By Helen Nyman
It was another beautiful morning on Cat Island as the sun slowly began to rise over the sea. Sergeant Nelson was feeling very at peace with himself as he took his early morning stroll along the beach, when suddenly he stopped and sniffed the air. His fur was raised ever so slightly and his ears stood erect. Straight ahead of him something had caught his eye, something that had been washed up on the shore by the tide. Very cautiously he crept up, and what he saw was something that was strictly prohibited on Cat Island - A DOG!
It was not a very big dog, in fact it was a very tiny dog, but it was still a dog. Sergeant Nelson was not sure if it was alive or dead, so he crept a little nearer and stared very closely at the soggy white bundle, and he was just able to see a slight movement as the tiny dog breathed in and out.
Whilst he was trying to decide what to do, Rusty and his two fish shop assistants appeared on the scene. They had come to pull in the fishing nets they had cast into the sea the previous night.
“What on earth is that?” said Rusty, and that moment the little dog, a toy poodle, opened her eyes and blinked very hard trying to understand where she was.
The cats took one step back. You see many of the cats on Cat Island had suffered bad experiences with dogs, and even those who hadn’t were aware of the stories. And you know how it is when a story keeps getting repeated over and over again, things tend to get exaggerated, so as you can imagine dogs had a very bad name, which is a shame, as not all dogs chase cats or hurt them. But just to be on the safe side King Freddy had made the rule – no dogs allowed on Cat Island, and up to this moment the rule had always been obeyed.
The little white poodle precariously rose to her feet and gave herself a good shake to get some of the sea water off her coat. As she did so she managed to splatter the cats standing near her. Needless to say this did nothing to increase her popularity.
Sergeant Nelson decided it was time he took control of the situation. He puffed out his fur in an attempt to look bigger than he actually was and approached the tiny dog demanding to know what it was doing on Cat Island.
She looked very frightened. Rusty, who was known to have a big heart, walked up to her and said, “Don’t be afraid, just tell us why you are here and no harm will come to you.”
Mustering enough courage she managed to introduce herself. “My name is Cuddles, and the reason I’m here is that I had an accident.” And with this she told her them her story…
It seems that Cuddles was on one of the many private yachts that often sailed past Cat Island. Cuddles’ owners had decided that even though the sea was rough they still wanted to keep on the move, and when a particularly big wave hit their boat she had been swept overboard. Her owners hadn’t realised what had happened until much later and sadly assumed she had drowned.
After telling her story Cuddles suddenly burst into tears. The cats that were watching had to admit that even if she was a dog she really did not look at all threatening, especially with a big piece of seaweed dangling from her left ear and the sad expression in her eyes.
“Hmm, yes, sounds like a convincing enough story,” said Sergeant Nelson. “But how do we know you are not a spy sent by our enemies, and before we know it our island will be invaded by an army of dogs and that will be the end of us to be sure!”
“Oh dear,” said Taffy, a striped tom from Wales, “he’s been watching too much television again and letting his imagination run wild. Anyone can see that Cuddles is telling the truth as she never blinked once whilst she was telling her story and that is a sure sign that she wasn’t lying.”
The other cats agreed with Taffy as he was a very down to earth cat, something to do with the fact that he had lived in a coalmine in Wales for the first year of his life, and if he said Cuddles was telling the truth then it was so.
Rusty thought that King Freddy should be informed, so he sent one of his helpers to the palace.
By this time the beach was full of cats. As you know how it is when something new happens, everyone is very curious, and so the circle around poor little Cuddles was growing by the minute.
At the castle King Freddy was nowhere to be found. “Never here when you need him”, said Queen Suzi. “He’s probably chasing one of my ladies in waiting round the garden. He thinks I don’t know what he’s up to, but there is very little that goes on around here that I’m not informed about…”
The messenger gave a little cough and said, “Excuse me your Majesty, but I have some very important news to tell King Freddy.”
