“Did you hear that?” Jenny swung round. “It sounded like an animal.”
“Really?” Bea hid the tea towel. “I don’t think I heard anything.”
Jenny handed her the glass of water and then hurried outside to help Chef Darou. She returned a moment later and set a box of fish on the table. There was fresh haddock, smoked mackerel, peeled prawns and long strips of pink salmon. The smell of fish filled the room. The kitten wriggled wildly and Bea realised how hungry he must be.
Suddenly, she noticed Jenny watching her. She must have been standing there, just staring at the fish! Worried that the kitten might mew again, Bea backed away. “Thanks, Jenny!” She dashed out of the door and ran right upstairs to her bedroom.
Shutting her door, she took the kitten out of the tea towel and set him down on the bed. “There you are – you’re safe at last!”
The little cat prowled across her pillow. Then he lost his balance and tumbled down the other side. Bea rescued him before he got stuck in the gap between the bed and the wall. The kitten meowed and gazed around in surprise.
There was a rustling from Fluff’s box and Bea suddenly realised that having the kitten around could be dangerous for the mouse. She took Fluff’s house – a tatty cardboard box – from under the bed and hurried down the corridor to Alfie’s room.
Alfie was setting up a battle of plastic dinosaurs on his bed.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in the school room?” said Bea.
“Yeah, but so are you!” Alfie added a T-Rex to the battle. “Where’s the kitten?”
“I’m keeping him in my room for now,” Bea explained. “That’s why I need you to have Fluff. Please look after him carefully!”
Alfie jumped up and took the cardboard box. Fluff poked his little pink nose out from under the lid, his whiskers quivering. “Cool! Can I feed him anything?”
“There’s some cereal in there already and sometimes he likes a bit of fruit, especially banana.” Bea rubbed her forehead. She needed to fetch the kitten some food too. “And can you cover for me with Mr Wells? I need to find the kitten something to eat.”
“In a minute!” Alfie went back to his dinosaurs.
Bea frowned as she ran downstairs. She wanted to pick something out of the fishmonger’s box, but which fish would the kitten like best and how much could she take away without Chef Darou noticing?
The kitchen was empty but Bea knew the chef could be back at any moment. Searching around, she discovered the fish at the back of the freezer. She gazed at the rows of haddock and prawns, and shivered as the icy air drifted over her. She took out the pink salmon and wrapped two long strips in a tea towel. Then she gathered two bowls from the cupboard and dashed back to her room.
The little cat was still exploring her bed, frisking up and down and sniffing the pillow.
“I’m afraid it’s been in the freezer,” Bea told the cat as she laid the fish in the bowl and put it on the window sill. “But it wasn’t in there for long and maybe the sun will warm it.”
The kitten caught the scent of the fish. Mewing excitedly, he tried to jump off the bed but he slipped and had to cling to the edge with his paws.
“Careful, silly!” Bea lifted him down and placed him on the floor. Then she filled the second bowl with water.
The kitten jumped on to the window sill and began to lick the salmon. His beautiful ginger fur gleamed in the sunshine.
Bea sat down beside him on the sill. “I think I’ll call you Tiger. It goes with your lovely stripy fur and you climbed up that tree just like a real tiger!” She stroked Tiger’s soft coat and the kitten flicked his tail gently.
At last Bea reluctantly got to her feet. She really wanted to stay and play with Tiger but she was meant to be in the school room. What if Mr Wells got suspicious and came looking for her? “I’ll be back soon,” she promised the kitten.
When Bea came back after her lessons, Tiger had disappeared. Bea looked under the bed and behind the wardrobe, but there was no sign of the kitten. She stared round the room, her forehead creasing. The door had been shut so surely Tiger couldn’t have escaped.
“Tiger!” she called softly. “Where are you?”
There was no answering mew.
Bea opened her chest of drawers just in case the kitten had clambered inside somehow. “Tiger? Where did you go?”
She listened carefully and her heart thumped in the silence. What if someone had come in and seen the kitten? If it was Mrs Stickler she would have taken Tiger away at once.
