The Magical Adventures of Tara and the Talking Kitten

by Cooper, Diana

  This book is dedicated to my grandchildren

  Isabel, Finn, Kailani and Maya

  and children everywhere who love kittens.

  Discussions points and exercices for children are available on relevant page of publisher website www.findhornpress.com

  Diana Cooper is well known for her books on angels, fairies, unicorns and the spiritual world, all written from her own personal experiences. For more information about these subjects see her website www.dianacooper.com - there is also a children’s corner.

  If you wish to talk to someone about the subjects in this book, the Diana Cooper School website lists teachers throughout the world: www.dianacooperschool.com

  Text © Diana Cooper 2011

  Edited by Elaine Wood

  Illustrations © Kate Shannon 2011

  Interior design by Thierry Bogliolo

  ISBN 978-1-84409-550-6

  All rights reserved.

  Printed in the European Union

  Published by

  Findhorn Press

  117-121 High Street

  Forres IV36 1PA

  Scotland, UK

  www.findhornpress.com

  Tara’s birthday

  It was Tara’s birthday, her seventh birthday, which is why she remembered it so well. It was the day something extraordinary happened and everything changed. It was like a miracle. However, the day did not start well.

  Tara wanted a party, but was not having one. Mum had said parties cost a fortune and they couldn’t afford it, she had also said no one would want to come. Jack has a lot of friends and so has Mel, but Tara doesn’t — her Mum says it is because she is horrid to everyone.

  Jack is Tara’s horrible little four year old brother (well he is quite nice sometimes) and Mel is her nine year old, goody-goody, butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-your-mouth sister, with long fair hair in a pony tail and a giggling gang of friends.

  Auntie Dottie and Granny were the only visitors Tara could expect today. Tara scowled and shrugged. “I don’t like the girls at school and I didn’t want a party anyway.” Tara flounced off to her room and slammed the door. Mum sighed.

  It wasn’t fair, Tara thought. She was different. Her hair was curly and messy. Her voice was too loud when she was excited and she never seemed to have a friend. And Mum was always cross with her.

  Tara heard the door bell. She didn’t dislike Auntie Dottie, but she was very fat and red faced. She also wore lots of perfume which suffocated you when she kissed you. Tara decided to try to be very good today. She ran down to the hall and stood by Mel and Jack, trying to stand like her sister. Dad opened the door and said heartily, “Hello Dottie, it’s lovely to see you.” Auntie Dottie wheezed and panted through the door. She was wearing a dress covered in red polka dots — the exact colour of her face — and carrying a huge handbag.

  Mum frowned a warning at Tara — whose eyes had grown as big as saucers staring at her rather large auntie dressed in rather large polka dots — and so did Dad. But she couldn’t help it.

  The words just jumped out of her mouth without asking her brain first. Before Auntie Dottie had even had time to say, ‘Happy birthday’ Tara squealed “Spotty Dottie! Yuck!”

  Dad, Mum and Mel scowled. Jack laughed. Auntie Dottie looked shocked.

  “Say sorry at once!” commanded her parents with one voice.

  “Sorry,” she muttered so quietly they could hardly hear her.

  “What a rude little girl! I brought you the singing doll you wanted for your birthday. Now I’m not going to give it to you.” Auntie Dottie put the parcel behind her back and headed for the kitchen.

  Tara shouted, “I hate you!” and ran up to her room howling. It wasn’t fair, it was her birthday and it was exactly the doll she had wanted. She was cross with everyone — including herself.

  Granny

  It was about an hour later that Tara heard Auntie Dottie leave. She kicked the bed in a temper before skipping downstairs — pretending nothing had happened. The phone rang as she burst into the kitchen. It was Granny calling to say she had a special birthday gift for Tara, but she wanted to check with Mum and Dad first. Her parents took the phone into the sitting room and shut the door. Tara, Mel and Jack tiptoed to the door to try to hear but Dad had turned off the loudspeaker. All they heard was Dad say “No!” very loudly and Mum murmur something about it maybe doing the child good.

