The Killer Cat Runs Away Read online

  Straight towards me.

  ‘Tuffy! Oh, Tuffy! I’ve found you at last! Thank heavens!’

  I purred at her like mad.

  She reached for the latch to my cage, but before she could open it, Arif stopped sucking his hand and brought it down on hers. ‘Stop! Don’t let this cat out. He’s vicious.’

  Ellie stared. ‘He is not vicious! I should know. He’s mine.’

  Arif shook his head. ‘No, no. You’re wrong. Lots of cats look alike, and this one can’t be yours. He is called Pusskins and he’s on the way to have his shots before he goes to Spain.’

  Ellie laid her hand on the cage. ‘No, he is not,’ she said. ‘He is called Tuffy and he’s had his shots already. And he belongs to me and he’s so clever he was singing his favourite song just so I’d recognize him.’

  ‘He’s not yours!’

  ‘Yes, he is. And I can prove it.’

  Quick as a flash, she’d lifted the latch and swung the cage door open.

  I’m not a cuddler, on the whole. But I wasn’t going to put my pride before a rescue. I didn’t muck about. I simply jumped straight into Ellie’s arms and purred and purred and rubbed and rubbed, and did all those soppy and embarrassing things some hungry cats do when they don’t have the guts to give you the cold blank stare that means, ‘Get on with it, then. Feed me.’

  ‘See?’ Ellie said. ‘Tuffy’s not vicious at all. He is a wonderful, gentle, clever pet. And you can’t have him.’

  Arif was going to argue. But just at that moment Ellie’s mother panted up behind and said, ‘Yes! That is definitely our cat. And he was stolen over a week ago. We put up photos all over town. Ask anyone you like.’

  Ellie squeezed me even tighter. ‘See?’ she told Arif. Then she slid off my fancy jewelled collar and dumped it on the table. ‘But you can keep the collar and the cage.’

  I owed her one, and so for once I didn’t struggle. I just gave Arif the look that says, ‘And you and your friend the vet can both go and boil your heads!’

  Then, after Ms Whippy admitted down the phone that she had practically kidnapped me only a few days before, Arif did give up arguing, and I let Ellie and her mum take turns in carrying me home in triumph.

  20

  My Precious, Wonderful, Amazing Tuffy!

  The moment we got near to our front door, I wriggled out of Ellie’s arms. (No point in letting the child get into bad habits.)

  Then, acting super-cool, I strolled back into the house. As I passed underneath a brand-new spray of glossy, waving leaves, I nodded companionably. ‘Looking good, Pot Plant!’

  I waved at Frying Pan and Piano – ‘Hi, fellas! I’m back!’ – and went upstairs, planning to say hello to Alarm Clock and Bedroom Slippers. Ellie was chasing after me, carrying my old collar. ‘Oh, Tuffy! I’m so glad you’re back!’ She slid it over my head. It was still damp from all her weeping, but I thought I could be gracious about it. After all, the child had saved me from worse.

  I let her give me the most gentle squeeze. She buried her face in my fur. ‘Oh, Tuffy!’ she said. ‘My precious, wonderful, amazing Tuffy! The Tuffy I love so much and always have and always will, for ever and ever and ever! Thank heavens you’re home and safe!’

  I let her squeeze me one more time before I shook her off and went downstairs to check on Frying Pan. (After all, Ellie and her mother were both outside when that rude vet was going on about how fat I was. And I was peckish.)

  21

  ‘You Promised You’d Never Forget Me.’

  Tiger and Snowball and Bella were having a laugh playing see-saw on the wobbly drain cover a few houses down.

  ‘Hi,’ I said, stepping onto Bella’s side to even the game up a bit. ‘It’s me. I’m back.’

  ‘Who’s this?’ asked Tiger.

  ‘Do we know him?’ Bella asked.

  ‘No one I know,’ said Snowball.

  ‘Oh, come on, guys!’ I told them. ‘You promised you’d never forget me!’

  So they knocked off the teasing and we mucked about. I told them all about my great adventures and my narrow escape. They helped me get the collar off.

  ‘Look at the state of it,’ said Tiger. ‘Sodden! Mind you, I’m not surprised. Ellie has spent an awful lot of time these last few days howling her head off.’

  ‘That’s right,’ said Snowball. ‘Her mother kept on trying to cheer her up by offering her a fluff-ball kitten just like Tinkerbell.’

  Tiger finished the story. ‘And all she did was howl louder.’

  Good stuff to hear.

  We played quoits with the collar for half an hour or so while it was drying. Then the gang helped me put it on again. I think I’m safer wearing it, just for a while, until the hue and cry has all died down and Ms Whippy’s found herself another mouser and flown off to Spain.

  Yes. Safer here till then.

  And nicer too.

  At my real home. With Ellie.

  The Wild Cats’ Chorus

  YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW,

  YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW

  Yowwwwwl, yoWWWWL,

  Yowwwwl, yowwwl

  YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW,

  (piano – softly)

  YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW,

  YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW

  Yowwwwwl, yoWWWWL,

  Yowwwwl, yowwwl

  YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW.

  (fortissimo – very loud)

  YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW,

  YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW

  Yowwwwwl, yoWWWWL,

  Yowwwwl, yowwwl

  YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW, YEE-OWW.

  © Tuffy & Gang

  About the Author

  Anne Fine has been an acknowledged top author in the children’s book world since her first book was published in the mid 1970s, and has now written more than forty books and won virtually every major award going, including the Carnegie Medal (more than once), the Whitbread Children’s Award, the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award, the Smarties Prize and others. Anne was appointed the Children’s Laureate from 2001-2003.

  Also by Anne Fine

  Corgi Yearling

  THE MORE THE MERRIER

  EATING THINGS ON STICKS

  TROUBLE IN TOADPOOL

  CHARM SCHOOL

  BAD DREAMS

  FROZEN BILLY

  Corgi

  ON THE SUMMERHOUSE STEPS

  THE GRANNY PROJECT

  THE STONE MENAGERIE

  ROUND BEHIND THE ICEHOUSE

  UP ON CLOUD NINE

  THE ROAD OF BONES

  THE DEVIL WALKS

  BLOOD FAMILY

  Poetry Collections

  A SHAME TO MISS 1:

  PERFECT POEMS FOR

  YOUNG READERS

  A SHAME TO MISS 2:

  IDEAL POEMS FOR

  MIDDLE READERS

  A SHAME TO MISS 3:

  IRRESISTIBLE POETRY

  FOR YOUNG ADULTS

  For Junior Readers

  THE KILLER CAT SERIES

  THE ANGEL OF NITSHILL ROAD

  HOW TO WRITE REALLY BADLY

  LOUDMOUTH LOUIS

  BILL’S NEW FROCK

  THE CHICKEN GAVE IT TO ME

  IVAN THE TERRIBLE

  ANNELI THE ART HATER

  SAVING MISS MIRABELLE

  www.annefine.co.uk

  www.myhomelibrary.org

  THE KILLER CAT RUNS AWAY

  AN RHCP DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 448 12158 8

  Published in Great Britain by RHCP Digital,

  an imprint of Random House Children’s Publishers UK

  A Random House Group Company

  This ebook edition published 2013

  Text copyright © Anne Fine, 2013

  Illustrations © Thomas Docherty, 2013

  First published in Great Britain by Doubleday, 2013

  The right of Anne Fine to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  This ebook is copyright material
and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.