by Sue Bentley
“Where’s Mia?” Kim peered through the trees.
“She couldn’t have gone far,” Gran said. “The path only leads to our garden. If Mia had come back to the river, we’d have seen her.”
“Maybe she went into the house,” Kim’s mom suggested. But after a search of the house and garden, there was still no sign of Mia or Bibi.
Kim had a sudden thought. “I bet she’s hiding in the woods, waiting for us to come and find her! Flame and I will go and take a look.”
Kim had walked a little ways into the woods when Flame pricked up his ears and gave a worried little meow.
“What’s wrong, Flame?” Kim stopped walking and listened hard. A faint scream floated toward her on the breeze. It was coming from the direction of the river. “That sounds like Mia!”
Kim ran forward. She caught a sudden glimpse through the trees of a red-and-white boat drifting past. It was the Sally Ann. She must have become untied!
As Kim got closer, she saw movement at one of the cabin windows. She spotted a small, white-faced figure clutching a large cream cat.
Chapter SIX
“The dam!” Kim remembered with horror. The Sally Annwould be swept away. “We have to do something, Flame!”
She hurtled toward the edge of the woods. Flame bounded along beside her, his coat alive with sparks and his whiskers crackling.
Kim’s whole body suddenly filled with a hot swirly feeling. A flash of energy shot up her spine. She felt her arms stretch out and her muscles tense as she jumped up—and soared straight into the air!
Strong wings carried her upward. Her body had become powerful but light and covered with smooth brown feathers.
Flame had turned her into a hawk!
There was a rush of wind against Kim’s face as the countryside fell away with dizzying speed. She flapped her wings and flew toward the Sally Ann. Far below, she spotted a small motorboat making its way toward the houseboat. Someone else on the river must have spotted the drifting Sally Annand, realizing the danger must have chased it down.
But would the motorboat reach the Sally Annin time? She was drifting faster now and the rushing sound of the dam was getting louder.
With her keen bird’s sight, Kim saw the Sally Ann’s docking rope trailing out behind her in the water. She swooped down to the river and grasped the wet rope in her clawed feet. It was heavy and hard to lift, but she held on tightly, determined not to drop it.
Kim flew upward slowly, her feet and wings aching, and set out for the rescue boat.
Gasping for breath, Kim hovered above the rescue boat and dropped the rope onto the deck. The boat’s owner quickly ran forward. He grabbed the rope and secured it. Sally Anncame to a halt and then began to move again as she was towed upriver by the rescue boat away from the dangerous dam.
Mia and Bibi were safe!
Kim felt a surge of triumph. She turned and flew tiredly back toward the woods. Flame sat waiting for her at the base of a birch tree, his little face turned up as he watched her intently.
Just then a large brown shape appeared in the sky above the woods. Kim glimpsed its enormous yellow eyes and sharp curved talons.
It was another, much larger hawk. And it had spotted Flame.
Kim felt a stir of fear as she realized Flame was still watching her and hadn’t noticed the danger he was in.
Kim didn’t hesitate. She folded back her tired wings and went into a steep dive. Air whistled past her feathers as she gained on the other hawk. Gathering every last bit of strength, she slammed into the bird’s side.
Brown feathers flew out everywhere. The larger hawk gave a loud screech of surprise and soared away.
“Oh!” Kim gasped, winded by the impact. She felt herself spinning downward, out of control. The ground rushed up to meet her.
She closed her eyes, preparing for a horribly painful landing, when suddenly her sneakers hit soft grass. Sneakers! She was a girl again! Kim rolled over and over and then sat up, surprised to find that she was unhurt.
Flame ran toward her and leaped straight into her arms. “You saved me, Kim. That took great courage. Thank you! You were very brave,” he purred loudly.
“I’m not, really. I just couldn’t bear it if you were hurt,” Kim said, hugging him. A huge bubble of happiness seemed to swell inside her chest. “I love having you as my friend, Flame. Please stay forever!”
Flame’s eyes narrowed with affection. “I will stay as long as I can,” he told her in a soft meow that held a note of sadness.
“… And I still can’t understand why you untied that rope. It was a very stupid thing to do. You could have drowned. How were we supposed to explain that to your mom and dad?” Kim’s dad finished saying to Mia that evening.
Mia was hunched miserably on the sofa.
Looking at her cousin’s face, Kim couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for her. Mia had been really stupid, but Kim’s mom and dad had just scolded her so much that she wouldn’t soon forget.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Brian. I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble. Are … are you going to tell my mom and dad what happened?” Mia asked in a very small shaky voice.
Mrs. Taylor put her arm around Mia’s shoulders. “Let’s not worry about that right now. No harm was done. Thank goodness the person in that motorboat realized you were in trouble.”