  When her parents returned to the kitchen Dad looked a bit worried. Mum was smiling for once. But neither of them said a word. Tara knew she must be very, very good so she went into the garden and sat on the swing where she could not say or do anything wrong. Whatever could her present be?

  When Granny arrived she was carrying a basket. She carefully placed it on the floor, wished Tara a “Very Happy Birthday” and opened the lid. Out jumped a small grey kitten. With its tail straight up in the air like a mast it ran over to Tara and looked at her with big green eyes. Tara beamed from ear to ear as she knelt down and picked it up. “Oh thank you Granny. It’s the best present I’ve ever had.”

  She had no idea then just how special it was going to be. The magic started before lunch.

  “Come and help me get lunch,” Mum said to the others, “While Tara gets to know her kitten.”

  “You’ll need to choose a name for him,” said Dad, ushering the others out of the door.

  “Call him Smoky,” suggested Mel, “Because he’s grey.”

  “Or Snot,” added Jack, “Cos he’s got green eyes.” He paused. “If he was brown you could call him….” Dad grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him out of the room. Granny smiled at Tara as she shut the door behind her.

  My name is Ash-ting

  Tara sat by the beautiful kitten who was looking at her with his head cocked to one side. “Would you like to be called Smoky?” she crooned.

  Suddenly she felt as if something tapped her lightly on the forehead and she heard a voice say: “No, I’m Ash-ting.”

  Tara was silent with shock. The voice came again: “My name is Ash-ting.”

  “You can talk?” the little girl stared at her new kitten and croaked in surprise.

  “Of course,” responded the little grey ball of fluff. “All animals can talk, but not everyone can hear them like you do.”

  “Ash-ting,” she repeated. “That’s a funny name.”

  “You must never say that about a name,” responded Ash-ting severely. “Names are important. Ash is my colour and Ting is my dynasty.”

  “What’s a dynasty?”

  “It’s a family name.”

  Tara thought for a moment, then she smiled and her face lit up. “I think it’s a beautiful name and I think you are beautiful, too.”

  She picked Ash-ting up and he snuggled into her arms purring as she carried him into the dining room for her very special birthday lunch.

  Tara perched on one of the dining room chairs with the purring kitten on her knee. “His name is Ash-ting,” she announced proudly.

  “What a silly name,” jeered Jack and she could sense the family tensing as they waited for her outburst.

  “I think it’s a pretty name,” said Mum hastily.

  “Where did you get that name from?” Granny asked.

  But for once Tara did not rise to Jack’s bait.

  “Names are important,” she told them all with dignity. “Ash is his colour and,” she felt a thump between her eyes and looked at the kitten who was staring intently at her.

  “Stop, Tara! You can’t say Ting is my dynasty, they will not understand. Just say you like it.”

  Tara saw the sense of that. “And I just like Ting,” she
added airily.

  “Very nice,” said Dad, relieved a quarrel had been prevented. ‘But you can’t have Ash-ting at the table.’

  She was opening her mouth to protest when the kitten said, “Quite right! Say ‘Yes Daddy’ and put me in my basket please. I’m tired. I want to sleep.” He yawned, showing his pink tongue, and everyone said “Aaahhh.”

  “Yes Daddy,” replied Tara and leapt up to put the kitten in his basket. Mum and Dad looked at each other in surprise. She usually argued about everything! They both relaxed and smiled at Tara. Suddenly she felt a warm fuzzy happy feeling inside.

  After lunch Mel sulked. No one had ever seen her pout before. “It’s not fair you get a kitten,” she muttered darkly. And Jack ran round and round the house shouting, “I’m going to get a puppy. I’m going to get a dog of my very own.”

  Tara was just going to scream back, “No you’re not. Ha! Ha!” in her nasty voice but Ash-ting looked at her with his big green eyes and she kept quiet.

  “Can I hold him?” wheedled Mel.

  “He’s my kitten,” shouted Tara and was about to add, “so no you can’t,” when she felt the strange feeling in her forehead again.

  “Stop it Tara. Of course she can hold me,” said Ash-ting.

