by Holly Webb
For Daisy
www.hollywebbanimalstories.com
CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Extract
Collect them all
Biography
Copyright
“See you later, Mum!” Emma waved as her mum drove off down the bumpy lane that led to Ivy Bank Stables. She was looking forward to seeing her best friend Keira, but she would see most of her riding-class friends at school on Monday. Really she wanted to say hello to the ponies, and the cats that lived at the stables, too.
Emma didn’t always see the cats – they were all very shy, almost wild. She wasn’t even sure how many of them there were, no one was. Liz, who owned the riding school, said she thought there were five. But Emma was almost certain there were six, and that the skinny ginger cat was actually two skinny ginger cats. Once she thought she’d seen him strolling along the roof of the feed store only seconds after he’d been sunbathing out by the paddock.
Liz put down food and water for the cats, but only once a day. Mostly they lived by hunting. They earned their keep by getting rid of the mice and rats that sniffed around the stables after the horses’ feed.
“Hello, Sparky,” Emma murmured, going to pat the nose of the grey she usually rode in her class. The pony snorted and put his nose over the half-door of his stall. He nudged happily at her hand, searching for an apple or a carrot. He knew Emma always brought him treats. Emma giggled and brought out a piece of carrot. “And I’ve got Polos for afterwards, if you’re good,” she whispered. “But don’t tell the others. I’ll just go and let Liz know I’m here, then I’ll be back to tack you up.”
Emma looked around hopefully for the cats as she went over to find Liz, but none of them seemed to be around. She crouched down and peeped behind the tulips in the little flowerbed in front of the office. The ginger cat (one of the ginger cats, anyway) practically lived in the flowerbed, and sometimes he’d let her stroke him. Sure enough, there he was, curled up tightly into a stripy ball. He opened one yellow-green eye and glared at her. He obviously didn’t want to be petted.
Emma sighed and put her head round the office door.
“Hi, Liz. Mum dropped me off a bit early so I could say hello to the ponies. I wanted to see if I could stroke Tiggy, too, but I can’t find her.”
Tiggy was Emma’s favourite of the stable cats – she was black and had longer fur than the others, with a thick bushy tail. She spent a lot of time lying in the sun and grooming, cleaning bits of hay out of her pretty fur.
Liz had looked up, smiling, when she first spotted Emma, but now her smile faded. “I haven’t actually seen her for a couple of days. I’m starting to get a bit worried. I know the cats aren’t really pets and they wander around all over the place, but usually Tiggy’s the friendliest of them all. She doesn’t disappear like Susie and Ginger, and she’s almost always in the yard.”
Emma nodded, frowning. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to the stables and not seen her.”
“She’s been so hungry lately, but she hasn’t come to the food bowls,” Liz sighed. “I’m sure I’d have noticed her.”
Emma glanced out at the bowls. Liz kept them by the bench in the yard, which had a wooden canopy built over it. It meant that the food stayed dry and the nervous cats didn’t have to go inside for it. Emma smiled as she saw Susie, a thin little tabby, slinking over to see if there was anything left. But then she turned back towards Liz.
“So … Tiggy hasn’t eaten anything for two days?” she asked anxiously.
Liz shook her head. “Not from here, I don’t think. She’s a good mouser, so maybe she’s just been hunting more. I wish I’d seen her around, though.”
Emma nibbled her bottom lip. “At least the stables is quite far from the main road,” she said slowly. Her Auntie Grace’s cat, Whisky, had been hit by a car a couple of years ago and had broken his leg really badly. He was better now, but Auntie Grace hated him going round the front of the house. She always tried to tempt him back inside if she saw him sitting on the front wall.
Liz smiled at her. “Exactly. I’m probably worrying over nothing.”
She didn’t make Emma feel much better, though. Where could Tiggy have gone?
“Anyway,” Liz said briskly. “We should get on. The others will be here by now.” She got up and put an arm round Emma’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. You know what cats are like – especially these half-wild ones. We’ll get all upset and then she’ll stroll in without a care in the world.”
