by Mia Bell
Slowly, Tabby looked around the suit of armor. It was Felix and Leo, tip-pawing along.
Tabby grinned and jumped out. “Boo!”
Felix and Leo jumped, too. “Tabby!” said Felix. “You scared me!”
“Not me,” said Leo, but his fur had puffed up all over.
“Why aren’t you hiding?” asked Tabby.
“We were,” said Leo. “But the puppies didn’t find us. They’re really bad at this game! Then we heard a funny growling sound.”
“Did you hear it, too?” asked Felix.
Tabby nodded. “I think it came from that way …”
Together, the three royal kittens walked along the dark hall. Then they turned the corner. Tabby gasped. “It’s Captain Edmund!”
The big tomcat was curled up beside an old wooden door. The door to the treasure chamber! He was fast asleep, and his silver armor gently rose and fell.
“That’s not growling,” said Leo. “It’s snoring!”
A shiver ran through Tabby, right to the tip of her tail. “I don’t like this …” she said. “Captain Edmund never falls asleep when he’s working!”
Felix ran over and shook the captain. The orange cat opened his eyes. Then, suddenly, he sat up, blinking. “What happened?” he said. “Where am I?”
“You were guarding the treasure chamber, remember?” said Leo, hopping from paw to paw.
“But you fell asleep!” said Tabby.
Captain Edmund stood up quickly. His tail flicked nervously. “Thank goodness you woke me. Come on—we have to make sure the Orb of Plenty is still safe!”
The treasure chamber was just as amazing as Tabby remembered. Piles of gold, silver, and jewels lay all around, lit by glowing torches hung from the walls. Tabby spotted the Golden Scroll on its stone stand. But where’s the Orb of Plenty … ?
“Look!” said Felix, pointing. Tabby let out a sigh of relief. The orb sat on its deep-blue pillow in the corner, just as shiny and silver as before.
“Oh my whiskers!” said Captain Edmund, puffing out his cheeks. “What a relief …”
Just then, King Pouncalot and Queen Elizapet hurried into the room.
“Have you seen him?” asked King Pouncalot. “Have you seen the dog king?”
Felix frowned. “We thought he was with you!”
“He was,” said Queen Elizapet, throwing her paws up sadly. “He asked us what catnaps were. Then he wanted us to show him. So, we curled up and closed our eyes—”
“And when we opened them again, he was gone!” finished King Pouncalot. He scratched his head, staring at the royal kittens. “Hold on. Where did the pup princes go?”
Tabby gave her brothers a worried look. “Sorry, Dad … they wanted to play hide- and-seek.”
“They’re probably still looking for us,” said Leo. “Maybe.”
“Hopefully,” said Felix.
“Why don’t you tell the guards to announce that the feast is ready?” said Captain Edmund. “Wherever the royal hounds have gone, they will hear the dinner bell and come back.”
“What a good idea!” cried Queen Elizapet. “Come along, my dear, let’s go. Captain Edmund, would you mind taking the orb down to the kitchens?”
“Not at all.” Captain Edmund bowed.
“We can come, too,” said Tabby. “Maybe that’s where the pup princes have hidden. They might have been looking for cheese to eat …”
* * *
The Royal Kittens ran out of the Great Hall, down the stairs, and into the kitchens. Cooks were rushing everywhere. “Here it comes!” said one. Tabby turned to see Captain Edmund bring in the Orb of Plenty. He gently placed it on the table, among silver dishes full of dog biscuits, bone-shaped cakes, and fish pie.
“Prince Hairy?” Tabby called. She crawled under the table, but she couldn’t see the puppies.
“Prince Smelly? Are you in there? Prince Fleabag?” called Felix. He looked in the food cupboards, while Leo searched inside the big copper pots on the shelves.
It’s like they disappeared! Tabby was just about to give up, when she heard Captain Edmund cry out.
“It’s not working!”
Tabby ran out from under the table. Captain Edmund was holding up the orb, staring at it and looking confused.
“Try it again!” said a cook.
With one paw on a big pile of dog biscuits, and the other holding the orb, Captain Edmund said:
“Orb of Plenty, hear my call.
