The grooms came quickly and took the burglar down to the police station. Mrs Stickler pulled the royal crowns out of the bag he’d left behind. Natasha and Alfie, who were woken by all the noise, came downstairs and stared wide-eyed at the messy study and the fallen curtains.
Bea explained what had happened. Tiger, who didn’t seem the least bit tired, began pouncing on the wrinkled curtains.
“Nancy polished these crowns so nicely,” grumbled Mrs Stickler, “And now look at them! All smudged by dirty fingers.”
“At least you caught the burglar before he got away,” said Natasha.
“Sounds as if it was Tiger that did all the work,” said Alfie. “He’s like a super cat! I wish I’d been here to see it all!”
Mrs Stickler frowned at the kitten and tutted, but she didn’t disagree with Alfie.
Suddenly feeling very tired, Bea gathered Tiger into her arms and carried him upstairs. “You were so brave, Tiger!” she said as she put the kitten into his cat bed. “And you learnt how to jump down from things at just the right moment. I’m so proud of you.”
Tiger leapt out of his cat bed and settled down on Bea’s pillow, purring against her cheek as they both fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter Nine
The Kitten and the King
King George returned the next morning and called everyone to a meeting in the palace parlour. Mrs Stickler and Mr Wells came in followed by Mrs Cherry and the grooms. Bea, Natasha and Alfie sneaked in at the back to listen.
“I just wanted to thank those of you who stopped the burglar last night,” began the king. “It must have taken great bravery and courage—”
“Tiger was the bravest one!” Alfie piped up. “He jumped off a curtain pole and landed on the burglar’s head.”
“Shh!” Bea nudged Alfie.
“What’s that about a tiger?” King George looked confused.
“I believe Tiger is the name of the kitten, Sire,” explained Mr Wells. “Princess Beatrice rescued the animal from a tree at the Kite Festival.”
“That can’t be right. I asked Beatrice to make sure the animal was gone before I returned.” The king frowned. “Beatrice, where is this cat? Please fetch it immediately.”
Bea went upstairs to fetch Tiger, who was fast asleep on her bed. She held the kitten tightly, pressing Tiger’s warm fur to her cheek. There must be a way to change her dad’s mind about letting Tiger stay. She had to at least try.
Hurrying into the parlour, she took a deep breath. “Dad, I want to tell you something about Tiger…”
The king stopped her. “Beatrice, Mrs Brown has just arrived to tell us some news about your kitten.” He pointed to Mrs Brown, the Kite Festival organiser.
“Lots of people in town saw your ‘Lost and Found’ posters, Princess Beatrice,” Mrs Brown explained. “But no one could work out where your kitten had come from until we found a female cat with two more kittens under a bush near the beach. We think they must be from the same family as they all have stripy ginger fur just like this one.”
“Why are they living by the beach?” asked Alfie.
“They must be strays,” explained Mrs Brown. “It was difficult finding homes for all of them but we’ve managed it at last. I’m not sure we’d be able to find a place for your kitten too.”
“Oh!” Bea stroked the kitten’s soft fur. “I’m glad the other kittens have new homes. I wish we could keep Tiger!”
The king cleared his throat. “I’ve always said there should be no animals here at Ruby Palace and there are very good reasons for that rule. A palace is no place for a pet!”
“I think you’re absolutely right, Sire,” Mrs Stickler put in. “The creature would spread cat hairs everywhere!”
“But this little kitten is certainly quite the hero – capturing the burglar under a curtain like that,” said Mr Wells.
“Keeping a cat might scare rats away from the stables, Your Majesty,” said one of the grooms.
“A cat would scare the birds that peck at my strawberry plants too,” said Mrs Cherry, the palace gardener.
Bea’s heart lifted. She hadn’t realised so many other people at the palace liked the idea of keeping a cat. She hugged Tiger hopefully.
“Yes, that’s certainly true,” King George said thoughtfully. “Perhaps there are a few good reasons for keeping this cat after all. But I can’t have the creature running around when important guests come to visit.”
“Maybe Tiger could sleep downstairs in the laundry room out of everyone’s way,” suggested Natasha. “Then each day he could play in the stables and around the garden.”
Bea looked at her sister gratefully. “I’m sure he’d really like that.”
King George studied Tiger who had curled up in Bea’s arms. “Very well then,” he said slowly. “The kitten may stay but he must keep out of the way and NEVER run around in my royal study!”
Bea’s heart leapt like a bouncy ball. “Thanks Dad!”
“And make sure the cat doesn’t get too pampered,” the king added. “Animals shouldn’t be spoilt with lots of treats and expensive toys.”
Bea nodded meekly but inside she felt so happy she thought she would burst!
Bea fetched Fluff from Alfie’s room the following morning. With Tiger sleeping in the laundry room, the little mouse would be safe in his box under her bed. She went to the school room and began making a home-made toy for the kitten when Alfie burst in.
“Mr Wells wants you to come downstairs,” he said breathlessly. “He needs to show us something important.”
Alfie and Bea raced down the winding stairs. Mr Wells was waiting for them by the laundry room, his arms full of shopping bags. Tiger padded around Mr Well’s feet, rubbing his head against the teacher’s ankles.
“Your father asked me to pick up a few things the kitten might need from the shops,” Mr Wells explained. “I thought you could sort them out and put them in the laundry room.”
“Wow, Tiger’s got presents!” cried Alfie.
“Thanks, Mr Wells,” said Bea.
“You’re welcome. It was all the king’s idea,” Mr Wells smiled. “Now remember: don’t let Tiger sneak into the rest of the palace or goodness knows what your father will say!” He handed them the shopping bags.
Alfie and Bea began unpacking everything. They took out two green food bowls, a wooden scratching post and two packets of cat food. Finally, Bea opened a box containing a beautiful cat bed lined with fluffy material and decorated with little paw prints. She smiled, thinking of how comfy Tiger would be sleeping on it.
“We can find out which of his new things Tiger likes best!” Alfie put the bowls, the scratching post and the fluffy cat bed in a row for the kitten to look at.
Tiger sniffed each thing carefully before moving on to the next. At last, the little kitten stopped beside the empty box that had contained the cat bed. Then he jumped inside and curled up with a happy mew.
“Tiger!” cried Alfie. “That’s just a box.”
Bea couldn’t help giggling. She gathered Tiger into her arms and pressed her cheek against the kitten’s soft fur. The little cat would be happy and safe here at Ruby Palace.
This was just the beginning of her plan to help animals and she was determined to look after as many as she could. That’s what any animal-mad princess would do!
Copyright
First published in the UK in 2019 by Nosy Crow Ltd
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Nosy Crow and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Nosy Crow Ltd
Text © Paula Harrison, 2019
Illustrations © Olivia Chin Mueller, 2019
The right of Paula Harrison and Olivia Chin Mueller to be identified as the author and illustrator respectively of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988
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The Naughty Kitten Page 4
