“Yes,” Pierre agreed. “And that’s good…because we still have lots of work to do.”
[Картинка: img_28]
WELCOME, FRIENDS FURRY, SCALY& FEATHERY!
ENJOY LIFE AT THE PURRFECT PAW-TISSERIE!
High up on a ladder, Toulouse finished the finalE on the café’s new slogan. The letters were bright gold, and below them, he’d filled his park painting with greens for the leaves and grass, brown for the walkways, and blue for the sky.
It was opening day at the brand-new café.
“The more I stare at it, the more I see what a lovely park it is,” Marie said, standing next to a cart full of fresh-baked dog bone biscuits and looking over the mural. “Your art is really beautiful, Toulouse.”
“The other walls look cool, too,” Berlioz said from his bench at the piano. He glanced up at the wall above him, where Toulouse had hung several framed paintings by other neighborhood cats. One was a portrait of a fish, calledI Love Tuna! Another was a view of Paris rooftops at night, surrounded by stars, with the simple title ofHome.
“When do we get to hear your new song?” Marie asked Berlioz, pushing her tray of biscuits into a big glass pastry case. The cats from Alley Cat Parlor had built it for them. Inside were rows and rows of colorful treats.
[Картинка: img_29]
“I’m not going to play it until the grand opening party,” Berlioz replied. “So you’ll just have to wait.”
Marie stuck out her tongue at Berlioz. Berlioz gave her affffffft in return. Then they both giggled and grinned at each other.
“Enough of that, my darlings,” called their mother. Duchess and O’Malley had come in while the kittens were busy with their last-minute tasks.
“Mama!” Berlioz squealed, spinning on his piano stool with his arms out wide. “What do you think?”
Duchess walked slowly around the café, swishing among the freshly painted white tables of all different animal sizes. O’Malley leaned in to the pastry case and sniffed, his whiskers and ears twitching.
“App-e-ti-zing, baby!” he said.
“It’s lovely from top to bottom,” Duchess declared. “I’m so proud of you, children!”
“Thank you, Mama!” the kittens cried, rushing to nuzzle her.
Pierre and Louis came in through the secret door. When Pierre saw Duchess and the kittens, he said,“I hate to break up this giant cat cuddle, but you have some hungry guests outside, waiting to come in.”
“Just one more moment, if you please, Monsieur Pierre,” Duchess said to him, then turned back to her kittens. “Working together to get the café ready was not always easy for you…but you did it! This is such a special day. Can you get through it without any more fighting?”
“Of course we can, Mama!” Marie said, then blinked her long lashes a few times. “Or at least, I knowI can.”
“Me too,” Toulouse added.
“Methree,” Berlioz insisted.
“We do argue a little,” Marie admitted. “Or maybea lot. But we really do make a great team.”
“Very well, then,” Duchess said with a smile. “Pierre and Louis, please open the door!”
Pierre and Louis smiled at each other, and together, the two old friends threw open the secret door in the grate and said:“Bonjour! The Purrfect Paw-tisserie welcomes you!”
Four sets of scurrying little feet—belonging to Roquefort and his cousins Brie, Camembert, and Munster—rushed inside and up to the pastry case.
“Hello, kittens!” Roquefort greeted them. “We couldn’t wait to come back and try more of your—Good heavens! Look at all these treats!”
As the mice began picking out items from the pastry case, something moved like a streak across the floor.
“Pardon me! Pardon me! Acorn-berry-tart-pardon-me!”
Pouf skittered toward one of the squirrel-sized tables, picked up the chair, and started chewing on it.
“Pouf, no!” Toulouse cried. “The treats are over there! Behind the glass!”
Marie handed him a tart, which he popped in his mouth whole and stored in his cheek.“So good! So good! Yum-yum-yum-can-I-have-another!”
The door opened again.
“Louis!” half a dozen cats from the Alley Cat Parlor sang as they rushed in.
Suddenly, the Purrfect Paw-tisserie swirled with activity. Marie and Louis served up treats while several of the alley cats gathered around the piano, singing along with Berlioz as he played a song about how wonderful it was to be a cat. Roquefort and his cousins tasted every single type of treat in the pastry case while O’Malley and Duchess admired Toulouse’s artwork.
[Картинка: img_30]
After a little while, Pierre went to the piano and barked to get everyone’s attention. The crowd quieted down and gathered around.
“I think I speak for both myself and my dear old friend Monsieur Louis Midnight,” Pierre began, “when I say it’s wonderful to once again see the animals of Paris gathered here. I had my doubts that it would work, but Berlioz, Toulouse, and Marie have shown us what they can do with some kitten creativity and collaboration. Congratulations, you three!”
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 allyour 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.
[Картинка: img_31]
“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 matternow?
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.