An Inspired Kitten

Freddy Stories

A family was going to a holiday resort where cats weren’t allowed. But they had a cat. What were they to do? The answer was obvious. After spending a night in a lovely B&B, a large mansion in the countryside, they decided to leave the kitty behind. So, one day, at the beginning of July, a tiny tabby kitten found herself alone in the gardens of a B&B. Her family had “forgotten” her.

“Cannelle will be fine here, won’t she?” asked the woman. 

 “Of course, it’s such a nice place for a cat with all these gardens! And I’m sure someone will adopt her – she's so pretty!” replied the man.

“Yes, and so young, still a little kitten. People like kittens.”

So they both agreed.

Only their little girl was sad. She wanted to cry, but her parents promised to get her another kitten when they returned from holiday. “It will be an even more beautiful kitty, you’ll see!”

The woman took Cannelle in her arms and placed her behind a large bush not far from the B&B entrance. “Petite, we need to leave. You just go and play around” she said in farewell as if she were leaving for a few hours only. A little tap on the kitty’s head and the family got into the car. When she tried to join them, they slammed the car door in front of her tiny nose and drove away. 

“Yikes!” exclaimed the man.

“Phew,” breathed the woman in relief, then added, “It’s a shame. Poor thing.”

The little girl wiped away a tear. Then she thought about that other kitten she would get when they got back from holiday – or maybe a new coloured pencil set? They’re almost the same, aren’t they – a kitty and a pencil case?

As for the kitty, she sat there, bewildered. She knew she wouldn’t see them again. But why was she being left behind? Did they not love her anymore? Wasn’t she their little kitty, the princess of the house? And what should she do now? Run after the car? Dogs do it, but cats are too proud.

“If they don’t like me, then I don’t like them either,” decided Cannelle. She was a brave, optimistic little kitten, and deep inside her little heart, she knew that the sun would shine again for her. If it was late in rising, she’d go and find it. Or invent it. Whatever. Soon, she’d get a new mum, and this time they’d stay together forever. 

The Broom the Kick and a Ladle

 She looked towards the big mansion. Giant steps lead to the entrance. The door was wide open, and she could smell croissants! Aha, thought Cannelle, that’s where the breakfast room for cats is! She loved croissants.

Bravely, she walked to the B&B and climbed the stairs with some difficulty (they were very high); she strode into the dining room, her tail high in anticipation What a wonderful place! Leftovers were all around. Something was waiting for her on every table: cheese, slices of ham and even a full plate of croissants! And there was a large jug of milk, what a delight! No doubt, her breakfast was ready, waiting for her to indulge. And oh, look! There was even a waiter who was busy sweeping. He was certainly waiting for her arrival to attend to her. She had undoubtedly come to the right place. 

“Don’t bother, I can help myself,” cried Cannelle and jumped on a table.

Unfortunately, this waiter wasn’t very good with foreign languages – French people seldom are. He heard “meow” but didn’t understand what it meant.

“La peste!” he shouted and continued with a string of words that should not be repeated in polite company.

He ran towards the kitty with an angry look in his eyes and tried to hit her. Ah, no chance! He didn’t know that he was holding a magic broom! A broom that wouldn’t want to harm a little kitten. Instead, it chose to land its powerful blow on an expensive Limoges porcelain set, breaking it into a thousand pieces. 

Before the waiter could get over the shock, Cannelle grabbed a piece of croissant between her teeth and ran into the gardens. She hid inside a thick hedge to enjoy her booty. She wouldn’t have wanted to stay in the dining room anyway! Really, some people simply have no manners! How rude! A “pest”, he’d called her – the cat who was a princess! She had never doubted that she was the descendant of a long line of noble cats, aristo-cats of the highest rank. Besides, all cats are royal, aren’t they? 

“I won’t go back! Too bad for that stupid waiter. Now he won’t have anyone to help him with the leftovers,” she muttered as she enjoyed her snatched croissant. Of course, it wasn’t much, but it made her happy for a while.

Next, it was time to tour the property – her new “home”. She sniffed the hedges, raced between the trees, tried to catch a butterfly and rolled over the daisies, just to say hello. When lunchtime arrived, she caught the delicious smell of roast chicken wafting across the gardens. 

“Ah, I hope they serve it with fresh pasta and gravy.” Cannelle was a true gourmet, she knew how to match dishes. Again, she climbed the big stairs. The smell was so appealing that she was ready to forget the morning’s misadventure.

Albeit a  little uneasy, she sashayed into the dining room, thus generously providing the server with an opportunity to make amends. The least he could do was offer her a nice chicken breast on a china plate decorated with gold. The vessel, I mean, not the chicken. 

But do you think that stupid guy could understand the enormous opportunity he had been given? He ran towards her and kicked her little bum as hard as he could! The kick was so powerful that it sent the poor kitten straight into the garden. That was a bit painful! Some guests protested; some were even shocked. The waiter justified himself: “There are dozens of stray cats here. If we feed them all, there will soon be hundreds, thousands! One should never feed a stray cat! They just keep coming back.”

Even the guests who disagreed didn’t want to argue with him – you don’t want to get the worst piece of chicken, do you? Better to agree with this influential character unless you want to be served a three-day-old dish!

As for Cannelle, she sat in the shade of a large tree, licked her little bum and decided to have a nap. Her mummy cat used to say that napping replaces food when there isn’t any.

She woke up late in the afternoon feeling very hungry. As often happens in France, the mouth-watering smell of good cuisine floated in the air around her. Where was it coming from? Could there be a cat restaurant somewhere at the back of the mansion? She set out to find it. As she trotted to the rear of the building, she thought about how the chef must be very famous and licked her chops in anticipation of a delicious meal.

It wasn’t difficult to find the kitchen, and what a stroke of luck! The door was wide open, and the place was as busy as an anthill. Tens of men in white were bustling around the stoves, handling pots and pans, cooking, frying, dishing up food. Waiters came and went, entering through a swinging door, grabbing a plate or two and carrying them away. What a funny game, thought Cannelle, I’ll go and help!

She entered cautiously, her belly to the ground. Have you ever wondered why cats sometimes crawl this way? Well, it’s simple: it makes them invisible!

Once in the kitchen, she jumped on a counter. There were so many dishes in front of her, so many delights! A dream for a hungry kitty. Which one to select?

The most tempting, it seemed to her, was the white fish fried in butter. I’ll take this one and carry it into the dining room, decided Cannelle. She seized the fish by the tail, lifted it up, which was no easy task, and began to drag it along the counter. It was about twice her size! The kitchen staff, finally noticing her, started to laugh. Unfortunately, this had the effect of arousing the attention of the chef.

He stepped out of his tiny office, grabbed the first tool he could find – a big ladle – and ran towards Cannelle. Ah, here comes help, thought Cannelle. But why is he swinging the ladle in the air? And why does he keep shouting? 

“The cat! The thief!” the chef yelled, his face angry and red.  “You idiots didn’t see it? And you let the cat come in and steal the food?”

Cannelle looked around her to see which thief he was talking about and couldn’t see one.

As the ladle and the man were getting too close to her, she decided it would be wise to leave. Without dropping the fish, she jumped over the dishes and glassware, hearing the sound of pots breaking behind but deciding that was the least of her worries. Luckily, she escaped just in time – but we cannot say the same for the glassware. A lot of dishes were broken in this B&B!

The kitty ran out into a thick hedge. The fish was no longer whole; however, enough was left for a delectable dinner.

Happy, her belly full for the first time that day, she made a bed of dry leaves, curled up into a ball and fell asleep.

Learning to Survive

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