Emma giggled. But she wished that Tiggy would stroll in now.
Maybe it was because she was thinking about Tiggy, or maybe it was just a bad day, but nothing seemed to go right for Emma that morning. Tacking up Sparky took ages. He wouldn’t stay still – he jittered and sidestepped and nibbled at her jacket. Then he nearly trod on her foot as she lead him over to the outdoor arena.
“Are you OK?” her friend Keira asked, as she finally managed to get to the gate. “You look a bit stressed.”
“Sparky’s just being … Sparky,” Emma sighed. “He’s lovely when he wants to be, but…”
Keira grinned and nodded. “I know. Maybe he’s just excited.”
“He’s always excited!”
“Are you ready, girls?” Liz came over to check that their girths were tight. “Now, the jumps are a bit higher than last week, but you’re all perfectly capable of clearing these fences. Just don’t let the ponies try to take them too fast.”
Emma nodded a little nervously. She really did love Sparky. The gentler ponies, like Keira’s mount Jasmine, just didn’t have as much personality as the bouncy grey. But she had a feeling that trying to keep Sparky calm and collected wouldn’t be that easy today. Luckily they were going first so Sparky wouldn’t get bored. The thrill of riding a fast, eager pony took over as they set off, and Emma had a huge smile on her face by the time they’d cleared the second jump.
Then somehow everything went wrong. Perhaps Sparky decided he didn’t like the look of the new rainbow-striped rails that Liz had used for the third jump. He slid round to the left of the jump instead of going over. Emma did her best to encourage him on, but Sparky was determined – he swerved sideways round the jump, and Emma felt herself slipping out of the saddle. There was a horrible, slow moment when she knew she was falling. Then all of a sudden she was on the ground, with her ankle twisted and aching, and Sparky standing over her. He looked quite apologetic.
“Emma!” Liz came hurrying over, catching Sparky’s reins and handing them to Keira. “Hold on to him, Keira, while I check Emma’s all right.”
“I don’t think I rode him at it straight enough,” Emma said, wincing as she tried to stand. “Ow, my ankle…”
Liz gently felt the ankle through Emma’s boot. “I don’t think it’s swelling up. Do you want me to call Alex and get him to bring you an ice pack?”
“It’s OK. Sorry I messed up…”
“No, you were doing really well. It looked like Sparky just decided against that jump. Can you put any weight on your ankle?”
“I think so.” Emma blinked, trying not to cry.
Liz helped her up. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
Emma nodded. “It was just a bit of a shock…”
“Look, sit down on the bench. We’ll tie Sparky up to the fence, and I’ll come and check on you again in a bit.”
Liz went back to schooling the others over the jumps, and Emma watched from the side of the arena, gently rubbing her ankle. It was starting to feel a bit better already. She clapped as
Keira jumped Jasmine clear, and her friend waved at her.
Emma stood up and leaned on the fence, testing the weight on her ankle. It was definitely feeling better. She was just thinking about asking Liz if it was OK to untie Sparky again, when she heard a strange squeaky noise behind her. She glanced round. The outdoor arena was next to a shabby old barn that Liz was planning to get rid of, so they could make the arena bigger. It was divided up into stalls for horses, but they weren’t used any more. The noise was definitely coming from in there, though. Emma limped curiously over to the door – that was falling apart, too, a couple of the boards had rotted away at the bottom.
She lifted the latch, pushed open the door and looked round it cautiously. Maybe a bird had got trapped inside – she didn’t like the idea of it flapping out at her. But there was no bird, only the raspy creak of the door – and then that tiny, breathy little squeak again. Emma walked in slowly, following the noise. It sounded like it was coming from the stall at the end.
Emma stopped and peered round the open half-door. There was still some straw on the floor, piled up in the corner. The squeaking was coming from over there, and for one horrible moment Emma wondered if it was a rat.
Then a dark head looked up over the straw, and Emma laughed in surprise.
“Tiggy!” she said, keeping her voice low. “Liz is really worried about you, you know. What are you doing in here?”
