by D Rossmaur
Albert
The Queen’s Cat
A Royal Christmas
By
D Rossmaur
Cover design by Kevin Stickings
https://www.thequeenscat.com
Also available
The Queen’s Cat ‘First Year at The Palace’
Copyright 2013 David Rossmaur
Chapter 1
This was Albert’s first Christmas, because he is not even one year old yet. He has not seen decorations, a Christmas tree or presents before. Albert was sitting in the back seat of the Queen’s car as it drove through London and loved looking at all the bright Christmas lights, shining in the shop windows.
‘This is great,’ said Albert as he jumped from window to window to see the lights.
‘You are a silly cat,’ said Queen Beatrice as she cuddled Albert.
Their car passed Hamleys, one of the world’s most famous toy shops and reached Trafalgar Square, where the Queen asked Angus her driver, to stop for a moment. She wanted to get out and admire the beautiful Christmas tree that stood in the centre of the square.
‘The tree is a gift from the King and Queen of Norway,’ said the Queen as Albert looked up at the very tall tree.
Beneath the tree there was a sign, which said;
‘This tree is given by the city of Oslo as a token of Norwegian gratitude to the people of London, for their assistance during the years 1940-45.’
Albert was not sure what that meant, but it sounded very official.
‘Norway is where you come from Albert and one day I will take you home for a visit,’ said the Queen.
‘I wonder if I have any brothers or sisters and what are my parents like. Do they live in a palace like me?’ Albert said to himself as his imagination went wild.
When they got home to the palace, Albert ran out of the car and headed straight for the library to read all about Norway.
‘Hey what’s all the rushing about?’ asked Gerard the Queen’s Butler as Albert sped past him.
Gerard shook his head as he knows how impatient Albert can be. Albert turned on the library computer and started looking on Google for any information he could find about Norway and the Norwegian Royal family. His search found lots of lovely pictures and stories about both.
‘The King and Queen of Norway looked like nice people,’ said Albert.
There was something else that Albert wanted to find out about. A person called Santa Claus or Father Christmas, who people had been talking about around the palace. Albert had heard people say;
‘Not long now before Santa visits the palace.’
Albert had seen toys and pictures of Santa in shop windows, but he did not know who he was or what he did. One of the stories he read on the internet said that Santa lives in the North Pole with his Elves and this got Albert thinking;
‘If Norway is close to the North Pole, then perhaps one day I could visit Santa and see where I was born?’ thought Albert.
But when Albert found out that Norway was over two thousand miles from the North Pole, he realised this would be too far for his little legs to walk. Albert read on;
‘Santa delivers presents to everyone around the world on Christmas Day, but how does he do this all by himself?’ he wondered.
Albert suddenly stopped reading when he saw something very worrying.
‘IF YOU HAVE BEEN NAUGHTY, SANTA MAY PUT YOU ON HIS NAUGHTY LIST AND THIS MEANS NO PRESENTS,’ Albert read out loud as he took a gulp.
‘NO PRESENTS, that must be horrible,’ said Albert.
‘Have I been naughty this year?’ he asked himself, knowing the answer was yes really.
‘I will have to make sure that I’m double good from now until Christmas,’ said Albert as he stamped his paw on the library desk.
He hoped this would be good enough for Santa.
Chapter 2
‘ALBERT WHERE ARE YOU?’ Queen Beatrice was calling for him to come and see the palace Christmas tree.
Albert switched off the library computer and ran to the great hall, jumped into the Queen’s arms and gave her a big cuddle trying to be extra good for Santa.
‘What’s all this about?’ the Queen asked as she cuddled him back. Albert purred.
The palace Christmas tree was really tall.
‘WOW,’ said Albert as he looked up at it.
The glittering balls on the tree were too much for Albert to resist, as he started to push one of them with his front paws.
‘Albert, please be careful or you might break something,’ warned Isabelle the Queen’s maid.