“Well don’t just stand there like a lemon, spit it out,” said Queen Suzi, so the messenger told her about how Sergeant Nelson had found Cuddles washed up on the beach.
Queen Suzi looked like she was going to have a fit! “A dog did you say?! Here on our island! What is the world coming to?” She thought for a minute and said, “Call Nero, I have to speak to him immediately!”
Nero was an enormous black cat who looked a like a panther. He was the Prime Minister of Cat Island. One of the many reasons he was so good at his job was because of his oratory skills. His mother who was Irish referred to it as ‘the gift of the gab’.
Nero arrived immediately and gave a quick bow to Queen Suzi, then waited for her to tell him what all the fuss was about, as by now the news had gone around the palace and everyone was huddled together in groups discussing it in low whispers.
Once the problem had been explained Nero suggested that Cuddles be brought to his office so that he could interrogate her and he convinced Queen Suzi that he would do so with the utmost tact and diplomacy, just in case she was a spy!
Cuddles was escorted to Nero’s office and just to make sure that no one frightened her, Rusty held her paw whilst she answered all Nero’s questions.
After ten minutes of her story being repeated over an over again to make sure she was telling the truth, Nero was finally satisfied Cuddles was indeed a castaway and not a spy. But the question remained what to do with her, as even though she really was a very sweet little dog, she was still a dog, and no dogs were allowed on Cat Island.
Rusty suggested that he take Cuddles back to his house until it was decided how she could be returned to her owners. Nero was in full agreement and said he would be in touch with Rusty as soon as King Freddy had been found and they had discussed the problem with him. So paw in paw Rusty and Cuddles went off home.
Amber was in the kitchen giving the kittens their tea, and Lucky, the little black kitten was making loud growling noises as he gobbled up his fish stew. This was supposed to frighten off his sister and brothers, just in case it entered their minds to take some food off his plate.
As Rusty and Cuddles entered the kitchen Amber stared hard, as you see she was really very short sighted but was too vain to wear spectacles, and she thought it was her cousin Snowy that was with Rusty. “What on earth have you done to your fur my dear?” she said, “You didn’t buy one of those home perms did you?”
Rusty cleared his throat and said, “Amber, I’d like to introduce you to Cuddles. She’s a dog that has been shipwrecked on Cat Island.”
“Tell me another” said Amber, but when she stepped a bit nearer she saw that Rusty was telling the truth.
Well bless my whiskers she said, “Is she dangerous?”
“Oh no”, said Rusty, “She’s a very sweet little dog and also very frightened, and I was wondering if you mind if she stayed here with us until King Freddy finds a way to get her home. Amber thought for a minute and said, “As long as she doesn’t harm the kittens she can stay.” And so it was decided.
The reason King Freddy could not be found was that he was right on the other side of the island from where the Royal Palace was. It wasn’t a very well known area, and that was precisely why he felt safe to be there without being pestered by Queen Suzi. You see, King Freddy went once a week to visit his best friend Barnaby.
Barnaby was a cat with only three fury legs. The fourth was made of wood from the knee down. He was a pirate cat, or rather he belonged to a band of pirates and had spent many years sailing the high seas on their ship. In fact it was during one of their adventures at sea that Barnaby lost his leg. It seems that one of the pirates had put too much gun powder in the cannon and when it fired to warn off another pirate ship, poor Barnaby was hit on the leg.
King Freddy loved going to visit Barnaby. They shared a saucer of coconut milk and rum, and Barnaby would tell King Freddy all about the adventures that he’d had during his years with the pirates.
Freddy wished that he could introduce Barnaby to Queen Suzi, but he knew that she would not consider him to be the right kind of company. Queen Suzi, in case you had not realised it, was a bit of a snob.
Felix, King Freddy’s loyal servant, knew where to find his master and he went immediately to tell him about Cuddles.