Tiggy eyed her cautiously, her ears flickering, and Emma frowned. She’d never heard Tiggy squeak like that before, she realized. And there was something else in the straw – something small and wriggly and dark. Actually there were several somethings…
“Oh! Tiggy, have you…?” Emma stepped closer, trying to lean over the door just a little so she could see without scaring the cat. She’d completely forgotten about her twisted ankle now. “You have! You’ve had kittens!”
The kittens were so sweet, squirming around over each other in the straw and nuzzling at their mother. Tiggy glared suspiciously at Emma for a moment. Then she obviously decided that it was safe to ignore her and went back to licking her babies all over. Emma tried not to giggle. It looked as though Tiggy was determined that they would be just as beautifully groomed as she was.
“So that’s why you were really hungry. It’s OK, Tiggy. I won’t come any closer.” Emma hung on to the door post, counting. “It’s three, isn’t it?” she whispered. “Two black kittens and one grey tabby. I ought to go and tell the others…” But she didn’t want to leave just yet. The kittens were so little Emma wondered when they’d been born.
“I’d better go and tell Liz,” she said at last, slowly backing away. “Don’t go anywhere, will you…” She had read about mother cats picking up their kittens in their mouths to move them if she thought they weren’t safe. She hoped she hadn’t scared Tiggy into doing anything like that. But Tiggy didn’t look too worried. “I’ll get Liz to find you some food, too,” Emma added, her eyes widening. “Oh, Tiggy, you must be starving!”
As soon as she was out of sight of Tiggy, Emma whisked round and limped out of the barn as fast as she could.
Liz waved when she saw her and hurried over. “Emma! I just noticed that you’d disappeared. How’s your ankle? It doesn’t look like it’s swollen.”
Emma shook her head, grinning at Liz. “No, it feels nearly better now. And I’ve found Tiggy.”
“Oh, that’s brilliant! Where was she? Is she all right?”
Emma giggled. “She’s more than all right. You have to come and see!”
“I need to watch the others. Can you show me at the end?” Liz glanced between Emma and the rest of the class, and Emma realized that of course she couldn’t leave them riding without an instructor.
“It’s OK. I don’t think Tiggy’s going anywhere.” Emma folded her arms and glanced back at the barn.
Liz sighed. “I hope this is worth all the suspense, Emma! Come on, you’d better catch up with the others. Sparky looks very sorry for himself.”
Sparky did seem to think that he’d been missing out. He brightened up as he saw Emma and jumped two clear rounds with her as soon as he was allowed back into the ring.
“You monster!” Emma told him affectionately, as she patted his nose afterwards. “You can have a Polo – here. But I don’t think you deserve it. Why didn’t you do that first time round, instead of tipping me off?” Sparky whiffled up the Polo from her hand eagerly, and Emma smiled. “I suppose if I hadn’t fallen, I wouldn’t have found the kittens. Oh, look, Liz is waving. It’s the end of the lesson now – I can’t wait for her to see them.” She hugged Sparky round the neck and started to walk him back to the gate where the others were waiting. “I’m not showing you, though. I wouldn’t trust you not to put your massive great clumpy feet on those kittens.”
“What are you so excited about?” Keira asked, as she led Jasmine over towards Emma and Sparky.
“I found Tiggy! Liz hadn’t seen her for a couple of days – she was getting worried. You have to come and see!”
Keira looked at her doubtfully. “Sorry, Emma. You know I’m scared of cats.”
“I forgot! Sorry, I was just so excited.” She bit her lip, not wanting Keira to miss out on the secret. But she knew her friend was especially frightened of the half-wild cats at the stables. “Come here.” She leaned over to whisper in Keira’s ear. “Tiggy’s had kittens. In the old barn! Don’t tell Liz yet, OK?”
Keira smiled. “Now I get why you’re so excited. Are they cute?” She sounded a little bit wistful, as though she wished she wasn’t so nervous around cats.
“I only saw them from a distance, but they were gorgeous. Are you sure you don’t want just a little look?”
