But even though he was scared, the kitten couldn’t resist having a quick peep through the hole. He poked his stripy face through and …
WHAT WAS THAT?
Something was moving in there!
Snuggles dashed into the house as fast as his paws could carry him.
“Snuggles, it’s only a blackbird!” Mr Chapman called, as he saw what had frightened his kitten. The bird flew up over the fence and into a tree.
But Snuggles had had enough of the big scary world outside.
Mr Chapman came back in, shaking his head. As soon as he sat down, Snuggles jumped onto his owner’s lap and curled up in a tight little ball. It was the only place he felt safe.
“No, Snuggles, don’t go to sleep again,” Mr Chapman said. “Wake up!”
But Snuggles was already fast asleep.
Chapter Two
“I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, Mr Chapman,” said the vet. She finished examining Snuggles. “He seems fine.”
“Ofcourse I’m fine,” Snuggles mewed, as Mr Chapman put him back into his basket. “I could have told you that!” While his owner was talking to the vet, the kitten snuggled into his blanket and closed his eyes.
By the time they left the surgery, Snuggles was fast asleep …
Super-Snuggles the Wonder Cat was prowling round Mr Chapman’s back garden. One flick of his tail, and not a single bird evendared to land in any of the trees.
Super-Snuggles stared at the fence in between Mr Chapman’s garden and the one next door. “I wonder what the other garden’s like?” he miaowed to himself.
The fence was very high, but that wasn’t a problem for Super-Snuggles the Wonder Cat.
“Here I go!” Super-Snuggles miaowed loudly. He sprang into the air, soared over the fence – and landed safely on the other side. “That was easy!” he purred.
Super-Snuggles looked around the garden. There were lots of tall trees to climb. But best of all, there was a large pond, filled with plump, orange fish …
“Snuggles?”
Mr Chapman’s voice suddenly popped into the kitten’s dream.
“Not now,” Super-Snuggles mewed crossly. “I want to explore next door’s garden.”
“Snuggles, wake up!”
Crossly, Snuggles opened an eye. He didn’twant to wake up. His dream was too exciting!
“We’re home, Snuggles,” said Mr Chapman. “And look, a new family is moving in next door.”
Snuggles stretched, then sat up in his travelling basket. An enormous lorry was parked in the road. Four men were lifting furniture out of it. A woman was standing in next door’s garden with a boy. She had a toddler in her arms – a little girl.
The woman waved at Mr Chapman.“Hello, we’re your new neighbours!” she called. “I’m Sue Bourne, and these are my children, Mark and Emily.”
“Hello,” Mr Chapman called back. “I’m Ron Chapman. And this is my kitten Snuggles.” He held up the cat basket.
Snuggles looked at the new people, feeling a bit nervous. Theyseemed friendly, he thought.
“Oh, I love cats!” said Mark. He hurried over to get a closer look at Snuggles. “Hello,” he said. He reached through the bars of the basket to tickle Snuggles’s head.
“Hello,” Snuggles purred back.
“Do you have a cat, Mark?” Mr Chapman asked.
Mark shook his head.“No. But I used to go to my best friend Paul’s house and play with his kitten after school. And Mum and Dad have said I can have my own cat when Emily’s a bit older,” he added eagerly.
“Pussy-cat!” said Emily. She leaned over and tried to grab Snuggles’s basket.
“Well, Mark, you’re welcome to come and play with Snuggles,” Mr Chapman said, smiling.
Mark’s face lit up. “Thanks, Mr Chapman.”
Snuggles was pleased too. Mark seemed very friendly.
“And you must come and have tea with us, when we’ve settled in,” Mrs Bourne said to Mr Chapman.
“Can Snuggles come too, Mum?” Mark asked quickly.
“Of course!” his mum agreed.
CRASH!
Snuggles almost leaped out of his basket as one of the removal men dropped a box onto the pavement. He wriggled under his blanket and lay there out of sight, shaking with fear.
“Oh dear!” Mrs Bourne groaned. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Mr Chapman.” She hurried out of the garden to inspect the box.
“And nice to meet you too, Snuggles!” Mark added.
Snuggles gingerly poked his head out to mew goodbye.
“Well, the Bournes seem very friendly, don’t they, Snuggles?” Mr Chapman remarked. He carried Snuggles into the house, then let him out of his basket. “It’ll be nice to have someone living next door again.”
But Snuggles wasn’t listening. He trotted into the living room and curled up on the rug.
By the time Mr Chapman had made himself a cup of tea, the kitten was fast asleep again.“Oh,Snuggles!” Mr Chapman sighed. “Whatam I going to do with you?”
Chapter Three
“And you be careful with those boxes!” Super-Snuggles the Wonder Cat miaowed. He kept a stern eye on the removal men going in and out of the house next door. “They belong to my friend Mark, and I’ll be very cross if you drop them!”
The removal men were carrying the boxes very slowly and carefully into the house.
“Good!” Super-Snuggles purred. “Just remember that I’m watching you …”
“Snuggles, you’ll have to get off my lap.”
Snuggles opened his eyes to find Mr Chapman gently lifting him up.
“There’s someone at the door,” Mr Chapman went on, putting the kitten down on the carpet.
Snuggles yawned.“I was having a brilliant dream,” he mewed sleepily. “I really made those removal men behave themselves!”
Mr Chapman went to answer the door.
Snuggles padded after him, and saw their new neighbour standing on the doorstep.“Hello, Mark!” he purred happily.
“Hello, Mr Chapman,” Mark said. “We were wondering if you and Snuggles would like to come round and have tea with us.”
“Well, that’s very kind of you,” Mr Chapman said, looking very pleased.
Mark beamed.“Can I carry Snuggles over to my house, please?” he asked hopefully.
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.”
“Thegarden?” 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.