Show your magic, feed us all!”
But there was no blue light. No magic at all. The pile of dog biscuits stayed just the same size. All around, the cooks began to whisper to one another in fear.
“I don’t understand!” said Captain Edmund. He looked closely at the orb. “Something must be wrong with it. Now we will never have enough food for the feast! The dog king will think it’s some kind of trick, and we will lose our chance at peace with Barkshire!”
Felix began to chew his claws again. “I don’t like this,” he said.
“Do you think someone broke the orb on purpose?” asked Tabby.
“But who would do that?” asked Leo.
The three kittens all spoke at the same time. “King Gorgonzola!”
Captain Edmund looked up sharply. His nose twitched back and forth. “Wait! King Gorgonzola … Tickle my whiskers, I’m sure I just saw him …”
“Oh no!” Tabby gasped. “Was it outside the treasure chamber? When you fell asleep?”
Captain Edmund nodded slowly. “Yes, that’s it. I thought it was just a bad dream. But maybe he really was there …”
Tabby took the Orb of Plenty from Captain Edmund and ran a claw over it. There! She found the edge of something and lifted gently. Tabby could hardly breathe as she opened the orb like a present. Inside was something round and yellow.
“That’s not silver!” said Captain Edmund, pointing at the wrapping. “It’s just tinfoil!”
“And this isn’t a magical orb,” said Tabby. She held up the yellow ball. “It’s just cheese!”
Cooks crowded around, whispering in shock.
“She’s right,” said Captain Edmund. “Leaping fleas, we’ve been tricked! This is a fake orb!”
“I bet it was King Gorgonzola!” said Felix. “He must have snuck up on Captain Edmund. Then he stole the Orb of Plenty and switched it for this fake one.”
“Of course!” said Leo. “He loves cheese.”
Just then, they heard a blast of trumpets from the palace gates.
Everyone looked at one another, their faces confused.
“I don’t understand,” said Felix, frowning. “That’s not the dinner bell.”
“That’s the sound for the royal hounds arrival,” said Leo.
“But they already have arrived!” said Captain Edmund.
“Unless …” said Tabby. “Unless they weren’t the dog royals at all!”
“What do you mean?” asked Leo, whiskers shaking.
Tabby gasped. “King Gorgonzola isn’t the only one who loves cheese. Those pup princes do, too. In fact, I don’t think they were pups at all!” Tabby cried. “I think they must have been Gorgonzola’s horrible rat servants!”
“And if those pups were really rats,” said Felix, “then so was the dog king. He was King Gorgonzola all along!” The cooks all gasped. Captain Edmund clapped a paw to his mouth.
“No wonder their clothes didn’t fit,” said Tabby. “And no wonder their heads wiggled. They were just masks. The dog royals were just rats in doggy costumes!”
The royal kittens stared at one another in fear. I can’t believe King Gorgonzola is back! thought Tabby.
“Those ratty rascals!” said Captain Edmund. “I must tell your parents right now.”
“We should come with you,” said Felix nervously. “The real dog royals are here now, after all, and we have to say hello.”
Quickly, Tabby wrapped up the ball of cheese again and stuffed it in her skirts. Then the royal kittens followed Captain Edmund as he ran through the
halls.
Tabby’s tail flicked with worry. With no Orb of Plenty, the feast can’t happen. The dog royals will be angry, and they might not want to make peace! That was bad enough. But now King Gorgonzola had the orb himself … What is he planning to do with it?
“So it’s true,” said King Pouncalot, walking back and forth. “Gorgonzola is back again!” Captain Edmund and the royal kittens had just finished telling him their story.
“I’ll find him, Your Highness,” said Captain Edmund. “And the Orb of Plenty, too!”
“No time for that,” said Queen Elizapet as the trumpets blasted again. “We have to welcome our guests. No one say anything to them about the missing orb!” Her tail was twitching even more nervously than it had been that morning.
The drawbridge came down with a thump!
This time, Tabby saw three dogs climbing out of an old black carriage. They came across the drawbridge with their tails wagging and their pink tongues hanging out. There was the dog king, the dog queen, and just one pup prince. They look a little like the fake dogs, Tabby thought. Except their heads don’t wiggle. And their clothes fit. And they look much nicer!
