Marie and Toulouse exchanged glances.
“That’s too hard to say,” Marie said. “And we might want to play other music besides just jazz.”
“Let me guess,” Berlioz said. “You’ve come up with the perfect name.”
“Well…” Marie began, smiling. “This is a critter café, right? And the food will be tasty. So I was thinking we should name it the Tasty Tails Pâtisserie.”
“Ew,” Toulouse said. “It sounds like we’re baking tails into the food!”
The brothers laughed while Marie sat there, thinking.“Okay, that does sound a little strange. But you don’t have to tease me about it.”
Suddenly, Berlioz stopped giggling and sat up straight.“Hey, do you smell something burning?” he asked.
Marie sniffed the air.“My puffs!” she cried, darting into the kitchen.
When she opened the oven, a cloud of gray smoke billowed out. Marie removed the tray and dropped it on the counter. One of the puffs had caught fire! She blew on it like a birthday candle until the flame went out. But the other puffs were completely black and burnt on the bottom.
Marie sat down on the kitchen floor, tears welling up in her eyes.
[Картинка: img_20]
“Maybe Pierre was right,” she said, sniffling. “Maybe it’s just too hard to run a café. Especially for us. We can’t do anything without ending up in a fight.”
Berlioz’s tail drooped, and Toulouse shuffled his paws against the floor. The brothers exchanged guilty looks. They both went to their sister.
Berlioz gave Marie a quick, comforting lick on her nose.“I’m sorry I made fun of your name idea.”
“And I’m sorry your puffs got burned,” Toulouse added, nuzzling her. “I’ll paint a better mural, and Berlioz will get that piano fixed. Won’t you, Berlioz?”
Berlioz nodded and said,“Don’t give up yet, Marie. I know we can make this happen.”
Marie wiped away her tears with one paw and looked at her brothers.“Hey, you both said sorry without Mama here to remind you. Maybe wecan work as a team.”
“Maybe we just need some helping paws,” Toulouse suggested.
Marie suddenly sat up straight.“Yes, we do! And I know exactly who to ask!”
[Картинка: img_21]
“I need to go home,” Marie said.
“Why?” Berlioz asked, confused.
“Home is where Alley Cat Parlor is,” Marie continued. “And Alley Cat Parlor is where Louis is. Louis is a chef, get it? He can help me with the menu!”
“Great idea, Marie!” Toulouse exclaimed. “We’ll go with you if you’d like. Teams should stick together.”
Marie thought for a moment.“Right now, I think teamwork means that you keep working on the mural, and, Berlioz, you keep trying to fix the piano. That way we’ll get three things done at once.”
“I like the sound of that,” Berlioz said, and Toulouse nodded in agreement.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Marie told them.
She darted out the secret door and raced home, imagining all the scrumptious café treats Louis could help her make. Once she arrived at Madame’s, she ran straight through the kitty door, past the grand staircase, and down the main hallway, then pushed open the big wooden door to Alley Cat Parlor.
She found Louis curled up on a purple velvet cushion by the fireplace. He was fast asleep, his paws and whiskers twitching.
“Louis,” Marie whispered. When he didn’t wake up, she said his name a bit louder. “Louis!”
[Картинка: img_22]
One eye blinked open, then the other.“Are you okay, Mademoiselle Marie?” Louis said as he raised his head. “You’re out of breath.”
Marie’s words tumbled out quickly. “I ran all the way here from…Well, this is the first thing I need to tell you: my brothers and I want to open up our own café for the animals of Paris! We’d serve kitty croissants and cheddar walnut puffs and salmon mousse and all the other treats you’ve taught me how to make.”
“Ah, Marie,” Louis said, his eyes shining. “That sounds wonderful.”
“But first we need to pull off a tryout to prove we can do it. And I know we can. It’s just that…well, we could use an extra set of paws and, of course, your expertise as a chef. Monsieur Louis, would you please help us?”
“Help you cook and bake for a café?” Louis paused, thinking. “I haven’t done anything like that in years. Perhaps it’s time.”
“Oh, thank you, Louis!” Marie exclaimed, hugging him. “And just wait until you meet Pierre!”
Louis narrowed his eyes.“Pierre?”
“Our new friend. The café is in the secret basement of Pierre’s humans’ restaurant, the Luxembourg Brasserie. Near the park. It used to be called Le Café des Crea—”
Louis held up a paw, signaling Marie to stop.“I’m sorry. I was mistaken. I can’t help after all.”
“What?”
“I just remembered that—you see, I’m very busy—unfortunately I have somewhere to be right now and I’m already late.”
With that, Louis fled from the room in a flash of black fur.
Marie blinked at the spot where Louis had been sitting.“What just happened?”
Had she offended Louis? Where could he be rushing to? Why would he say he could help, then change his mind so quickly? And what should she do now? If Marie and her brothers failed the tryout, Pierre wouldn’t let them open the café.
She had to think. Marie slunk out of Alley Cat Parlor and went to the one place she knew she could be alone with her thoughts: a special spot that nobody else knew about.
Marie crept into Madame’s private study, then quietly jumped onto an open drawer, then a stack of books, then the back of a chair, and finally the top of the bookcase by the window. She lay down with her head on her paws, closing her eyes to the sun streaming in from outside.
She thought of her dream, where she was serving up treats to animal friends in a busy, happy pâtisserie. Then she added to that image, with Berlioz’s music filling the air and Toulouse’s art brightening the walls. All three kittens were cheerful and proud of their work as a team.
WHOMP!
Something furry and heavy landed on her. Marie opened her eyes to see Toulouse, smiling wide.
“Looks like we finally found your hideout,” he said.
“I’ll get you back the next timeyou’re having a great nap,” Marie said with a laugh as she swatted at Toulouse’s bow.
“What did Louis say?” Berlioz called from below. “Will he help us? And what are you doing up there when there’s so much work to do at the café?”
Marie peered down at her brother. A small cloth bag lay at his feet.
“Why aren’tyou at the café?” she asked.
“We found something very interesting. Come down and see.”
Marie sighed as she stood up and made her way to down to her brother. Toulouse followed.
“It’s a bunch of photographs from the Creature Café,” Berlioz said as his littermates landed softly on the floor. He nudged the bag toward Marie. “I discovered them in a box that was stuck inside the piano. That’s what was making it sound so awful.”
Berlioz opened the bag, and dozens of photos tumbled out. In them, all types of animals posed at the café tables: mice and rats and rabbits. Chipmunks and squirrels and groundhogs. Pigeons and ducks and geese. Dogs and cats and—wow!—even a pig.
[Картинка: img_23]
“They all look like they’re having so much fun,” Marie said wistfully. “I’m glad you found this, Berlioz. It really gives me inspiration to make the café work somehow.”
“Hey,” Toulouse said, pointing with his paw to one particular photo. “There’s Pierre.”
Marie leaned in to get a better look. In the picture, Pierre stood under a sign that said WELCOME TO LE CAFé DES CREATURES.
Next to him stood a fluffy black cat—who lookedvery familiar.
“It’s Louis!” Marie cried. “They know each other! Now that I think of it, Louis changed his mind about helping us as soon as I said Pierre’s name….”
Berlioz pointed to another photo. In this one, Louis was in the kitchen on his hind legs, holding out a tray of kitty croissants.