“Oh, don’t you want to play, then?” Felix miaowed.
Jodie sighed as she heard the monster cleaner roaring away downstairs again.“Maybe you’ll let me groom you when you get older,” she said.
Felix stared up at her with his bright blue eyes. No, he didn’t think so …
Just then, the doorbell rang downstairs and the vacuum cleaner was hastily switched off. As Mrs Taylor opened the door, Jodie could hear a very familiar voice. Then her mum called upstairs.
“Jodie! Mrs Oberon’s here. Come and say hello!”
Jodie gathered Felix up.“Mrs Oberon is organising the school f?te this year,” she told him. “She’s my teacher. She’s a bit posh and strict – but quite nice really.”
“Of course I’d be delighted to help at the school f?te,” Mrs Taylor was saying, as Jodie carried Felix into the sitting room. “Just let me know what you’d like me to do.”
The smartly dressed visitor was sitting on the sofa.“Oh thank you!” she said. Then she smiled at Jodie. “Hello, Jodie – lovely kitten!” she added, seeing Felix. “Maybe we should have a cat competition at the f?te. He’d be bound to win!”
Felix purred with pleasure. He liked Mrs Oberon.
Jodie and her mum showed Mrs Oberon to the door, then waited until their guest had reached the front gate.
Suddenly, Mrs Taylor gasped.“Oh no!”
“What?” Jodie asked, puzzled.
“Mrs Oberon’s skirt!” Mrs Taylor whispered.
“What about it?” Jodie asked, even more puzzled. She hadn’t noticed anything strange about it.
“Didn’t you see?” said her mum, closing the door. “All down the back of it – grey fluff!”
Jodie went into the sitting room to look at the sofa. There was fluff all over the cushions again. She hurriedly tried to brush it off.
“I thought I told you not to let that kitten on the sofa!” Mrs Taylor thundered.
Felix, who was still sitting on the sofa, took one look at Mrs Taylor’s angry face and disappeared underneath it.
“This is so embarrassing!” Jodie’s mum went on. “What on earth will Mrs Oberon think when she gets home and sees her skirt covered in fluff?” Jodie didn’t really think there was anything wrong with having cat fluff on your skirt. Or on the carpet or the sofa, or in the bath. But her mumsighed heavily. “This is the last straw! I’m beginning to think that kitten of yours ought to live in the garage, you know.”
“Mum!” Jodie protested. “We can’t do that – he’d hate it!”
Felix, lying flat underneath the sofa, gave a frightened squeak. This was going too far! A kitten– asuperkitten like him– couldn’t possibly live in agarage.
“Well, I just can’t think of another solution,” Mrs Taylor said. “He refuses to be groomed, he won’t stay off the furniture … and all I do is clean the place morning, noon and night!”
“But, Mum—” Jodie was just about to start pleading with her mum when the phone rang.
“Bill Pearce here, lass,” a voice said when Jodie answered it. “From Pearce’s Perfect Pets. How’s your fluffy kitten?”
“Er … he’s OK,” Jodie said, looking at her mum, who was still frowning and was about to start vacuuming again.
“And did the new comb do the trick?” Mr Pearce asked.
“Not exactly,” Jodie said uncomfortably.
“Well, it’s about that – about the fluff – that I’m ringing you,” Mr Pearce went on. “Can I have a word with your mum?”
Jodie handed the phone to Mrs Taylor, who spoke with Mr Pearce for a while.
Then she put the phone down, looking puzzled.“Mr Pearce says that he has some people in his shop who want to meet Felix,” she said.
Hearing his name, Felix gave a mew of alarm and crawled to the very back of the sofa. What was happeningnow?
“What’s it about, Mum?” Jodie asked, surprised.
“He wouldn’t say,” Mrs Taylor replied. “But they’re coming round straight away.” She switched on the vacuum cleaner. “It all sounds most mysterious.”
Chapter Five
“Hello,” Jodie said shyly, as Mr Pearce brought a small, smiling man and a tall woman with frizzy red hair into the house.
“This is Mr Tomkins and his assistant, Miss Spark,” said Mr Pearce.
“Pleased to meet you,” said Jodie’s mum, shaking hands with them. “Although I can’t think why you wanted to meet Felix.”
Felix was watching from underneath the sofa. What did these people want with him?
“If I may explain,” Mr Tomkins said, stepping forward. “My assistant, Miss Spark here, visited Mr Pearce’s shop a few days ago and admired the photograph of Felix in the window …”
Felix, with a soft miaow, came out from under the sofa.“Here I am!”
The two visitors gave an“Aaah!” of admiration.
“Oh, how sweet!” Miss Spark cried. Her red curls bobbed round her pointy face. “Mr Pearce told me that Felix was the fluffiest kitten he’d ever seen!” she said.
“And I’m pleased to see he’s very fluffy indeed,” Mr Tomkins added.
Jodie picked up Felix and stroked him proudly. A small shower of grey fluff floated out from his coat. Everyone watched as it slowly sank to the floor. Jodie’s heart sank too. Was her mum going to be angry?
“Ahem …” said Miss Spark. “Mr Pearce also told me you were having a spot of trouble with Felix’s fluff.”
“Well, yes,” said Mrs Taylor. She glanced at Jodie. “It’s true that all I seem to do these days is clean up after Felix. I’ve got a vacuum cleaner but it’s not really up to the job.”
“And that is why we’re here!” boomed Mr Tomkins happily.
“Shall I go and get it, sir?” Miss Spark asked, a hint of excitement in her voice.
Mr Tomkins nodded.“If you don’t mind, Miss Spark.”
Miss Spark went to the white van parked outside. She came back in carrying a strange, shiny machine. Written on the side, in bright blue letters, wasWizard.
“It looks like a robot!” Jodie said, staring at the large silver box with arms attached.
Felix jumped down from Jodie’s arms and approached the machine. What a strange-looking creature! He saw himself in the shiny surface. “Miiaoww!” What a fine-looking kitten!
“This,” said Mr Tomkins proudly, “is my latest invention. It’s notjust a vacuum cleaner …”
Felix backed away from the silver creature.“Isthat a vacuum cleaner?” he miaowed.
“… It’sthe vacuum cleaner!” Mr Tomkins continued. “Better than any other!” He beamed at Jodie and her mum. “I’ve called it the Wizard because it can clean any house like magic!”
“Really?” Mrs Taylor looked at it wistfully. “Well, it looks very good, but—”
Mr Tomkins held up his hand.“Please allow us to demonstrate …” He turned to his assistant. “Miss Spark, would you plug in the Wizard, please?”
“Certainly, Mr Tomkins,” his assistant replied. By now, Miss Spark’s red curls seemed to fizz with excitement.
Felix wondered if he should make a dash for it. He’d heard the dreaded words “vacuum cleaner”, and that usually meant trouble.
But while he was deciding, Miss Spark switched the machine on. The silver creature began to hum.
Felix sat with his head on one side and stared, puzzled. Why wasn’t it making a nasty loud roaring sound like Mrs Taylor’s vacuum cleaner?
Miss Spark began to put the machine through its paces, moving one of its long rubbery arms over the sofa.
“Look at that!” Mrs Taylor cried, delighted. The sofa cushions looked brand new!
Then Miss Spark pushed the machine across the carpet.“With one gentle push, the Wizard slides easily along the floor, picking up every single hair as it passes,” she said.
“It picks up fluff you didn’t know you had!” Mr Tomkins joked.
Felix watched the humming silver creature gliding smoothly along the carpet. It didn’t seem fierce, like the other vacuum cleaner. And he did like being able to see himself in the creature’s shiny body. Perhaps he should make friends with it.