King Freddy’s face lit up with joy when he heard the story as he had been feeling very bored just attending all the routine duties. This event was just what the doctor ordered to liven things up a little. He thanked Felix for bringing the message and told him to go back to the Palace to tell Queen Suzi he was on his way.
When Felix had gone King Freddy told Barnaby what had happened and asked his opinion on the matter. You see, even though King Freddy had great faith in Prime Minister Nero’s capabilities, he preferred to discuss certain things with Barnaby as he was usually very quick at arriving at solutions to problems.
Barnaby flicked his tail, twitched his whiskers and without realising he was doing so, began to tap his wooden leg on the floor. He always did these three things when he was very concentrated, and then he said, “I’ve got it!”
First we have to find out from Cuddles the name of the yacht she was sailing on, then once we have it we call for Pelican Bill.
Pelican Bill was a huge pelican that lived on one of the neighbouring islands. He had a working relationship with the cats on Cat Island. He provided a transport service. He carried the cats that need to travel to and from the island inside his huge beak. When he opened it wide there was room for two big cats to sit comfortably, or three little cats with a suitcase.
“You mean if we find the yacht, Pelican Bill can carry Cuddles back to her owners. What a great idea Barnaby!” said King Freddy. “I do wish you would consider a job at the Palace. You are wasted here with your brilliant mind.”
King Freddy said goodbye to his friend and made his way back to the Palace to tell Queen Suzi what he was going to do with Cuddles.
After hearing the plan Queen Suzi agreed it was a perfect solution. She couldn’t help wondering how King Freddy got these bright ideas as she was convinced that he never really gave much thought to serious things. In fact she was a little bit jealous that she hadn’t thought of it first.
Amber and Cuddles were having a cosy chat about girlie things when King Freddy’s messenger arrived informing them to go immediately to the palace.
When they arrived presentations were made and King Freddy told Cuddles of his plan to return her to her owners. “Now tell me my dear, what is the name of the sailing boat you were travelling on?” Cuddles thought and thought and finally said, “It’s on the tip of my tongue but just won’t come out.”
“Well it’s not like you have been away from it for years”, said Queen Suzi, “So how is it possible that you can’t remember the name? Could it be that you don’t want to leave here?”
“You are just making her more nervous with that attitude.” Said King Freddy, “Let me deal with it dear.”
“Now Cuddles”, said King Freddy, “take a nice deep breath and concentrate hard and try to remember the name of the sailing boat belonging to your owners.” Cuddles closed her eyes and tried very hard to remember the name, then suddenly her little tail started wagging furiously from side to side. “I’ve just remembered!” she said. “The name of the boat is ‘The Saucy Sue’!”
“What did you say?” said Queen Suzi. “The Saucy Sue, what a vulgar name.” And with that she turned her back and with her magnificent fluffy white tail in the air, she left the room.
“Never mind her” said King Freddy, “She’ll get over it, well done Cuddles, now we can get to work to find your owners.”
Nero was instructed to bring Pelican Bill to the Palace, and half an hour later he was standing in front of King Freddy receiving his instructions.
“What I want you to do is fly around the three neighbouring islands where the tourists go and look at the names of the boats that are moored in the harbours. If you see one that is called ‘The Saucy Sue’ fly back here immediately to let me know. Is that clear?”
“No problem guv, sorry I mean your Majesty. Just leave it with me. I will share the job with my two brothers Homer and Wilber. That way we can each check an island and it cuts the work in half, or less than half, maybe quarters, or…”
“Yes I get the idea,” said King Freddy, “but if we stand here all day discussing your calculations we’ll never get started will we? So off you go!”
Pelican Bill, Homer and Wilber first went to the fish shop to have a quick snack as they flew a lot better on a full tummy, and then they took off to try and find ‘The Saucy Sue’.
It didn’t take more than an hour before they were all back again looking very pleased with themselves. “Mission accomplished your Majesty”, said Pelican Bill. “The Saucy Sue is anchored in front of the island of Tica-Tica, the one just next to this one. And we saw Cuddles’ owners sitting on the deck trying to comfort a little girl who was crying for her lost dog.”