Albert stopped in case this was being naughty, as Santa might be watching. Gerard, Isabelle and Queen Beatrice continued to decorate the tree, while Albert played with the boxes. When it was finished, the fairy lights were switched on and Albert could not move, as he stared at the magical lights twinkling before his eyes.
Isabelle wanted to move Albert away from the tree, in case he pulled something off and dangled a piece of colourful tinsel in front of him. Albert stood on his back legs trying to paw at the tinsel as Isabelle walked away from the tree. When Albert finally got his paws on the tinsel, he ran up the stairs and threw it around the Christmas tree.
‘Thank you Albert that looks lovely,’ said Isabelle, even though she was trying to get Albert away from the tree. Albert was pleased with himself too.
All down the long staircase and above the fireplace there were thousands of Christmas cards.
‘Queen Beatrice must be a very popular monarch,’ thought Albert as he started to count them.
Albert looked downstairs for a moment and noticed one last decoration sticking out of a box on the floor.
‘I wonder what it could be,’ Albert said as he slid down the banister.
‘Oops I promised to be good for Santa,’ Albert remembered, but he was having too much fun to worry.
Albert carefully opened the box and found a beautiful fairy decoration inside.
‘Someone needs to place this on top of the tree,’ he said.
Albert looked up at the top of the gigantic tree and realised that not even he could reach the highest branch. Albert scratched his head to think. Isabelle had already put the ladder away in the cupboard and besides this might be too short or too wobbly for Albert to climb, so that idea was no good.
Then Albert had a brilliant idea. He dashed out to the garden looking for his friend, Sergeant Major the Magpie. Albert heard snoring coming from the tree behind the kitchen and climbed up the freezing cold branches to wake his friend. Albert had to knock on the Sgt Major’s door four times before he finally answered.
‘What’s all this noise about?’ the Sgt Major asked in a grumpy mood, as he peered out the window to see who had woken him.
‘I need your help please Sgt Major,’ Albert replied.
The Sgt Major was always happy to help his friend, even when he was still half asleep. He flew down and followed Albert into the palace.
Chapter 3
‘We need to get this fairy decoration up to the top of the Christmas tree please Sgt Major,’ Albert explained as he looked up at the tree.
What Albert really needed was for the Sgt Major to fly up to the top of the tree and deliver the fairy in person. The Sgt Major volunteered for the job and Albert tied the fairy to his back, ready for take off. It was very heavy and the Sgt Major had difficulty taking off at first. Once in the air he circled around the tree looking for a safe branch to land on. One that could take his weight or the tree might fall over. He landed safely and untied the fairy from his back.
‘IT WOULD LOOK REALLY GOOD RIGHT ON THE TOP SGT MAJOR,’ Albert shouted from below.
&
nbsp; The Sgt Major nodded and placed the fairy carefully on the very tip of the Christmas tree.
‘HOW DOES THAT LOOK ALBERT?’ the Sgt Major asked.
‘THAT LOOKS GREAT SGT MAJOR AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP,’ Albert shouted back.
Albert was standing admiring the tree, when he heard Isabelle and Gerard walking back along the hallway.
‘QUICK SGT MAJOR HIDE AS SOMEONE ‘S COMING,’ shouted Albert as he waved from below.
The Sgt Major swooped down and hid behind the tree. Albert joined him. When Isabelle and Gerard entered the great hall they were carrying a long ladder. They saw straight away that someone had already placed the fairy on top of the tree, but how was this possible?
‘Now how did that get up there?’ Gerard asked as he scratched his head.
‘Perhaps one of the palace guards put it there while we were gone,’ Isabelle replied as she scratched her head as well.
‘Or may be Albert did it,’ Gerard added.
They both laughed because this was just not possible. Albert felt a little hurt that they were laughing, but sat quietly gazing up at the Christmas lights, which made him feel better. Isabelle and Gerard tidied up all the boxes before leaving the great hall. By now the Sgt Major was fast asleep on the floor next to Albert and he felt bad about having to wake him up again.
