Холли Вебб - Alone In The Night

But Star wasn’t listening. She was gently licking the ginger kitten’s ears, as if making sure they were perfectly clean was the most important thing in the world.

Jasmine woke up very early on Christmas morning. She smiled delightedly as she felt the heavy weight of her stocking next to her feet and sat up to see if she could feel what was in it.

Then she frowned. Was that mewing? Jasmine put on her bedside light and listened again. Star was safe next door, and she’d checked on her last thing the night before, but – yes, there it was again. Jasmine ran downstairs and unlocked the back door to find Star standing there, with the little tabby kitten held in her mouth. Star dashed inside – probably she was worried about the kitten catching cold, Jasmine thought, looking out at the garden as she closed the door. There had been another snowfall in the night, and the grass was covered in a fresh white layer, which looked weird and blue-grey in the darkness.

“Where are you going, Star?” she asked, following the little cat as she trotted through the dark hallway. She flinched as Star started to climb the stairs, determinedly heaving the kitten up each step. Jasmine desperately wanted to help, but wasn’t sure if Star would let her.

Eventually, they reached the landing, and Star made for Jasmine’s bedroom, where she stared meaningfully at the wardrobe.

“Oh!” Jasmine laughed. “You want to have your bed in my wardrobe?” she asked delightedly. She opened the door at once and quickly pulled out her trainers, then fluffed an old fleece blanket into a comfy nest for Star and the kittens.

Star scrambled in and dropped the kitten gently on the blanket, where it wriggled and made a faint, squeaky little mew. Then Star trotted off to go and fetch the other kitten.

By lunchtime, Star was well settled, with her food bowls next to the wardrobe. Mum had brought her little extra morsels of turkey, and Jasmine had even hung some tinsel over the wardrobe door, to make it look Christmassy.

Jasmine had wondered if she might have to go and sleep on the sofa, but Star didn’t seem to mind her being there – and so Jasmine was able to watch her and the kittens a lot more. They were so cute. She was sure that the little tabby one was going to open its eyes soon. They were both gorgeous, of course, but the tabby baby was so like Star, Jasmine couldn’t help loving it most of all. She was almost sure it was a girl kitten, it looked so like its mum.

It was rather a strange Christmas Day, but peeping in at the sleeping kittens, Jasmine thought it was the loveliest she’d ever had.

Two days later, the Murrays arrived home. They hurried next door to Jasmine’s house as soon as they’d dropped off their bags.

Jasmine answered the door, hugging her secret to herself and trying not to giggle.

“Come and see!” she told them.

“Is Star asleep on your bed?” Helen asked, as they followed Jasmine upstairs.

“Not quite,” Jasmine said mysteriously. She led them into her room, and stood back so they could see the scene in her wardrobe.

Star seemed to know she had visitors. She was posed like a queen, and Jasmine was sure she was eyeing the kittens anxiously to make sure they were looking gorgeous, too.

“Goodness!” Helen crouched down to look. “I had no idea she was pregnant!”

“Nor did we,” Jasmine explained. “She started behaving a bit strangely, and then she disappeared, and… We did wonder if it was because she was really missing you. But actually she was having babies in your airing cupboard! Mum cleaned it up,” she added.

“Clever little Star…” Helen murmured, and Andy shook his head in amazement. “Talk about keeping it quiet. So now we’ve got three cats!”

“You’re so lucky,” Jasmine sighed, and Helen looked at her thoughtfully. Leaving Jasmine to tell Andy the whole story right from the beginning, she beckoned Jasmine’s mum out of the room.

They came back a couple of minutes later, just as Jasmine was describing Star arriving at the back door on Christmas morning.

“Your mum’s agreed we’d better let them all stay here for the moment. Star probably won’t want to be moved,” Helen said. “As long as you don’t mind sharing your bedroom, that is?”

“Of course not!” said Jasmine. “What will you do when the kittens are bigger?” she asked. “Will you keep them all?” She wasn’t sure that she wanted to know the answer.

“Well, three cats is rather a lot…” Helen said, smiling at Jasmine’s mum. “I really love the little ginger one – I’ve a feeling he takes after Tiger, that handsome ginger cat down the road.”

Jasmine gulped. They didn’t want the tabby kitten! She couldn’t bear the idea of her special little Christmas kitten being unwanted. It was so unfair.

She almost didn’t hear Helen as she went on, “But I’ve had an idea. One way that she could have her own home and stay close to her mum.”

Jasmine looked up, her eyes full of hope. “You mean…”

Helen grinned at her. “Why not?”

Jasmine looked over at her parents. There was no way Mum and Dad would let her. Was there?

Mum smiled. “Would you like to keep her, Jasmine? You know your dad and I have never been keen on having a cat, but Star won me over. She’s so sweet. Your dad really took to having a cat as well – he was so upset when Star was missing. I’d been wondering whether we could keep one of the kittens even before Helen asked me,” Mum went on. “You looked after Star so well. Dad and I were really proud of you.”

“And as the kitten practically started her life in your wardrobe, I don’t really think we could say no!” Dad laughed.

Jasmine looked down at the little silvery kitten with new eyes. She could be hers! Star gazed at her lovingly, as though she approved of the idea, too.

“What will you call her, Jasmine?” Mum asked.

Jasmine thought for a moment. Something Christmassy. Then she smiled, remembering Star’s mum’s favourite game. “Tinsel,” she said, reaching out, very gently, to stroke her new cat.

Other titles by Holly Webb:

Lost in the Snow

Lost in the Storm

Alfie all Alone

Sam the Stolen Puppy

Max the Missing Puppy

Sky the Unwanted Kitten

Timmy in Trouble

Ginger the Stray Kitten

Harry the Homeless Puppy

Buttons the Runaway Puppy

Alone in the Night

Ellie the Homesick Puppy

Jess the Lonely Puppy

Misty the Abandoned Kitten

Oscar’s Lonely Christmas

Lucy the Poorly Puppy

Smudge the Stolen Kitten

The Rescued Puppy

The Kitten Nobody Wanted

The Lost Puppy

The Frightened Kitten

Copyright

STRIPES PUBLISHING

An imprint of Little Tiger Press

1 The Coda Centre, 189 Munster Road,

London SW6 6AW

Text copyright © Holly Webb, 2009

Illustrations copyright © Sophy Williams, 2009

First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2012.

eISBN: 978–1–84715–271–8

The right of Holly Webb and Sophy Williams to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

All rights reserved.

Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

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

www.stripespublishing.co.uk