“Excellent work Bill,” said King Freddy. “Now the next step is to wait for the sun to go down and when it’s almost dark you can carry Cuddles in your beak back to her family.”
Amber had given Cuddles a good wash, and after drying her fur with a rough towel she exclaimed, “You look beautiful my dear. Just like a little cloud.” And just to add the finishing touch she dabbed two drops of her favourite perfume ‘Eau de Tom’ behind Cuddles’ ears. Cuddles screwed up her nose and gave two little sneezes. “Thank you Amber. You and Rusty have been so kind to me. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
The moon had come up and it was time to leave for the beach where Pelican Bill was waiting.
All the cats had come to say farewell to Cuddles. Many of them had brought little gifts for her. Dr Yowl handed her a small box with some rather nasty smelling powder inside which he said was to be licked if she felt sick whilst she was flying. He also gave her a small empty coconut shell to be used in case the powder did not work!
King Freddy gave Cuddles a friendly pat on the head and told her that it had been a pleasure meeting her, and that any time she fell into the sea she should feel free to drop in and pay them a visit.
Not wanting to appear totally unfriendly, Queen Suzi had also brought a going away present for Cuddles. It was one of the many collars she didn’t particularly like very much, but as she said when she handed it to Cuddles, “It may be second hand my dear, but a second hand royal collar is worth much more than a new ordinary one.” And with that she waved goodbye and slowly walked back to the Palace.
Cuddles climbed into Pelican Bill’s open beak and settled down for the take off. She was happy to be going back to her family, but was also a little sad to be leaving her new friends.
“Don’t fly too fast Bill”, said King Freddy, “And let me know when Cuddles has been delivered safe and sound to her owners.” With these final instructions fresh in his mind, Pelican Bill spread his large wings and slowly rose into the sky carrying Cuddles away from Cat Island and back to her family, who were going to be overjoyed at finding her, but completely mystified as to how she had got back to them!
The cats on the beach started drifting back to their homes. They all had to agree that dogs were not that bad after all, at least dogs like Cuddles, and that it had been another exciting and worthwhile day on Cat Island.
It was not a very big dog, in fact it was a very tiny dog, but it was still a dog. Sergeant Nelson was not sure if it was alive or dead, so he crept a little nearer and stared very closely at the soggy white bundle, and he was just able to see a slight movement as the tiny dog breathed in and out.
Whilst he was trying to decide what to do, Rusty and his two fish shop assistants appeared on the scene. They had come to pull in the fishing nets they had cast into the sea the previous night.
“What on earth is that?” said Rusty, and that moment the little dog, a toy poodle, opened her eyes and blinked very hard trying to understand where she was.
The cats took one step back. You see many of the cats on Cat Island had suffered bad experiences with dogs, and even those who hadn’t were aware of the stories. And you know how it is when a story keeps getting repeated over and over again, things tend to get exaggerated, so as you can imagine dogs had a very bad name, which is a shame, as not all dogs chase cats or hurt them. But just to be on the safe side King Freddy had made the rule – no dogs allowed on Cat Island, and up to this moment the rule had always been obeyed.
The little white poodle precariously rose to her feet and gave herself a good shake to get some of the sea water off her coat. As she did so she managed to splatter the cats standing near her. Needless to say this did nothing to increase her popularity.
Sergeant Nelson decided it was time he took control of the situation. He puffed out his fur in an attempt to look bigger than he actually was and approached the tiny dog demanding to know what it was doing on Cat Island.
She looked very frightened. Rusty, who was known to have a big heart, walked up to her and said, “Don’t be afraid, just tell us why you are here and no harm will come to you.”
Mustering enough courage she managed to introduce herself. “My name is Cuddles, and the reason I’m here is that I had an accident.” And with this she told her them her story…
It seems that Cuddles was on one of the many private yachts that often sailed past Cat Island. Cuddles’ owners had decided that even though the sea was rough they still wanted to keep on the move, and when a particularly big wave hit their boat she had been swept overboard. Her owners hadn’t realised what had happened until much later and sadly assumed she had drowned.