Mia nodded. “Thanks, Aunt Joan. I’m really sorry,” she repeated.
Kim sat in silence. She really wished she could tell Mia about being turned into a hawk and how Flame’s magic had saved her, but she knew she could never tell anyone Flame’s secret.
Mr. Taylor had calmed down now. “Why don’t you and Kim go and check on those chicks,” he said kindly to Mia.
Mia jumped up, eager to escape. “Are you coming, Kim?”
Kim nodded. She and Mia dashed up the stairs. “Phew! You really got roasted!” Kim said.
Mia shrugged. “It could have been worse. Anyway, I deserved it.”
Kim was impressed. Mia hadn’t tried to wriggle out of taking the blame for something she’d done this time. Maybe her cousin had turned over a new leaf.
As they went into her bedroom, Kim suddenly realized she hadn’t seen Bibi for a while. She asked Mia about it.
“She kept meowing to go into the garden, so I let her out. She’s usually so lazy. I don’t know what she’s interested in out there,” Mia told her.
Kim focused the telescope on the shed window. She saw the nest and the five chicks. They were getting really big now, with tiny wing feathers and stubby tails. She figured they’d be ready to leave the nest in a day or two.
“Aargh!” Kim almost jumped out of her skin.
Two big orange circles completely filled the eyepiece and blocked her view of the nest. Suddenly she realized what she was seeing.
“It’s Bibi! She’s inside the shed!” Kim gasped.
Chapter SEVEN
Kim ran after Mia as her cousin raced out of the room and bounded down the stairs.
Mia ran across the lawn at top speed and yanked open the shed door. “Bibi! Don’t you dare go near those chicks!” she warned, grabbing the big Persian.
Bibi howled with surprise and anger. Kim saw her wriggle free and hurtle blindly out of the shed—straight for a nearby bucket, which tipped over and spilled smelly brown liquid all over her.
By now Mia had checked that all the chicks were fine. She gave a thumbs-up sign to Kim before going across to Bibi.
Kim gave a huge sigh of relief.
“You bad girl! Look at the mess you’re in!” Mia scolded. “What is that disgusting stuff Bibi’s covered in?”
“It’s Dad’s plant food. He makes it from weeds and sheep droppings!” Kim sputtered, trying not to laugh.
“Gross! You need a bath,” Mia said firmly. Holding Bibi at arm’s length, she marched back into the house.
Kim suddenly realized that Flame hadn’t followed her into the garden. That was odd. He usually came everywhere with her.
She fou
nd him still in the bedroom. He had crawled under her pillow and just his little tail was visible. When she uncovered him, he looked up at her with wide, troubled eyes.
“My enemies …” he told Kim in a scared little meow.
Kim felt her chest tighten as she pet him gently. “Are … are they close?”
Flame shook his head. “Not yet. But I can sense them.”
Kim didn’t even want to think about what that could mean. “We’ll have to be very careful to keep you hidden then, won’t we?” she said fiercely.
Flame seemed to relax a little and even began purring as she tickled him under the chin.
Just then Mia’s complaining voice floated into the bedroom. “Stop wriggling, Bibi! It’s your own fault you’re all sticky. You’re getting a bath and that’s that!”
Flame’s purr turned into a chuckle. “It seems baths are not Bibi’s favorite thing!”
As Bibi gave another pitiful howl, Kim couldn’t help laughing, too. “I’d better go and see if Mia needs some help!”
Remembering how sharp Bibi’s claws were, Kim borrowed her dad’s thick gardening gloves. She held the squirming, hissing cat while Mia squirted her with pet cleaner and showered her. By the time Bibi was rinsed clean, Kim and Mia were soaked through. Bibi only settled down after Mia had dried her with a hair dryer and brushed her.
“There you are. You look beautiful,” Mia said, admiring Bibi’s long, silky fur.
Kim changed into dry clothes. Helping to bathe Bibi had been exhausting, but it was a small price to pay for saving the chicks. She was glad she and Mia seemed to be getting along better at last, too.
“I’m glad you don’t have long fur!” she said to Flame affectionately as he curled up in her room.
Flame wrinkled his nose. “So am I. I hate baths, too!”
It rained heavily the following day. Sullen gray clouds hung in the sky. Mia and Kim went for a morning walk, but it was too wet to be outdoors for long even with umbrellas and rain boots. Flame and Bibi hated the rain and spent most of the time dozing in the bedrooms.
“What should we do now?” Mia asked when they got home.
Kim didn’t want to read or watch TV. “We could make some cat toys. Mom’s got tons of spare knitting wool,” she suggested.
