As long as it’s all right with Jenny’s mum,’ agreed Grandma. ‘And as long as you’re home for tea!’

Once Jenny had checked it was OK,
Jenny and Kitty raced through the house, calling for Misty. ‘I bet she’s in that sunny spot by the kitchen window!’ said Jenny – but Misty wasn’t there.

‘Maybe she’s in the garden,’ suggested Kitty. They went outside and looked around, peering under bushes and behind trees. Kitty got a funny feeling in her tummy as she looked under the hedge at the end of the garden. Even though she knew she had only dreamed about hiding inside it last night, it still
felt
real.

‘Mum, we can’t find Misty anywhere!’ said Jenny as her mum came outside with two glasses of juice for them.

‘Oh, I think she’s in your bedroom,’
she replied. ‘It’s odd. She was settling in so well yesterday. She seemed to love the garden – she kept jumping through the cat flap with a funny little wriggle, as if she couldn’t wait to get outside!’

Kitty almost dropped her glass of juice in surprise.
Misty did that in my dream!
she thought.

‘But today, she hasn’t been in the garden once,’ Jenny’s mum went on. ‘She’s jumped at every loud noise and hidden under the sofa. When I tried to encourage her to go outside, she bolted upstairs.’

Jenny looked worried. ‘I hope nothing’s happened to frighten her. Let’s go and find her, Kitty.’

As the girls ran upstairs, Kitty’s heart
was beating fast.
Was Misty afraid to go outside because of the Persian cats? Had it been real?
She needed to talk to Misty – alone!

The silver tabby was huddled on Jenny’s bed, and gave a little miaow when Jenny and Kitty knelt down to stroke her.

‘Let’s try the ball of wool again!’ said Jenny, rolling it across the floor – but Misty didn’t seem to feel like playing today.

‘Don’t worry,’ Kitty reassured Jenny. ‘She’s probably just tired. She had a busy day yesterday, meeting her new family!’

Jenny nodded, but Kitty could tell she was upset about Misty. ‘Let’s read your new
Animal Girl
magazine,’ Kitty suggested, keen to take Jenny’s mind off it.

They read the magazine together, and were just filling in the puzzle section when Jenny’s mum called up, ‘Can you come down and set the table, Jenny?’

‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ Jenny told Kitty. She nodded, her heart pounding. This was her chance! The moment she heard Jenny’s footsteps thumping downstairs, Kitty turned to Misty and looked right into the tabby’s blue eyes.

‘Misty,’ she said quietly, ‘maybe I’m just imagining things … but was last night real? Did I turn into a cat?’

She waited for a second, and felt her cheeks flush. She was going to feel so silly if this was all in her head! But to her amazement, Misty reached out a paw, placed it gently on Kitty’s hand and miaowed emphatically.

‘I
knew
it felt real!’ gasped Kitty. ‘And is the reason you haven’t been
outside all day because of those horrible cats, Fang and Claws?’

Misty gave a frightened little shiver. Kitty stroked her head comfortingly –
and then remembered something else. ‘The Cat Council!’ she breathed. ‘You called a meeting with them, for tonight. We can ask them what to do about those cats – as well as finding out why I can turn into one!’

Misty’s little ears twitched and she glanced towards the door. Kitty listened, and heard Jenny coming back upstairs. ‘Meet me in my garden tonight!’ she whispered quickly. ‘I live three houses away – it’s the one with the oak tree and the Wendy house.’ Misty tilted her head to one side, looking worried. Kitty stroked her reassuringly. ‘It will be OK, Misty. Just make sure those nasty cats aren’t around, then make a run for it.’ The
little cat looked up at Kitty and miaowed quickly in agreement.

As Jenny came back into the room, Kitty turned back to the word search they had been doing – but she could barely concentrate. Her whole body was tingling. What was going to happen tonight?

Kitty was desperate for bedtime that evening. As soon as she and Grandma had eaten dinner, she raced upstairs and put her pyjamas on. Grandma chuckled when she saw them. ‘Are you tired, sweetheart?’ she asked, her eyes twinkling. ‘Your sleepover must have worn you out!’