After telling her story Cuddles suddenly burst into tears. The cats that were watching had to admit that even if she was a dog she really did not look at all threatening, especially with a big piece of seaweed dangling from her left ear and the sad expression in her eyes.
“Hmm, yes, sounds like a convincing enough story,” said Sergeant Nelson. “But how do we know you are not a spy sent by our enemies, and before we know it our island will be invaded by an army of dogs and that will be the end of us to be sure!”
“Oh dear,” said Taffy, a striped tom from Wales, “he’s been watching too much television again and letting his imagination run wild. Anyone can see that Cuddles is telling the truth as she never blinked once whilst she was telling her story and that is a sure sign that she wasn’t lying.”
The other cats agreed with Taffy as he was a very down to earth cat, something to do with the fact that he had lived in a coalmine in Wales for the first year of his life, and if he said Cuddles was telling the truth then it was so.
Rusty thought that King Freddy should be informed, so he sent one of his helpers to the palace.
By this time the beach was full of cats. As you know how it is when something new happens, everyone is very curious, and so the circle around poor little Cuddles was growing by the minute.
At the castle King Freddy was nowhere to be found. “Never here when you need him”, said Queen Suzi. “He’s probably chasing one of my ladies in waiting round the garden. He thinks I don’t know what he’s up to, but there is very little that goes on around here that I’m not informed about…”
The messenger gave a little cough and said, “Excuse me your Majesty, but I have some very important news to tell King Freddy.”
“Well don’t just stand there like a lemon, spit it out,” said Queen Suzi, so the messenger told her about how Sergeant Nelson had found Cuddles washed up on the beach.
Queen Suzi looked like she was going to have a fit! “A dog did you say?! Here on our island! What is the world coming to?” She thought for a minute and said, “Call Nero, I have to speak to him immediately!”
Nero was an enormous black cat who looked a like a panther. He was the Prime Minister of Cat Island. One of the many reasons he was so good at his job was because of his oratory skills. His mother who was Irish referred to it as ‘the gift of the gab’.
Nero arrived immediately and gave a quick bow to Queen Suzi, then waited for her to tell him what all the fuss was about, as by now the news had gone around the palace and everyone was huddled together in groups discussing it in low whispers.
Once the problem had been explained Nero suggested that Cuddles be brought to his office so that he could interrogate her and he convinced Queen Suzi that he would do so with the utmost tact and diplomacy, just in case she was a spy!
Cuddles was escorted to Nero’s office and just to make sure that no one frightened her, Rusty held her paw whilst she answered all Nero’s questions.
After ten minutes of her story being repeated over an over again to make sure she was telling the truth, Nero was finally satisfied Cuddles was indeed a castaway and not a spy. But the question remained what to do with her, as even though she really was a very sweet little dog, she was still a dog, and no dogs were allowed on Cat Island.
Rusty suggested that he take Cuddles back to his house until it was decided how she could be returned to her owners. Nero was in full agreement and said he would be in touch with Rusty as soon as King Freddy had been found and they had discussed the problem with him. So paw in paw Rusty and Cuddles went off home.
Amber was in the kitchen giving the kittens their tea, and Lucky, the little black kitten was making loud growling noises as he gobbled up his fish stew. This was supposed to frighten off his sister and brothers, just in case it entered their minds to take some food off his plate.
As Rusty and Cuddles entered the kitchen Amber stared hard, as you see she was really very short sighted but was too vain to wear spectacles, and she thought it was her cousin Snowy that was with Rusty. “What on earth have you done to your fur my dear?” she said, “You didn’t buy one of those home perms did you?”
Rusty cleared his throat and said, “Amber, I’d like to introduce you to Cuddles. She’s a dog that has been shipwrecked on Cat Island.”