  Reluctantly Tara handed him over. She watched anxiously as he settled in Mel’s arms, purring loudly as she stroked him. What if he loved her sister more than her? Tara felt a horrid feeling in her stomach and she wanted to grab Ash-ting back.

  Almost immediately she felt what was becoming a familiar buzz in her forehead and she heard, “I’m your kitten, Tara.” She looked over at her lovely new kitten lying in her sister’s arms and smiled like she hadn’t smiled in a long time.

  Tara felt her life would never be the same again, but she did not know quite how much it would change.

  Auntie Dottie

  comes back

  At six o’clock the front door bell rang. The family looked at each other in surprise — they weren’t expecting anybody else to visit. The children raced to the door, followed by their parents. It was Auntie Dottie again, still wearing the red spotted dress and carrying her huge bag. Tara felt herself shrivel. She saw that Auntie Dottie was holding two big tubes of sweets and she just knew one would be for Jack and one for Mel. Her throat felt as if she had swallowed stinging nettles. She cuddled Ash-ting and tried not to cry.

  They all went into the sitting room. She wanted to hang back but Ash-ting purred and she realized he wanted her to go with the others.

  “It will be alright,” he purred. “Is there anything you like about your Auntie’s dress, just one nice thing?”

  Tara thought for a while and then silently answered: “Yes, I like the big brooch she’s wearing with the red shiny stones.”

  “Then smile at her and tell her you like it,” said Ash-ting.

  Encouraged by Ash-ting’s words Tara swallowed down the scratchy feeling in her throat and summoned up as sunny a smile as she could.

  “Auntie Dottie, I love your brooch. It’s all pretty and shiny,” she said. And then a strange thing happened. Auntie Dottie smiled back. She looked down at the two tubes of sweets and reached into her bag for a third one for Tara. Tara felt a smile in her chest.

  “Thank you Auntie Dottie. Would you like to stroke Ash-ting?”

  Auntie Dottie took the kitten and stroked him. Ash-ting purred loudly when she touched him. “He likes you,” volunteered Tara and her aunt looked soft and friendly.

  Then another miracle took place. Auntie Dottie handed the kitten back to Tara and rummaged in her bag, pulling out a big oblong box wrapped in coloured paper.

  “Perhaps I was a bit hasty this morning, Happy Birthday Tara.” Tara opened the box and took out the singing doll she had so much wanted.

  “Oh thank you Auntie Dottie,” she exclaimed. With the doll in one hand and Ash-ting in the other arm, she somehow managed to give her auntie a big hug. Little zings of delight jumped about inside her.

  Before bed time, as Tara was playing in her bedroom with her doll and Ash-ting, she whispered to him, “Thank you Ash-ting, this has been my best birthday ever because of you.”

  He yawned. “Thank you too Tara and well done. I told you what to do — but you did it.”

  Monday morning

  Tara hated going to school, especially on Monday mornings. This week was worse than ever. She didn’t want to leave Ash-ting. She dawdled and argued until her mother was exasperated.

  “I’ve got to go to work to earn some money while Jack’s at pre-school. You know that!” She was used to hearing how they didn’t have enough money.

  “Yeah,” she said and continued to play with Ash-ting.

  Jack didn’t help. “I’ll play with the kitten when I get home from pre-school,” he taunted. Tara flew at him in rage and grabbed his sweater. Jack yelled loudly. She was about to hit him when she felt a loud ping in her forehead. “No Tara! No!” She stopped. Ash-ting ran up to her and innocently rubbed against her legs. She let go of Jack’s sweater and picked up the kitten.

  “Stop and think Tara. Why is Jack winding you up?” Ash-ting asked.

  Tara was thoughtful for a moment.

  “Is it because he’s jealous?” she asked.

  “That’s right. I’m your kitten and he wishes he had a kitten or a puppy. Can you afford to be generous?”

  “I suppose so,” she whispered.

  Ash-ting’s big green eyes watched her steadily as she turned to talk to a worried looking Jack.

  “It will be nice for Ash-ting to have someone to play with,” said Tara in a much softer voice than usual.