‘Wake up Sgt Major,’ whispered Albert as he rocked his friend gently.
‘Did I fall asleep Albert?’ the Sgt Major asked.
‘Only for a few minutes and let me walk you back to your tree,’ Albert replied.
The Sgt Major looked up at the fairy before they left the room and thought it looked wonderful.
‘Thanks again for your help my friend,’ said Albert as he said goodbye.
The Sgt Major curled up in his nest for an afternoon nap. It was really cold outside and Albert wondered if the Sgt Major had a blanket to keep him warm.
‘I know, I‘ll ask Santa for a blanket,’ said Albert adding this to his growing Christmas list.
When he got back in the palace, Albert checked his advent calendar and there were only six days to go before Christmas. He was starting to get very excited, but quickly sat up as he remembered something important.
‘I hope it’s not too late to post my Christmas list to Santa. He must get millions and millions of letters from children all around the world and I hope he reads mine?’ said Albert.
One of the wishes on Albert‘s list was for Norman the palace guard to give Isabelle a Christmas kiss, because he knew how much they liked each other. Another of Albert’s wishes was for him to visit his family in Norway.
‘I know this is a big wish, but you never know what might happen at Christmas time,’ said Albert as he posted his letter to Santa in the palace mail box, before going to bed.
Chapter 4
During any normal day Albert would have either rolled in horse pooh, or zapped someone that he did not like with an electric shock by now, but he was trying to be on his best behaviour for Santa. Isabelle wondered if Albert might be unwell, because he was acting strangely and called the royal vet.
Doctor Montague the royal vet arrived at the palace to give Albert a thorough medical examination. He checked Albert’s temperature, pulse, weight, eye sight, hearing and finally his reflexes by tapping Albert‘s four knees with a small rubber hammer. This was funny to watch and Doctor Montague was very lucky not to get an electric shock from Albert, but he was trying to be good, remember.
‘Well he seems perfectly healthy to me Isabelle,’ Doctor Montague announced as he finished his examination.
‘Is Albert eating all his food?’ he asked.
‘Yes his appetite is fine,’ Isabelle replied.
‘What was it that made you think Albert might be unwell?’ Doctor Montague asked.
‘I know it sounds silly Doctor, but Albert was being so well behaved that I thought he must be sick,’ said Isabelle, feeling bad about wasting Dr Montague‘s time.
‘I’m afraid there is no medical condition for simply good behaviour. Perhaps Albert is growing up or wants to make sure he’s not on Santa’s naughty list,’ Doctor Montague said with a chuckle.
He patted Albert and gave him a healthy treat before leaving the palace. Albert was happy.
‘Thank you Doctor,’ said Isabelle as she closed the palace door behind him.
She looked at Albert and wondered if he really was trying to be good for Santa, but knew this sounded silly.
Now Albert was worried that people might actually think he was starting to grow up. Albert didn’t want this, because he was still a fluffy loveable kitten. He made a promise to return to his old ways, just as soon as Christmas was over.
‘I do hope Santa’s not listening,’ said Albert crossing his paws.
Chapter 5
The next few days went by so quickly, as everyone was busy rushing around the palace preparing for Christmas. Suddenly it was Christmas Eve and Albert ate the final treat from his advent calendar.
‘Ah that tastes good,’ said Albert as he washed the treat down with a glass of milk.
Albert was warn out after being so good for nearly a week now and hoped this would be enough to keep his name off Santa‘s naughty list.
Isabelle was preparing the evening meal in the kitchen, so Albert decided to stay out of her way, to avoid getting into trouble.
It was a big tradition for Queen Beatrice to have a Christmas Eve dinner with all the palace staff and everyone was seated ready to eat. Well nearly everyone that is, because Albert was missing. He was still playing outside with his friends and only just remembered the time.
‘Sorry I have to go and Happy Christmas everybody,’ said Albert as he dashed back inside.
Dinner was already on the table, so Albert slid underneath and skidded to a stop right beside Queen Beatrice, hoping no one had noticed his grand entrance.