“Tell me another” said Amber, but when she stepped a bit nearer she saw that Rusty was telling the truth.
Well bless my whiskers she said, “Is she dangerous?”
“Oh no”, said Rusty, “She’s a very sweet little dog and also very frightened, and I was wondering if you mind if she stayed here with us until King Freddy finds a way to get her home. Amber thought for a minute and said, “As long as she doesn’t harm the kittens she can stay.” And so it was decided.
The reason King Freddy could not be found was that he was right on the other side of the island from where the Royal Palace was. It wasn’t a very well known area, and that was precisely why he felt safe to be there without being pestered by Queen Suzi. You see, King Freddy went once a week to visit his best friend Barnaby.
Barnaby was a cat with only three fury legs. The fourth was made of wood from the knee down. He was a pirate cat, or rather he belonged to a band of pirates and had spent many years sailing the high seas on their ship. In fact it was during one of their adventures at sea that Barnaby lost his leg. It seems that one of the pirates had put too much gun powder in the cannon and when it fired to warn off another pirate ship, poor Barnaby was hit on the leg.
King Freddy loved going to visit Barnaby. They shared a saucer of coconut milk and rum, and Barnaby would tell King Freddy all about the adventures that he’d had during his years with the pirates.
Freddy wished that he could introduce Barnaby to Queen Suzi, but he knew that she would not consider him to be the right kind of company. Queen Suzi, in case you had not realised it, was a bit of a snob.
Felix, King Freddy’s loyal servant, knew where to find his master and he went immediately to tell him about Cuddles.
King Freddy’s face lit up with joy when he heard the story as he had been feeling very bored just attending all the routine duties. This event was just what the doctor ordered to liven things up a little. He thanked Felix for bringing the message and told him to go back to the Palace to tell Queen Suzi he was on his way.
When Felix had gone King Freddy told Barnaby what had happened and asked his opinion on the matter. You see, even though King Freddy had great faith in Prime Minister Nero’s capabilities, he preferred to discuss certain things with Barnaby as he was usually very quick at arriving at solutions to problems.
Barnaby flicked his tail, twitched his whiskers and without realising he was doing so, began to tap his wooden leg on the floor. He always did these three things when he was very concentrated, and then he said, “I’ve got it!”
First we have to find out from Cuddles the name of the yacht she was sailing on, then once we have it we call for Pelican Bill.
Pelican Bill was a huge pelican that lived on one of the neighbouring islands. He had a working relationship with the cats on Cat Island. He provided a transport service. He carried the cats that need to travel to and from the island inside his huge beak. When he opened it wide there was room for two big cats to sit comfortably, or three little cats with a suitcase.
“You mean if we find the yacht, Pelican Bill can carry Cuddles back to her owners. What a great idea Barnaby!” said King Freddy. “I do wish you would consider a job at the Palace. You are wasted here with your brilliant mind.”
King Freddy said goodbye to his friend and made his way back to the Palace to tell Queen Suzi what he was going to do with Cuddles.
After hearing the plan Queen Suzi agreed it was a perfect solution. She couldn’t help wondering how King Freddy got these bright ideas as she was convinced that he never really gave much thought to serious things. In fact she was a little bit jealous that she hadn’t thought of it first.
Amber and Cuddles were having a cosy chat about girlie things when King Freddy’s messenger arrived informing them to go immediately to the palace.
When they arrived presentations were made and King Freddy told Cuddles of his plan to return her to her owners. “Now tell me my dear, what is the name of the sailing boat you were travelling on?” Cuddles thought and thought and finally said, “It’s on the tip of my tongue but just won’t come out.”
“Well it’s not like you have been away from it for years”, said Queen Suzi, “So how is it possible that you can’t remember the name? Could it be that you don’t want to leave here?”
“You are just making her more nervous with that attitude.” Said King Freddy, “Let me deal with it dear.”