  Jack stared at her in surprise. “Thanks Tara,” he whooped with delight.

  When her Mum came in to see what the rumpus was about, the two children were friends.

  Was she imaging things — or did she just see Tara’s new kitten smile?

  For the first time ever Tara laughed happily and danced out the door on her way to school. Mel and Jack walked nicely by their mother. Tara skipped.

  She could see Tracy ahead. She lived in their street and was in her class. She had fair curls and big brown eyes and Tara wanted to be her friend. But, not surprisingly, Tracy would not play with her because Tara would not share her toys and — even worse — had once pulled her hair. When Tara complained that she had no one to play with her mother was unsympathetic. “It’s your own fault,” she responded. “You have to be nice to people for them to want to play with you.” But Tara didn’t know how to be nice.

  Tracy was best friends with Rebecca and they went everywhere together. Perhaps today would be different, thought Tara, but when she entered the playground she saw Tracy and Rebecca running towards each other. Tara stood by herself, again.

  She noticed that Rosy was standing alone, too. She was new at school and no-one played with her because she had a squint. Suddenly she felt a buzz in her forehead and wondered if it was Ash-ting: could he talk to her from a distance?

  “Of course I can. And I can see you. All cats are psychic!”

  “What does that mean?”

  “We can see and hear things most humans can’t. Now go and talk to Rosy, she’s lonely.”

  “But I don’t like her. She’s got funny eyes.”

  “She’s a nice, gentle little girl and you can help her. Go and say hello.”

  Tara looked at the lonely little girl as if she had never seen her before. Her hair was brown and straight and she looked scared and droopy. Tara had never tried to help anyone before but she trusted Ash-ting. She walked over to where Rosy was standing all alone.

  “Hello Rosy,” she said. “I got a new kitten for my birthday and a singing doll.”

  “Oh!” said the child, looking surprised that someone had spoken to her. “How lovely. What’s your kitten like?”

  “He’s grey all over and he purrs and he….” She stopped quickly. She had been going to blurt out that he talked to her, but decided that was probably best kept a secret — at least for no
w. “...and his name is Ash-ting.”

  “Oh I’d love an animal,” said Rosy sadly. “We used to have a dog but...”

  “But what?” asked Tara.

  “But my Mummy and Daddy have split up and we had to move to a little flat. Daddy’s got Goldie but I’m not allowed to see him.” She said this in a small sad voice and Tara felt sorry for her.

  “Would you like to come and play with Ash-ting after school, if your Mummy will let you?”

  Rosy’s face lit up.

  “I’d love to....” Then her face fell again as she seemed to remember something. “But I have to go to my Grandad’s after school and get his tea.”

  Tara didn’t know what to say. Her Mummy made tea for her and Jack and Mel every day. And she had Ash-ting, her very own kitten. The bell rang and they went into the classroom.

  At break time Tara went over to Tracy and Rebecca. As soon as they saw her, they held hands and turned their backs on her, making it quite clear they did not want to play.

  “Take no notice. Tell them about me,” buzzed Ash-ting.

  “I’ve got a new kitten,” she said. Her voice was so happy and excited that they turned towards her and asked curiously what he was like. Tara told them everything — except her special secret.

  “You can come to my house to see him if you like.”

  They looked at each other then back at Tara again.

  “Will you let us play with him?’

  “Yes, you can stroke him and cuddle him. And you can play with my new singing doll.”

  The two girls spoke in unison, “Then you can be our friend.”

  Rebecca held Tara’s hand and Tara felt very happy.

  Tara looked round and saw Rosy watching them. She looked very unhappy and Tara wanted to ignore her. She was friends with Tracy and Rebecca now. But she felt a thumping on her forehead and knew Ash-ting was somehow watching her. She told Tracy and Rebecca she would just be a moment and ran over to Rosy. “Come and play with us,” she said. Rosy’s face lit up with a smile that made her look beautiful. They ran back and Tara took Rebecca’s hand again. Rebecca smiled. Tracy smiled and Tara laughed out loud with joy. At last she had friends!