‘Ah hello Albert and where have you been?’ Queen Beatrice asked as she stroked Albert‘s cold back, from where he had been outside.
Albert purred as he started to eat his dinner. When dinner was finished Angus played the Bagpipes, while Isabelle and Gerard sang along to the music. At the end of the entertaining evening Queen Beatrice wished everyone a Merry Christmas before going off to bed.
‘I do hope Santa brings you everything you wished for,’ said the Queen.
‘And that includes you too Albert,’ she added tickling Albert under his chin as he sat on the stairs.
‘Good night your majesty,’ the staff replied.
Isabelle had to tidy the table and clean the dishes before she could go to bed. Albert followed her around while she worked, hoping for a late night snack.
‘Here you go Albert,’ said Isabelle as she bent down to give Albert a treat.
Albert purred as he rubbed against Isabelle’s shoes to thank her for the snack. Isabelle finished her chores and went off to bed.
Albert hung his Christmas stocking from the kitchen chimney, before wrapping up nice and warm for the night. The palace was very quiet and all you could hear was a hoot from an Owl in the palace garden. It took a while for Albert to finally go off to sleep, as he was so excited. His legs started to twitch as he dreamt about playing in the snow with his friends. Albert was enjoying his dream, when he got woken by a noise coming from the room next door.
Albert lifted his heavy eyelids and dragged himself out of bed to investigate. He tip toed along to the sitting room, thinking there might be a burglar in the palace. The sitting room door was already open and Albert poked his head around to look inside.
Chapter 6
It was not a burglar, because there in front of the Christmas tree was a very jolly looking man dressed in a long red coat. He was putting presents around the tree.
‘IT‘S SANTA,’ said Albert too loudly, before covering his mouth.
Santa looked around to see if someone was watching and as he did so Albert slipped past him to hide next to the sack of presents. As Santa could not see
anyone, he went back to his work, placing the last present on the tree. Albert saw that Isabelle‘s name was on the present.
‘WOW, this is exciting,’ thought Albert.
He was curious and climbed inside the sack to make sure there were no presents left behind, especially any with his name on. Suddenly Santa picked up his sack, slung it over his shoulder and started to climb back up the chimney.
‘Oh dear,’ said Albert because he was trapped.
Oh dear indeed. Albert was stuck inside Santa‘s sack and what would Queen Beatrice think if he was missing on Christmas Day. She would have to call the police to search for him and that would ruin her Christmas.
Santa got into his sleigh and gave the command for the reindeer to take off. Albert wriggled around inside the sack trying to get free and finally managed to poke his head out the top to see where he was. By now the sleigh was soaring above the roof tops of London and with the stars shining brightly that night; Albert had a bird‘s eye view of the city below.
‘Whoa Blitzen,’ said Santa in a jolly voice as the sleigh started to slow down.
Albert fell out of the sack and rolled under the front seats as Santa hit the brakes. Santa was ready to make another Christmas delivery and reached behind him to get his sack, which was now full again with presents.
‘How does Santa do that? One minute the sack’s empty and the next it’s full?’ Albert whispered to himself as he watched.
The sleigh landed gently on one of the rooftops below and Santa disappeared down the chimney to make his delivery. While Santa was gone, Albert climbed on the front seat to have a look through Santa‘s Christmas book, which had been left open. Albert wanted to see if his name was on the good list or naughty list. He crossed his paws and hoped.
‘Phew I can‘t see my name on the naughty list,’ said Albert as he looked at the pages.
Albert was so busy looking at the book that he did not notice Santa returning to his sleigh.
Chapter 7
‘Well hello young man. You must be Albert?’ said Santa as he returned.
‘Yes, but how do you know my name Santa?’ Albert asked.
‘I got your letter Albert and we have a very special journey to take together. Here let me put this nice warm blanket over you, as it gets very cold where we are going,’ said Santa as he wrapped Albert up.