Everyone applauded. Marie took a step forward. Toulouse took two steps forward. Both of them stopped when Berlioz hopped on top of his piano stool.
“Thank you!” Berlioz said, taking a bow. “You know, the night I had a dream we opened our own café, it looked a lot like this, and then—”
“Ah, so this was all your idea!” Brie the mouse exclaimed. “You deserve a special round of applause!”
Before Berlioz could correct her, everyone started clapping again. Marie and Toulouse exchanged confused glances.
The crowd cheered: “HOORAY, BERLIOZ! BRAVO! BRAVO!”
“Oh!” Berlioz said, realizing what he’d done. “No, wait!” But nobody heard him above the noise. “Hello? Everyone?”
He spun around and banged his paws on the piano keys. The whole café fell silent.
“I think there has been a misunderstanding,” Berlioz announced, then spotted Marie and Toulouse in the crowd. “This wasn’t just my idea. My brother and sister and I…well, we did it all together. Marie? Toulouse? Will you come sit with me at the piano?”
Toulouse and Marie smiled and made their way, purring, up to the top of the piano.
“You see…” Berlioz continued. “Well…let me tell you the story the best way I know how.”
One by one, he stretched out all ten toes on his front paws, then all eight on his back paws, making a big cracking noise each time. Finally, he started playing and singing:
We’re just three little kittens, but wait, you should listen
To the story of this here café
We have paws and tails and whiskers, then we start to differ
We each spend time our own way
Toulouse paints the world, with colors swished and swirled
To brighten your walls and your day
Marie mixes and measures, bakes fun into treasures
“Can I please have some more?” they all say
As for me, I do my part by singing what’s in my heart
Just give me some cool jazz to play
We kittens worked together to bring YOU all together
And now that you’re here, we’ll let out a cheer
For food and art and song
And everyone getting along
At the Purrfect Paw-tisserie!
When the song ended, everyone applauded even more loudly than before.
Duchess beamed with pride at her kittens. Marie and Toulouse leapt off the piano and into the air toward their brother…landing on him in a triple-kitten cuddle. They cuddled for a long time, purring together.
After a few minutes, Louis came up and tapped Marie on the shoulder.
“Ahem, Marie? I’m sorry to tell you this, but I think you have another problem.”
“Problem? What is it?” Marie asked.
“Come with me,” Louis said, his face serious. “I’ll show you.”
Marie, Toulouse, and Berlioz exchanged worried expressions. What could be the matter now?
He led the kittens to one of the windows overlooking the alley. They had to climb a chair, then hop onto the frame of a painting and onto the windowsill.
Out in the alley, there were animals. Lots of animals! More cats and dogs, hamsters and rabbits, and so many squirrels it was hard to tell where one ended and another began.
“What are they doing?” Berlioz asked.
“What do you think?” Louis said. “They’re waiting to get into the café! News travels fast among the animals of Paris. Oh, my, you’re going to be busy. Can you handle it?”
Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse exchanged smiles. It was like a secret language between them now. The smile said: Together, we can do anything.
Marie said, “Open the door, Louis. We’re ready!”
Jennifer Castle is the author of over a dozen books for kids and teens, including the Butterfly Wishes series and American Girl’s Girl of the Year: Blaire books. She lives in New Paltz, New York, with her family, which includes five cats, a leopard gecko, and, often, a few rescued foster kittens, who are all likely planning their own creature café when the humans aren’t looking.
Sydney Hanson is a children’s book illustrator living in Sierra Madre, California. Her illustrations reflect her growing up with numerous pets and brothers in Minnesota, and her love of animals and nature. She illustrates using both traditional and digital media; her favorites are watercolor and colored pencil. When she’s not drawing, she enjoys running, baking, and exploring the woods with her family. To see her latest animals and illustrations, follow her on Instagram at @sydwiki.