Keira shook her head. “Tiggy’s so jumpy…”
Liz came up behind them. “Are you going to show me this big secret now?”
Emma nodded eagerly, and Keira laughed. “She can’t wait – I’m surprised she hasn’t told everybody already! Here, I’ll lead Sparky back.”
Emma handed over the reins and hurried Liz along to the barn door. “Be really quiet!” she whispered, putting a finger up to her lips. Then she led the way inside, tiptoeing over the dusty floor.
“Where is she?” Liz hissed, and then she gasped as Emma pulled her sleeve and pointed into the stall. “Kittens! Oh, wow, I never even thought of that!”
“Three of them,” Emma said, beaming. “Aren’t they beautiful? Can we put down some food for Tiggy in here? I bet she’s really hungry.”
Liz nodded. “Yes, definitely. I’ll go and get her some now. Gosh, three more cats. That’s a lot…”
Emma looked up at her worriedly. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
Liz made a face. “Well, they are lovely, but I’m not sure how many more cats we can look after, to be honest. We’ve already got five. I suppose I should have expected this to happen, but none of them have had kittens till now. Probably we should have got them neutered, but they’re all so shy. It was a nightmare the one time I had to take Susie to the vet because she’d been in a fight. She was really tricky to catch, and she hated being in the car.”
“So…” Emma swallowed – her mouth had gone dry with excitement. When she spoke again, her voice sounded oddly squeaky. “If the kittens couldn’t stay here, would you want to find homes for them?”
Liz nodded slowly. “That would be perfect, wouldn’t it? Nice homes where they’d be properly looked after.”
Emma gazed thoughtfully at the wriggling bundles of fur. “I didn’t think of them being pets,” she murmured. “I thought they’d be a bit wild, like Tiggy.”
Liz shook her head. “I think it’s to do with how much they get used to people when they’re little. Tiggy and Susie and the others are half-wild because they’ve never had a proper indoor home or spent much time around people. But it doesn’t mean it has to be the same with these little ones.”
Emma nodded. That made sense. “How are you going to find them homes?” she said. “Would you just … ask peo
ple if they wanted them?”
Liz smiled at Emma. “I suppose so. Are you thinking you’d like a kitten? What would your mum and dad say?”
“I don’t know.” Emma sighed. “But I can ask. I love the idea of taming a little wild kitten!”
Liz snorted. “I wouldn’t put it that way to your mum, Emma. She’d worry about you getting your fingers bitten off. Come on, let’s go and find Tiggy something to eat.”
“Dad!” Emma ran over to the car where her dad was waiting and flung her arms around his waist. “You’ll never guess what happened!”
Her dad blinked at her in surprise. “Did Sparky behave himself for once?”
Emma shook her head and laughed. “Nope, actually he was really tricksy and I fell off. But I’m OK! It’s Tiggy – she’s had three kittens, and I found them!”
“That is exciting! Are they really small?”
“I think they’re only a day or two old,” Emma explained. “Liz said Tiggy had disappeared for a couple of days, so I guess she went off to hide and make herself a little nest. The kittens are teensy – only about this big.” She held her hands apart to show him. “Do you want to come and see?”
Dad wrinkled his nose. “I’d love to – but what about Tiggy? Isn’t she really shy? If loads of people start tramping past her kittens, she might get upset.”
Emma nodded. “I know. But Liz said that seeing as I found them, I can take some food back for Tiggy. You could come with me. Liz has made her a special treat – she found a bit of fish in the freezer. She reckons Tiggy deserves it!”
Dad grinned. “I haven’t seen any tiny kittens for years – not since my cat Bella had kittens when I was about your age.”
“Did she?” Emma looked surprised. “Didn’t you have her neutered, then?”
“She was a stray that Granny May adopted,” Dad explained. “Well, she adopted us, really. She was sitting on the front doorstep one day when we came home from school. We hadn’t even got as far as taking her to the vet, to be honest. We were just getting used to having a cat when the kittens arrived. We had her neutered after that… One litter of kittens was fun, but your gran didn’t want to find homes for any more.”