“Your Majesties,” said the dog king. He bowed low. “Please forgive us! We are so very late.”
“Someone stole our carriage,” said the dog queen. “It took some time to find a new one.”
“The odd thing is, we thought we saw our carriage again just now,” said the dog king. “It was racing away from this palace very quickly.”
“Was it blue with golden wheels?” asked Leo.
The dog king frowned. “How did you know?”
“Oh, just a guess!” said Felix.
Uh-oh, thought Tabby. Gorgonzola and his rats must have escaped in the carriage! We have to go after him—and fast!
“You’ve had an awful journey,” said Queen Elizapet. “But we’re so happy to have you in Mewtopia! I am Queen Elizapet, and this is King Pouncalot. And these are the royal kittens, Tabby, Felix, and Leo.”
“Are your doggy citizens coming, too?” asked King Pouncalot.
“Yes, in fact, we already dropped them off in town so that they can make friends with your kitizens.” The dog queen smiled.
“Wonderful! May we show you around the palace?” asked King Pouncalot.
“We would love that!” said the dog king. His tail was wagging faster now. “I am King Rover. This is Queen Ginger and our son, Prince Buddy.”
“Do you want to see our playroom?” Felix asked the pup prince.
Buddy bounced up and down, panting with excitement. He had silky golden fur and wore a fancy blue outfit. Tabby thought he looked about the same age as Leo. “Oooh, yes, please! I love playing! And I love playrooms! Let’s go!”
Tabby was disappointed. We should be going after King Gorgonzola! But she knew they had to look after Prince Buddy, too. “Come on, then,” she said.
The three royal kittens led the puppy through the palace, up the spiral stairs to their playroom.
“What should we play?” asked Buddy when they reached the top of the stairs. “I know lots of games. And I like them all!”
At least the real pup prince was a lot more fun than those rats were. “How about fetch?” Tabby said.
Buddy’s eyes grew wide, and he ran around and around in a circle, chasing his tail. “I love fetch! Fetch is my favorite game ever! I play it all the time!” Suddenly, he stopped and stared into space.
“Is he all right?” whispered Felix.
“I think he’s just thinking,” Tabby whispered back.
“I’ve got an idea!” said Buddy suddenly. “Why don’t we pretend to be the Whiskered Wonders? My nanny, Bernard, told me all about them. They saved Mewtopia from the wicked King Gorgonzola, didn’t they? Oooh, I wish I could be a hero just like them! Hey, is that your playroom? Last one there is a scared little poodle!”
The royal kittens smiled at one another as the puppy ran off.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” said Tabby.
“Definitely!” said Leo, his big yellow eyes wide. “I can’t believe they’ve heard of us in Barkshire, too! We’re famous!”
“No!” said Tabby. “I was thinking we need to get out of here and stop King Gorgonzola. We can’t let him escape with the Orb of Plenty.”
“But Mom and Dad told us to look after Prince Buddy,” said Felix, looking into the playroom. “And we can’t take him with us!”
“I have an idea,” said Tabby. She ran into the playroom, followed by her brothers. Buddy had jumped into a box and was digging out toys. His back legs and tail waved in the air.
“Would you like a bone to chew?” asked Tabby.
“No, thanks!” called Buddy from inside the box. “I’m playing!”
“How about a nap?” tried Felix. “There are some really comfy pillows here.”
“What’s a nap?” asked the puppy.
Leo rolled his eyes. “We’ll never get rid of him!”
Unless … “I know,” said Tabby. “How about a game of hide-and-seek?”
Buddy’s head popped out. His ears stood up straight. “That sounds REALLY COOL!”
“Great!” said Tabby. “We’ll count. You—”
But before she could finish, Buddy had raced through the door. “You’ll never find me!” he called.
“That was easier than I thought,” said Felix.
The kittens waited until they were sure the puppy had hidden. Then they snuck out of the playroom and ran up to their bedroom. Leo opened the dress-up box.
“No time to change!” said Tabby. “Let’s just wear our masks, gloves, and capes over our clothes.”