“Now Cuddles”, said King Freddy, “take a nice deep breath and concentrate hard and try to remember the name of the sailing boat belonging to your owners.” Cuddles closed her eyes and tried very hard to remember the name, then suddenly her little tail started wagging furiously from side to side. “I’ve just remembered!” she said. “The name of the boat is ‘The Saucy Sue’!”
“What did you say?” said Queen Suzi. “The Saucy Sue, what a vulgar name.” And with that she turned her back and with her magnificent fluffy white tail in the air, she left the room.
“Never mind her” said King Freddy, “She’ll get over it, well done Cuddles, now we can get to work to find your owners.”
Nero was instructed to bring Pelican Bill to the Palace, and half an hour later he was standing in front of King Freddy receiving his instructions.
“What I want you to do is fly around the three neighbouring islands where the tourists go and look at the names of the boats that are moored in the harbours. If you see one that is called ‘The Saucy Sue’ fly back here immediately to let me know. Is that clear?”
“No problem guv, sorry I mean your Majesty. Just leave it with me. I will share the job with my two brothers Homer and Wilber. That way we can each check an island and it cuts the work in half, or less than half, maybe quarters, or…”
“Yes I get the idea,” said King Freddy, “but if we stand here all day discussing your calculations we’ll never get started will we? So off you go!”
Pelican Bill, Homer and Wilber first went to the fish shop to have a quick snack as they flew a lot better on a full tummy, and then they took off to try and find ‘The Saucy Sue’.
It didn’t take more than an hour before they were all back again looking very pleased with themselves. “Mission accomplished your Majesty”, said Pelican Bill. “The Saucy Sue is anchored in front of the island of Tica-Tica, the one just next to this one. And we saw Cuddles’ owners sitting on the deck trying to comfort a little girl who was crying for her lost dog.”
“Excellent work Bill,” said King Freddy. “Now the next step is to wait for the sun to go down and when it’s almost dark you can carry Cuddles in your beak back to her family.”
Amber had given Cuddles a good wash, and after drying her fur with a rough towel she exclaimed, “You look beautiful my dear. Just like a little cloud.” And just to add the finishing touch she dabbed two drops of her favourite perfume ‘Eau de Tom’ behind Cuddles’ ears. Cuddles screwed up her nose and gave two little sneezes. “Thank you Amber. You and Rusty have been so kind to me. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
The moon had come up and it was time to leave for the beach where Pelican Bill was waiting.
All the cats had come to say farewell to Cuddles. Many of them had brought little gifts for her. Dr Yowl handed her a small box with some rather nasty smelling powder inside which he said was to be licked if she felt sick whilst she was flying. He also gave her a small empty coconut shell to be used in case the powder did not work!
King Freddy gave Cuddles a friendly pat on the head and told her that it had been a pleasure meeting her, and that any time she fell into the sea she should feel free to drop in and pay them a visit.
Not wanting to appear totally unfriendly, Queen Suzi had also brought a going away present for Cuddles. It was one of the many collars she didn’t particularly like very much, but as she said when she handed it to Cuddles, “It may be second hand my dear, but a second hand royal collar is worth much more than a new ordinary one.” And with that she waved goodbye and slowly walked back to the Palace.
Cuddles climbed into Pelican Bill’s open beak and settled down for the take off. She was happy to be going back to her family, but was also a little sad to be leaving her new friends.
“Don’t fly too fast Bill”, said King Freddy, “And let me know when Cuddles has been delivered safe and sound to her owners.” With these final instructions fresh in his mind, Pelican Bill spread his large wings and slowly rose into the sky carrying Cuddles away from Cat Island and back to her family, who were going to be overjoyed at finding her, but completely mystified as to how she had got back to them!
The cats on the beach started drifting back to their homes. They all had to agree that dogs were not that bad after all, at least dogs like Cuddles, and that it had been another exciting and worthwhile day on Cat Island.
All rights reserved. Copyright Helen Nyman 2007