Kitty smiled. Sleeping was the last thing she was going to do!

Grandma read a story with Kitty, then pulled the curtains closed. ‘Goodnight,’ she said softly, and shut the door. Kitty listened to Grandma pottering about in the kitchen before eventually going into her own bedroom. Finally, the house was quiet.

Kitty threw back the covers, tiptoed downstairs, slipped outside and stood barefoot on the moonlit grass. She squinted, wishing her human eyes could see as well as her cat eyes. But even in the darkness, she could tell that Misty wasn’t there.
She must have decided she’s too frightened of Fang and Claws to come,
Kitty thought, feeling disappointed.
How will I find the Cat Council now?

Then she heard a miaow from above her head. She looked up and saw a little
cat perched in the oak tree. ‘Misty!’ she whispered happily. The silver tabby leapt down and landed lightly on the grass, rubbing her furry head around Kitty’s ankles.

‘Now I just need to turn into a cat!’ whispered Kitty. She tried to remember exactly how it had happened last night. Her nose had been itching, and she’d sneezed …

‘I’m going to need your help!’ Kitty told Misty. She bent down close and buried her nose in the tabby’s silky fur. Straight away, she could feel the itchy feeling in her nose and a noisy sneeze burst out of her. ‘Aaaaaaa CHOOOO!’

Kitty crossed her fingers for luck and waited. She could feel the sparkling,
shimmering sensation spreading through her body again. She gave one more big sneeze – ‘AAAAACHOOOO!’ – and when she opened her eyes, she was whisker to whisker with Misty.

‘It worked!’ purred Misty.

Kitty looked around the garden. Everything looked clearer and every sound was sharper, from the rumble of Misty’s purr to the
chirp-chirp
of a grasshopper on a nearby branch. Kitty swished her tail, twitched her whiskers and practised trotting around on her padded paws, getting used to being back in her cat form. ‘Thanks, Misty!’ she miaowed. ‘I’m so glad you’re here. I thought you weren’t coming!’

‘I was nervous about those horrid
Persians,’ Misty admitted. ‘I heard them prowling around. That’s why I hid in the tree until you came outside!’

‘We can’t let them bully you, Misty,’ Kitty told her friend firmly. ‘You’ve been stuck inside all day because of those mean cats! Let’s hope the Cat Council can help.’

‘And tell us why you’re turning into a cat too!’ added Misty. ‘Come on, let’s go. I’ve never been to this Council’s meeting place before, but we can use our noses to find the way.’

Kitty stared. ‘Really?’

Misty raised her head and sniffed. Then she padded over to Kitty’s Wendy house, jumped on to the roof and from there, leapt on to the garden fence. ‘This way!’

Kitty followed cautiously. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to jump on to the Wendy house roof – it seemed very high!

‘Crouch low on all four legs,’ Misty called encouragingly. ‘Then spring up! It’s easy.’

Kitty crouched, took a deep breath, then pushed off. She didn’t jump quite high enough, and had to scrabble with her paws to get on to the roof – but she’d made it! Jumping on to the fence was easier. ‘My legs feel so strong!’ she miaowed, gazing around. ‘And we’re so high up. I can see into every garden on the street!’

‘Now, use your claws to grip the fence, and your tail for balance,’ Misty
explained, sniffing again to check they were going in the right direction.

‘Slow down – I might fall!’ said Kitty, carefully putting one paw in front of
the other. But to her surprise, she could trot along just as quickly as Misty, her tail swaying from side to side. She followed Misty along the fence, on to a shed roof, and down an alleyway. They emerged in a patch of woodland that was full of bluebells.

‘This must be it!’ whispered Misty excitedly.

Kitty saw a group of cats sitting in a circle. As Kitty and Misty padded up to them, they turned to look at the newcomers. Kitty swallowed nervously. They had arrived at the Cat Council!

As Kitty and Misty got closer, some of the cats stepped aside to let them walk into the middle of the circle.
I’ve never seen so many cats together before!
Kitty thought. There were silver tabbies like Misty; sleek gingers; tortoiseshells, fluffy greys with big blue eyes and even three kittens with fur the colour of honey.