Quickly, she tied on her red silk mask. Felix put on his purple one, while Leo tied on the green mask he had made out of his old blanket. Then they threw their long capes over their fine clothes and hid their swords underneath.
“What about Buddy?” said Felix.
Tabby felt sad for the little puppy hiding on his own. We should be looking after him. But she knew he would be safer in the palace. “We can worry about him later,” she said. “Right now, it’s time to save Mewtopia!”
The royal kittens tip-pawed through the palace. Tabby felt her nose twitch with excitement about wearing their new masks for the very first time. We’re the Whiskered Wonders, and now we look like heroes! The thought of facing King Gorgonzola again was scary … but she tried not to think about that.
They went through a heavy wooden door that the servants used. It was a sunny, windy day outside. A perfect day to play! thought Tabby. But we have a job to do.
“Now, let’s see if we can find those horrible rats,” said Tabby.
The royal kittens ran into the stone streets of the village, looking out for rats and a blue carriage. They stuck to quiet, dark alleys. But now and then, Tabby could see the Royal Avenue. It was filled with kitizens and dogs, all talking and laughing, dressed up in their best clothes.
“Look, everybody is making friends!” said Felix happily.
Tabby saw that some cats were busy setting up a very long table in the middle of the road. The feast must go all the way down the Royal Avenue! She thought of the Orb of Plenty. If they didn’t get it back, there would be no feast and nothing for the kitizens and dogs to eat. Would everyone still get along then?
The kittens ran faster through the village. Above the rooftops, Tabby saw the misty shape of a mountain rising toward the blue sky. Mount Claw. After their first adventure as the Whiskered Wonders, the kittens had begged Nanny Mittens to tell them more about the rats and their underground kingdom, Rottingham. She had finally agreed, and she told them that the rats all used to live under Mount Claw. Over time, King Gorgonzola had made their kingdom bigger and bigger. Now it goes all the way to the mines beneath Mewtopia, Tabby remembered.
“Look!” said Leo, pointing down at the stone street.
They had just turned around a corner, and in front of them was a pile of clothes. Tabby blinked. Wait … the clothes are snoring! �
�It’s a cat,” she whispered as they came closer. “But he’s asleep.”
“There’s another one!” said Felix, pointing to a Siamese cat curled against a wall.
“There’s a sleeping dog over there, too,” said Leo. “What do you think is going on?”
“It’s just like Captain Edmund,” said Tabby. “He fell asleep when King Gorgonzola came to steal the orb. But Captain Edmund never falls asleep …”
“So maybe Gorgonzola did something to put him to sleep!” Leo cried.
“Maybe Gorgonzola has put these cats and dogs to sleep, too!” said Felix.
“That means we’re on the right track,” said Tabby. “We just have to follow the sleeping kitizens and dogs!”
“Wait,” said Felix. He stopped. His ears went up, and his whiskers twitched. “Do you hear something?”
“I hear snoring,” said Leo.
Felix shook his head. “Not that! There’s something else.” He froze for a moment. Then he suddenly spun around. “Ha!”
Tabby turned just in time to see someone move away through the shadows.
“Someone’s following us!” Leo gasped. “Probably one of Gorgonzola’s mean rats. I bet they’re going to sneak up on us and try to make us fall asleep, too!”
“What should we do?” asked Felix, chewing his claws nervously.
“I know,” said Tabby. “Let’s pretend we didn’t see them. Then we can hide and pounce on them when they get close!”
“I like the sound of that!” said Leo, grinning.
The three royal kittens kept walking down the street. They went around a corner, then Tabby flicked her ears to give the signal. Quickly, they all ran into a dark little alley. They sat, watching the road and waiting. Maybe it’s King Gorgonzola, thought Tabby nervously. Or one of his nasty rat servants …
Leo wrinkled his nose. “What’s that funny smell?” he whispered.
Felix sniffed. “I think it’s cheese!”
They looked down. Lying there in the shadows was a big yellow lump of cheese. Tabby took off her glove and picked it up. “It really does smell very cheesy,” she whispered. Her head began to feel heavy. Her eyes closed. Maybe I’ll just take a little catnap, she thought. Those stones look so cool and comfy …