There was a sudden scratching noise at the top of the wardrobe. Bea’s heart skipped when Tiger’s furry face peeped over the edge of the cupboard. The kitten gave a tiny, pitiful mew.
“How did you get up there?” cried Bea, lifting Tiger down. “You really shouldn’t climb on things if you can’t get yourself down again.”
Tiger waved his tail happily. Skipping over to his water bowl, he lapped up the water with his little pink tongue. Then he scampered over to the chair and scratched the chair legs with his little claws.
“Hey, don’t do that!” Bea stared at the scratch marks. Mrs Stickler was bound to notice them. What did the scratching mean? Was the kitten bored? Did he need some toys to play with?
Tiger began pouncing on the curtains and diving under them with an excited squeak that made Bea smile. Then the kitten began climbing up the curtain, digging his claws into the material.
Bea lifted him down, laughing. “I didn’t know kittens liked to climb so much.” She suddenly wondered if she ought to know more about kittens. It would help her look after Tiger better. There might be something about caring for cats in the palace library.
Bea decided that Tiger might get stuck somewhere if he was left alone again, so she popped the kitten into a cloth bag. Tiger gave a protesting mew before settling down inside the bag and closing his eyes. Bea checked the corridor was empty, before slipping out of her room with the tiny kitten at her side.
Chapter Four
Big Cats and Little Cats
Bea crept down the palace stairs with the kitten curled up inside her bag. She slipped through the door to the library. Towering bookcases stood in rows and the arched windows let in beams of sunlight that made a pattern across the wooden floor.
“Bea!” Alfie came running down the stairs. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for a book about cats. Shh! The kitten’s asleep.” Bea let him peep into the bag. “I’m calling him Tiger because of his stripy fur.”
“Tiger’s a silly name,” said Alfie.
“I think it suits him. Anyway I’m looking for information to help me take care of him properly.” Bea searched the shelves and found the books on animals and wildlife.
“Look at this one!” Alfie waved a book with a leopard on the front. “It’s called Big Cats and Little Cats.”
“That’s great!” Bea took it and leafed through the pages. The book had chapters on lions, leopards and tigers, and a chapter on pet cats. “It says here that cats often behave the same way that lions and tigers do. They love chasing things – especially wool or string – and they love sleeping in warm cosy places.”
“So Tiger really is like a tiger!” Alfie grinned.
Bea turned a page. “It says here that cats often scratch things and to stop them damaging the furniture you can make them a scratching post.”
Alfie yawned. “Sounds tricky!”
Bea closed the book. “First I have to find out who Tiger’s owner is. Someone in Savara must know who he belongs to. Hey – we should make some lost kitten posters that we can put up around town!”
“I’m too busy to make posters. See you later!” Alfie ran off.
Bea hurried upstairs to the empty school room. Tiger had woken up so she lifted the kitten out of the bag and settled down to draw the posters. Tiger prowled up and down the room, sniffing the crayons.
Lost and Found, Bea wrote at the top of the first one. Have you lost a kitten? He was found in the park and has stripy gi
nger fur. Then she drew a picture of Tiger underneath. Finally she wrote, If this is your cat, come to Ruby Palace to collect him. Then she drew four more posters and coloured them all in, making sure she got the colour of Tiger’s fur exactly right.
By the time she’d finished, Tiger was playing a game with the crayons. He would pounce on them and roll them along the floor with little swipes of his paws. Bea remembered what the book had said about cats and string. She found a ball of string in Mr Well’s desk and rolled it along the ground for Tiger to play with.
Next she decided to make a scratching post. She found a roll of wrapping paper and some material in the odds and ends box in the school room cupboard. She twisted the material around the cardboard tube before gluing the tube to a flat piece of cardboard so that it stood up straight.
“There – do you like it, Tiger?” she said, brushing glue off her fingers.
The kitten bounced up to the newly-made post and scratched it straight away.
