The Cat is Bonkers!
ADVENTURE 1
Adventure 1 - Home is Not a Cardboard Box - ILLUSTRATED
This is the first book in a series involving a kitten and her brother, abandoned on a mountain road somewhere in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. She and her litter mate encounter friends and danger alike in the wild, and meet up with an unlikely ally, who makes sure they’re rescued. At a shelter they meet all kinds of rescued cats. Sister is sick, and often finds herself in isolation, or taken home by a shelter worker. The virus prevents her from being adopted for almost a year, while brother finds his forever home.
The series chronicles the story of the kitten left behind … until finally, she finds her pet mom and dad, and in the process finds her true name!
Her adventures continue after she leaves the shelter …and as the series progresses, she keeps her new kitty parents hopping as she greets each new adventure with daring and curiosity ... and a little bonkerism.
PAPERBACK - 40 PAGES AGES 6 - 11 14.95
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1 - THE BOX IN THE WOODS
Sister kitten looked at brother with a worried look in her eye. Brother looked back at his sister with an equally troubled expression. Both of them sat in a cardboard box that stood at the edge of a lonely, mountain road. They had no idea why they were there, or what to do next. Both of them were born in the middle of the summer. Nobody knows where.
Their adventures began when they were very little.
It looked like somebody left them by the side of the road. Nobody knows who. This was a very mean thing to do, but they did it anyway. And, nobody knows why.
They were alone and scared in the cardboard box, and glad that they had each other. It was now fall, and things were beginning to cool down. For a while they played in the grass beside the road until they got tired. It was getting dark earlier than ever.
“I’m hungry!” said Sister kitten. “I haven’t had any dinner.”
“Me too!” said Brother kitten. “I wish Mommy was here! I wonder if I can find food to eat?”
While Sister waited, Brother tried to hunt, but he came back with nothing because he didn’t know how to hunt. They drank some water from a muddy puddle, curled up together in the box and went to sleep, tired cold and hungry. Sister didn’t feel well.
By the next morning they were even hungrier, and this time Sister said to Brother, “It’s my turn to find something to eat.” She jumped out of the cardboard box and ran a little way down the road, looking under the rocks as she went. But, she found nothing to eat under there.
She peeked under a bush, but nobody left a sandwich, or even a tiny scrap of macaroni and cheese for them. She parted the tall grass and hoped maybe she would find half a cookie or, if she was lucky, a whole sardine!
She was still crouched down in the grass when she heard a horrible screech high above her head. The next thing she knew, a dark bundle of whirring feathers took the sun away. Something deep inside of herself told her to MOVE NOW! She made a lightning-fast dive to the underside of a thick pine branch, and felt something skim the end of her tail and she dove. But, she was safe.
What was that?
“Wow! That was CLOSE!” a voice called out from under a nearby bush. Sister stared at the bush. Could bushes talk? A pair of bright black eyes stared back at her. The eyes became part of a funny-looking face that also had pointy little ears, a pointy nose … and it was wearing a mask!
“Who are you?” she asked the funny looking creature, “And what was that thing coming out of the sky?”
“That..” said Raccoon, “..was an eagle! And you were almost dinner. Don’t you know better than to stay out in the open in the woods?” Then he advised Sister, “Always stay under cover, otherwise Eagle can come swooping down to pick you up, and turn you into a delicious meal!”
“I didn’t know that. I’m not even supposed to be here!” cried poor Sister. “Somebody just left us out in the woods, and now I’m trying to find something to eat.”
“Well, just be careful.” advised Raccoon, and off he waddled into the bushes.
“Wait, wait!” cried Sister after him. “Can’t you help me find some food?” But Raccoon was long gone.
2 - THE LONG, SLITHERY THING
Poor Sister sighed, wishing that Raccoon had been a little more patient, but she followed his advice and stayed under the bushes and trees. The only thing she found was an old orange peel, and that didn’t taste very good.
Just as she was deciding whether Brother might like the orange peel, she saw a long, slithery thing slide in front of her. “Hello,” it said. Was it something to eat?
Well! Sister couldn’t begin to think about eating something that said “hello” to her … so, she said “hello” back.
“What are you doing out in the middle of these woods?” asked the long, slithery thing.
“Somebody left me and Brother in a cardboard box,” answered Sister, “and I don’t think it was a very nice thing to do. Now we’re very hungry and we can’t find anything to eat!”
Then Sister asked the long thing, “What are you? You have no feet.”
“Tch, tch, tch,” said the long, slithery thing, “where are your manners? I’m a snake. Haven’t you ever seen a snake before?”
“No,” said Sister, “I haven’t.”
“I slide along the ground using my tummy muscles. Very clever, don’t you think?” Sister had to agree. Oh yes, very clever indeed.
“Can I do that?” she asked. Without waiting for an answer, Sister dropped down on her tummy and wriggled through the dirt. It wasn’t easy, and she looked just a little silly. Snake started to laugh.
“Oh, you are bonkers, with your feet sticking out from all sides! Look at your tummy. Now you’re all dirty!” And Snake laughed and laughed.
Sister sat up, suddenly tired, hungry and not feeling very well at all. She started to cry. Snake was sorry that he’d laughed at her, and sad that she was hungry. He thought and thought. Suddenly, he knew what to do!