1. WELCOME TO THE CREATURE CAFĖ
On a bright, warm morning in Paris, inside a grand mansion on a cobblestone street, three kittens sat looking up at a big wooden door. Their tails swished nervously back and forth.
“Maybe we shouldn’t go in today,” said one, a white kitten named Marie. “Mama told us to go play in the courtyard.”
“But that’sso boring,” said her brother, a gray kitten named Berlioz. He tapped the door with one tiny claw. “We’re going to have a lot more fun in there.”
“Yeah, we can’t just go back to our same old routine,” added orange kitten Toulouse, the other brother. “Not after everything that’s happened!”
The three kittens, along with their mother, Duchess, had just experienced the adventure of their lives. Maybe even allnine of their lives. They’d been catnapped by a scheming butler, but with courage, luck, and some critter cooperation, they’d found their way home to their beloved human, Madame Adelaide Bonfamille. Along the way, they’d seen many amazing things and met fascinating new friends…especially some very cool alley cats.
Marie smiled.“You’re right. Let’s do it. On my count! One…two…”
Before she could saythree, Toulouse pushed open the door himself and burst into the room.
“Typical,” Marie sighed. “But yay! We’re in!”
Ever since Madame had opened up her home as a shelter for the stray kitties of Paris, felines of every type imaginable had filled the parlor behind the big door: busy and lazy, chunky and fluffy, fancy and scruffy. The kittens liked to call it Alley Cat Parlor.
Berlioz raced past twin tabbies snoring in their bunk beds and a group of four alley cats playing cards, straight to the piano. He leapt onto the keys, causing a sound like pots and pans crashing to the floor.
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“Mrow!” one of the alley cats exclaimed, flattening his ears.
“Sorry!” Berlioz replied. “I just can’t wait to play the new song I wrote!”
Toulouse rushed to the far corner, where an easel, an empty canvas, and painting supplies were set up. He dipped one paw into the yellow paint and one into the black, then smeared both blobs of color onto the canvas.
“A masterpiece!” declared a little gray mouse who was standing nearby, munching on a cracker.
“Hello, Roquefort!” Toulouse said. “Do you really like my painting?”
Roquefort, who lived in the walls of the mansion, was a loyal friend to the kittens and their mama. He’d helped rescue them when they were catnapped. Now he liked to hang around Alley Cat Parlor, nibbling on leftovers and licking the milk bowls clean.
“I love it!” Roquefort exclaimed. “It’s a delicious banana, right? No, wait. A yellow cupcake with chocolate icing?”
Toulouse frowned.“It’s abumblebee.”
“Oh,” Roquefort said with a disappointed sigh. “Well, that’s not yummy at all.”
Marie bounded past her brothers and through the door that led to the kitchen, where a fluffy gray cat sat on the counter, kneading dough with his two front paws.
“Louis!” Marie said, laughing. “You’re covered in flour!”
“Oh, my!” the cat said. He shook out his fur, and the flour rose up around him like a cloud. Now he appeared to be the fluffyblack cat he really was.“Would you like to help me make kitty croissants?”
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“Yes, please! Your pastries are the best things I’ve ever tasted, Louis. Do you think I could be a chef like you someday?”
“Ahem-meow,” said a voice behind Marie.“That all depends on what your mother does when she catches you down here.”
Marie spun around to see a big orange-and-white tomcat grinning whisker to whisker. It was Thomas O’Malley, the coolest of the cool cats, who’d helped their family during the big catnapping adventure. He’d since become their stepfather.
“Toulouse! Marie! Berlioz!” Duchess called from upstairs.“Come along, darlings! Madame is taking us to the park!”
Marie shot a panicked look at Louis and O’Malley, then rushed back into the parlor to warn her brothers. “It’s Mama! Quick! Hide!”
Berlioz and Toulouse both tried to scurry under the same chair, causing a kitten collision.
“Ow!” Berlioz howled, swatting at his brother. “Can you be more careful?”
“Hey,you crashed intome!” Toulouse said, swatting back.
Marie skidded across the floor, then hopped into a basket kitty bed. She dove under a blanket just as Duchess, an elegant white cat in a sparkly gold collar, walked into the room.
“Duchess!” O’Malley said as he strutted through the kitchen door and spotted the kittens’ mama. “Can I just tell you how much your eyes still sparkle like sapphires?”
Duchess blinked her big blue eyes slowly at O’Malley. Once, twice, three times. Then she glanced around the room, noticing the lumpy blanket in the basket.
“Thank you, Thomas, darling,” Duchess said. Then she smiled sweetly. “Now, canyou tell our kittens to come out of their hiding places and meet me outside?”
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Duchess, O’Malley, and the kittens strolled along behind Madame into the Luxembourg Gardens, one of Paris’s busiest parks.
“Mama,” Berlioz asked Duchess, “are you angry that we’ve been spending so much time with the alley cats?”
Duchess nuzzled Berlioz’s cheek with hers. “I’m not mad, my darlings, but you must promise not to keep things from me anymore. It’s a kitten’s job to be curious, but not secretive.”
“We promise!” the kittens meowed, weaving in and out of Duchess’s legs.
Duchess laughed.“Very good. Now, go play while Thomas and I help Madame find the perfect picnic spot.”
Marie, Berlioz, and Toulouse raced onto the grass. They loved the park! It was filled with so many colorful sights, exciting sounds, and interesting smells. Nearby, two children tossed a small rubber ball back and forth. Berlioz started watching, then Toulouse joined in, and soon all three kittens were hypnotized by the ball as it flew through the air.
Suddenly,PONK! One of the children threw the ball too hard. It bounced off a tree, fell to the pavement, and rolled away.
“Let’s catch it!” Toulouse shouted as he launched himself like a rocket after the ball.
“Wait up!” Marie called, taking off behind him.
Now Berlioz was chasing the ball, too, and it picked up speed as it rolled toward the park gates.
“Chook-chook-chook!” a voice chattered from above. A brown squirrel with a big bushy tail perched on a tree branch, watching the kittens.“Where are you going? Why are you running? What is happening?”
“Hi, Pouf!” Toulouse called to the squirrel. “Can’t talk now! Important kitten business!”
Berlioz, Toulouse, and Marie pursued the ball as it traveled across the street, around a corner, and into an alley. There, it bounced off a wall and flew back toward them.
Marie jumped for it but missed. Berlioz leapt next, but he missed, too, and landed on Marie. Toulouse made a final grab for the ball, but it escaped his paws as he fell onto the kitten pile.
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“Ow!” they all yowled.
The ball was headed straight for a metal grate in the wall…when a tiny door in the grate opened! A rat scampered out. The kittens watched the ball sail through the door and disappear.
“Um…” Berlioz said. “What just happened?”
“Should we go after it?” Marie asked.
“Mamadid say it was our job to be curious,” Toulouse replied.
The kittens inched toward the open door and, one by one, crept through.
They tumbled down a couple steps and landed landing in a dark space. Toulouse and Berlioz flattened their ears and puffed up their tails, but Marie just sniffed the air. Light glowed from around a corner.
“You go first,” Berlioz said to Toulouse.
Toulouse sprang forward, but then he froze, glancing back nervously at his siblings.“It’s not like I’m afraid, but I…um…”
“Oh. Meow. Gosh,” Marie said. “I’ll go first. Follow me.”