“Good boy!” Bea picked up Tiger and hugged him. “Are you hungry yet? I bet you’d like some more fish for tea.”
The door creaked open and King George stood in the doorway. “Beatrice, I just wanted to tell you – good gracious! What is that animal doing here?”
Bea stared at her dad in horror. Tiger broke free of her arms and jumped to the floor, pouncing on a crayon that had rolled under a table. The king’s frown deepened.
“I can explain!” said Bea. “I found this little kitten at the Kite Festival this morning but no one knew who he belonged to. I’m going to put these up to find his owner.” She showed her dad one of her posters.
The king sighed. “I understand that you want to help the creature but you know I don’t allow animals in the palace. They are simply not appropriate for a royal residence.”
“Please, Dad! Tiger’s such a lovely kitten. He won’t be any trouble, I promise,” begged Bea.
The king studied Tiger, who was pulling pieces off the new scratching post with his claws. “I can’t change my rules for one animal, Beatrice. Didn’t the adults at the Kite Festival offer to take charge of him?”
Bea hesitated. “Yes, Mrs Brown wanted to ask Mr Patel if the kitten could sleep in his shed but—”
“That would have been a much better idea!” The king shook his head. “Honestly, Beatrice, I really don’t understand where you get these ridiculous ideas from.”
Bea flushed. She wished her dad could see how much Tiger needed looking after.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” King George turned to go, before stopping in the doorway. “I’m about to leave for Lania. I’m going there for the opening ceremony of the new city gardens and I won’t be back till tomorrow. I expect the cat to be gone by the time I return.”
Bea’s heart sank. What if she hadn’t found the kitten’s owner by tomorrow? Then Tiger would have to stay in Mr Patel’s cold, lonely shed.
“Also, don’t go into my royal study,” the king added. “I’ve left my crowns out ready to be polished and I don’t want anyone except the maid to touch them.”
“Yes, Dad.” Tiger was creeping towards the door, so Bea gathered him up quickly. She hugged the kitten tight as her dad’s footsteps faded on the stairs. One day wasn’t very much time to find Tiger’s owner but she knew her dad wouldn’t change his mind.
Bea stroked Tiger between his ears and the kitten began to purr. “You just need a good home, don’t you? Don’t worry – I’ll find out where you came from and everything will be all right.” With the kitten under one arm, she grabbed her “Lost and Found” posters and hurried out of the school room.
Chapter Five
Lost and Found
Bea sneaked out of the palace with Alfie, who’d decided that going into town without Mr Wells would be a great adventure. Bea had reluctantly left Tiger in her bedroom. The little kitten just wanted to play and Bea worried that if he was taken outside he might scamper off and get lost somewhere.
Bea took the posters and Alfie carried a large roll of sticky tape. They stuck one poster on a lamppost on the main street in town, one by the harbour and one in the park. Then Bea went into the bakery and asked Mr Patel if she could put one up in the window.
“Of course you can, Princess Beatrice,” said Mr Patel. “I wondered where the little kitten had gone. Mrs Brown came to ask if I would look after him but I’m sure you’re doing a much better job.”
Bea blushed. “I hope you don’t mind that I took him with me?”
“Not at all!” cried Mr Patel. “Would you like to take this cat food that I bought? I picked it up from the corner shop just in case.”
“Yes please!” Bea took the packets of cat food. “Thanks for your help.”
Mr Patel smiled. “Good luck with everything, Princess Beatrice.”
Alfie and Bea set off down the main street. “Tiger’s owner is sure to see one of the posters,” said Bea. “I just hope they see it in time.” Her stomach tightened. Her dad would be back tomorrow and he would expect the kitten to be gone from the palace.
“Hold on, there’s one left.” Alfie shook the last poster. “Where shall we put it?”
“We could ask the Makalis if we can put it up in the Sleepy Gull Café.” Bea shaded her eyes to look at the pretty wooden café sitting on the clifftop behind the beach. “We’d better hurry though. If we don’t get back in time for dinner, Mrs Stickler is sure to ask lots of tricky questions about where we’ve been.”
