Дженни Дейл - Felix Тhe Fluffy Kitten Аnd Other Kitten Tales

Mr Chapman nodded. So Mark carefully scooped the kitten into his arms.

Snuggles cuddled nervously against his new friend. He didn’t really like going outside the house.

As they walked down Mr Chapman’s path, a dog in one of the nearby houses began to bark loudly.

Snuggles stiffened in alarm. “Uh-oh!” he hissed. “It’s big Barney! I’ve seen him walk past our garden – he’s really fierce!” He tried to scramble down the neck of Mark’s sweatshirt.

“That’s Barney the Alsatian,” Mr Chapman explained to Mark. “He belongs to Mr Gordon at Number 21. I’m afraid Snuggles is a bit scared of him.”

“No, I’m not!” Snuggles mewed indignantly. “Well, maybe just a tiny bit . . .”

When they were safely inside Mark’s house, Snuggles felt much happier. He looked around curiously. All the furniture was in place now, but there were still lots of cardboard boxes to be unpacked.

“Let’s play in the garden, Snuggles,” Mark suggested. “We’ve got time before tea.”

“The garden ?” Snuggles mewed, his eyes wide. Go into that scary, dark, overgrown garden? He wasn’t sure he liked that idea very much . . .

Mark unlocked the back door and carried Snuggles outside. He gently put the kitten down on the path, then ran off down the overgrown lawn. “Come on, Snuggles!” he called, taking a small rubber ball from his pocket. “Bet you can’t get to the ball before I do!” He threw the ball across the garden.

“I bet I can!” Snuggles miaowed. Without thinking, he raced into the grass – which was almost as tall as he was. He found the ball and pounced down on top of it, so that it was hidden under his fat, furry little tummy.

Mark laughed. “That’s cheating, Snuggles!”

“Oh, all right,” Snuggles mewed, and stood up. But when Mark bent down to pick the ball up, Snuggles batted it smartly with his paw. The ball rolled away across the grass, out of Mark’s reach.

“Snuggles, stop it!” Mark laughed. This time he grabbed the ball before the kitten reached it, and threw it across the lawn again.

Snuggles rushed after the ball so quickly he did a somersault, and landed SPLAT! on his bottom.

“Oh, Snuggles, you’re so funny!” Mark grinned.

“Maybe, but I’ve got the ball!” Snuggles purred, batting it away from Mark again with his paw.

Snuggles was quite amazed. The garden wasn’t as scary as he’d thought! It was a bit dark and overgrown, but he didn’t feel frightened – because Mark was playing in it too.

Mark took Snuggles to explore the wild patch at the bottom of the garden. They hid behind trees and jumped out at each other. They even rolled around in a big pile of grass cuttings. Then Mark fetched some empty cardboard boxes. He built a big tower and helped Snuggles to climb all the way to the top.

Snuggles really enjoyed playing with his new friend. But after a while he began to feel a bit strange – as though he had forgotten something important . . .

Then he remembered. “Oh!” he mewed. “My afternoon nap!”

The kitten began to make his way back up the garden, towards the house.

“Snuggles?” Mark called, puzzled. “What’s the matter?”

“I almost forgot to have my afternoon Super-Snuggles adventure!” Snuggles mewed. He went through the open back door and into the Bournes’ living room.

Mr Chapman was sitting on the sofa, talking to Emily, who was in her playpen. Mrs Bourne was laying out cups and plates for tea.

Snuggles leaped up onto his owner’s lap, then settled down and closed his eyes.

“I see what you mean about Snuggles sleeping a lot, Mr Chapman!” Mark’s mum said, smiling.

Mr Chapman sighed as he stroked his kitten’s head.

“Where’s Snuggles?” Mark asked, coming into the living room. “Oh!”

Snuggles was almost asleep by now, but he could hear that Mark sounded a bit disappointed.

“We were having a great game,” Mark went on.

Yes, we were , thought Snuggles sleepily. He liked playing with Mark. In fact, playing with Mark was almost as much fun as a Super-Snuggles dream . . .

Chapter Four

Super-Snuggles stood outside Number 21, his tail waving angrily from side to side. Inside the house, a dog was barking loudly

“That Barney!” Super-Snuggles hissed crossly. “He’s always barking. It’s time someone sorted him out!”

The garden gate was shut. It was quite high, but that didn’t stop Super-Snuggles. He leaped over it, and strolled up the garden path. The front door of Number 21 was shut, but a window at the side of the house was open. Super-Snuggles jumped onto the windowsill and looked inside.

Barney the Alsatian was standing in the kitchen. “In case anyone has forgotten, I’M in charge around here,” he barked. “This is MY—” Barney stopped when he saw Super-Snuggles glaring at him through the window. “Er . . . hello, Super-Snuggles,” he woofed – much more quietly. “Is something wrong?”

“There certainly is,” Super-Snuggles miaowed coolly. He stepped through the window and onto the draining board, his whiskers twitching.

Barney looked a bit nervous. “What?” he woofed.

“There’s an annoying dog in my street who never stops barking!” Super-Snuggles hissed, staring hard at Barney.

The big dog bared his teeth.

“Grr! You tell me who’s annoying you, Super-Snuggles, and I’ll see him off!” he growled.

Really! Super-Snuggles thought. Dogs are so stupid! “The dog’s name is Barney, and he lives at Number 21,” he miaowed.

“Right!” Barney barked. Then he looked puzzled. “Hang on a minute, that’s me , isn’t it?”

Super-Snuggles jumped down onto the kitchen floor, stalked over to the Alsatian and looked him in the eye. “Yes, it is,” he miaowed.

Barney’s ears and tail drooped. “Sorry. I’ll never bark loudly again, Super-Snuggles!” he whimpered. “I promise . . .”

“ That’s Mark at the door !”

Hearing this, Snuggles left Super-Snuggles telling Barney off, and woke up. He jumped off Mr Chapman’s lap and raced down the hall.

It was a few days since Snuggles and Mr Chapman had gone to tea at the Bournes’ house. And Mark had called in to play with the kitten every afternoon when he got home from school.

Snuggles really enjoyed the lively games they played. Kind old Mr Chapman had the comfiest lap in the world, but he couldn’t run around the garden with Snuggles like Mark did.

“Hello, Mark,” Snuggles purred, as Mr Chapman opened the door. The kitten launched himself at Mark and pounced on the laces of his trainers. It was one of his favourite games.

“Hi, Mr Chapman,” Mark grinned. “Can I have my laces back, please, Snuggles? I need them to keep my trainers on!”

“Why?” Snuggles grabbed one of the laces in his teeth and shook it from side to side. “I don’t know why people wear such smelly shoes anyway!”

“Snuggles, behave yourself!” Mr Chapman laughed. “Come in, Mark.”

“Race you to the back door, Mark!” Snuggles miaowed happily. And he shot off down the hall, with Mark chasing after him.

When Mr Chapman had unlocked the back door, Snuggles and Mark ran out into the garden. Snuggles had almost forgotten that he’d ever been scared of going outside. Now he and Mark went out whenever the weather was fine.

It was a crisp, bright autumn day. Red and gold leaves were falling gently from the trees onto the lawn.

“Come on, Mark!” Snuggles mewed. “Let’s catch the leaves for a while!” He jumped up at a leaf as it floated down towards him and batted it with his paw.

“Well done, Snuggles!” Mark called. Then he looked around the garden. “I feel like climbing a tree,” he said.