Alfie and Bea climbed the steep cliff path. Patches of sea thrift bloomed beside the footpath like little pink lollipops. The waves made a gentle shhh as they lapped against the beach and seagulls cried as they swooped overhead. At the top, the path led to the café, which had pots of basil and coriander growing beside the door.
The Sleepy Gull Café was one of Bea’s favourite places because her best friend, Keira, lived there. She and Bea had been friends for years and Keira loved visiting Ruby Palace almost as much as Bea loved coming to the café. Keira’s parents, Mr and Mrs Makali, cooked lots of dishes. The spicy spring rolls and crumbly chocolate brownies were among Bea’s favourites.
Bea made her way into the café, breathing in the delicious cooking smells.
“Bea!” Keira ran out from behind the counter. She had smiling brown eyes and her long hair was pulled into a ponytail. “Dad’s been making a fresh batch of tacos. Would you and Alfie like one?”
“They smell amazing! But we actually came to ask you a favour. Please could we put a poster up on your wall?” Bea explained about rescuing Tiger from the tree. “I hope Tiger’s owner will see one of the posters. No one at the Kite Festival knew where he came from.”
Keira’s eyes widened. “Poor little kitten! I’ll ask mum and dad about the poster.” She disappeared into the kitchen.
Bea couldn’t hear their conversation over the sounds of chopping and sizzling. Keira came out a moment later with her mum.
“Of course you can put up your poster, Princess Bea,” said Mrs Makali, straightening her flowery apron. “Then you and Prince Alfie must try some pineapple milkshake. It’s the latest new flavour I’m trying out.”
Bea stuck the poster on the café wall and she, Keira and Alfie drank the delicious pineapple milkshake. Then Bea said goodbye to her friend and they hurried along the cliff path towards the palace. The sun was already sinking in the sky and they didn’t dare be late for dinner.
They took a short cut and climbed into the palace garden, scrambling down a plum tree that grew right beside the wall.
Bea jumped down first and as she landed she spotted someone in a grey jacket moving among the trees. “Hello, is that you, Mrs Cherry?” she called, expecting it to be the palace gardener.
Leaves rustled and the figure moved out of sight.
“That was strange,” said Bea. “Maybe it was one of the grooms from the stables.”
“What was strange?” Alfie twisted round as he jumped from the tree. He lost his balance and landed with a bump. “Ouch! It’s all right – I�
�m OK.”
Bea noticed a scrape on his leg as she pulled him up. “You’ve cut your knee. Let’s go inside and get you a plaster.”
They’d just reached the palace steps when Mrs Stickler came rushing out of the front entrance. She looked them over with a sharp frown. “Princess Beatrice, before the king left he told me all about the stray cat you brought back here. I’m very pleased to see you’ve followed his orders and got rid of the creature.”
Bea went red. Mrs Stickler clearly didn’t know that Tiger was still inside Bea’s room. “The thing is…” she began, but the housekeeper cut her off.
“There’s nothing worse than having to clear up a lot of mess left by an animal,” Mrs Stickler said sternly.
Bea had been just about to tell the housekeeper that Tiger was still upstairs but she stopped herself. Mrs Stickler disliked animals so much that she might decide to throw the kitten out of the palace immediately.
“Bea, my knee’s starting to hurt. Can you find me a plaster?” Alfie winced as he limped towards the stairs.
“Sorry, Mrs Stickler. I’ve got to go.” Bea rushed after her brother and helped him along the corridor.
Maybe the “Lost and Found” posters would do the trick and Tiger’s owner would come knocking on the palace door. But if they didn’t Bea was determined to keep the kitten safely hidden until tomorrow.
Chapter Six
The Great Curtain Climb
Tiger was waiting there as soon as Bea opened her bedroom door. The kitten fixed his green eyes on Bea and gave a long, reproachful meow. Then he scratched at the home-made scratching post with his little claws.
The Naughty Kitten Page 2