She showed Mia how to wrap the wool around cardboard to make pom-poms. The toys turned out really well, but Bibi wasn’t too impressed when she saw hers. She opened one eye to look at it and then went straight back to sleep.
Flame loved his toy. He seemed more like his old self and not as nervous as the day before. Kim and Mia played with him awhile. Flame was so funny, flattening his ears and play-growling as he attacked the pom-pom on its length of wool.
The phone rang and Kim went to answer it. It was Granddad.
“Hi, Granddad. How are you?” Kim said brightly. She told him about the cat toys.
“It sounds like you and Mia are having fun,” he said with a chuckle. “That’s a really cute kitten you’ve got there. Tell your mom you’re all invited over here tomorrow. Come straight on down to the dock. I’ve got a surprise for you,” he said mysteriously.
“Okay. See you tomorrow, Granddad.” Kim put down the phone and went to pass on the news. I wonder what Granddad’s up to, she thought.
As she came back into the living room, a shaft of sunlight poured through the window. Kim saw that the garden was bright and fresh after the rain. Trailing the wool behind her, so that Flame chased after it, she went upstairs to check on the chicks.
As Kim focused on the hole in the shed, she saw a fat little bird perched there. It had speckled brown feathers, a fawn-colored chest, and yellow marks at the sides of its beak.
It was one of the chicks!
Kim watched with delight as the baby robin flapped its wings. Gaining confidence, it fluttered out and swooped across to the nearby apple tree.
Kim whirled around. “Mia!” she shouted. “Come quickly! The chicks are leaving the nest!”
Mia came running upstairs and into the bedroom.
“Take a look! There’s another one at the hole!” Kim told her excitedly. “It’s getting ready to fly off!”
Mia saw the second robin make it safely into the apple tree, then she and Kim settled down to watch as two more babies flew out of the nest.
“Only one to go,” Kim said.
The last baby poked its head out of the hole. It perched there, swaying slightly, its feathers ruffled by the breeze.
“It’s a lot smaller than the others,” Mia said. “I hope it’ll be okay.”
The baby robin didn’t move. Opening its beak, it gave a little chirp. There was a flash of red as an adult robin flew onto the shed roof.
Kim pointed a finger. “It’s one of the parents. Look, it’s trying to encourage its baby to fly.”
Kim and Mia watched anxiously as the baby robin fluttered straight down to the lawn. It lay on the grass with its tiny wings outspread and then flew clumsily up to join the others in the apple tree.
“Yes!” Kim yelled in relief. She grabbed Mia and they did a little dance of joy around the room.
Chapter EIGHT
Kim’s curiosity about Granddad’s secret grew stronger when she saw the cheerful decorations strung between the trees on the way through the woods.
“I bet Gran and Granddad have finished working on the Sally Ann!” she whispered to Flame. “Maybe we’re all going on her maiden voyage.”
“What is that?” Flame seemed puzzled.
“It’s when a new boat goes on her first trip,” Kim explained.
Gran and Granddad were already down at the small dock when Kim and Flame, Mia and Bibi, and Kim’s parents arrived at the riverbank.
“Hello, everyone!” Granddad came out of the cabin to welcome them. He had a bottle of champagne in his hand. “The great day is here at last! Our dear old boat is shipshape and ready to go!”
The Sally Annlooked wonderful with her new paint job, gleaming brass rails, and new red window boxes. Gran had draped a colorful shawl over her bow to cover the houseboat’s name. Big bunches of balloons had been tied to the cabin. They bobbed about cheerfully in the river breeze.
Kim felt excited. This was like a birthday party for the houseboat.
Granddad came and stood next to Kim. “I want you all to join with me as we celebrate the …” He gave a nod to his wife. Gran pulled the shawl away. “… Sally Kim’s first voyage!”
“Sally Kim? But …” Kim frowned. She thought Granddad had gotten the name wrong until she saw the bright new name painted on the bow.
The Sally Anhad become the Sally Kim!
“Oh, Granddad! That’s amazing!” Kim said with a broad grin. She threw her arms around him for a huge hug.
“Well, an old boat can’t have a real maiden voyage, can she?” he said with a chuckle. “So we gave her a different name and now she’s a brand-new boat!”
Everyone clapped and cheered. They all piled onboard and then Gran produced the bottle of champagne. Kim and Mia toasted the Sally Kimwith glasses of lemonade.
There was a cake, too, with red and blue candles. Gran had made a clever picture of the Sally Kimin icing. It even had a tiny porthole window, just like the real boat.
Gran lit the candles and Kim and Mia blew them out.
“Did you make a wish?” Mia asked.
Kim looked at Flame, who was sniffing the candle-smoke-filled air suspiciously. “It’s a secret.” She had wished that she and Flame would share lots and lots of trips on the Sally Kim.
“Isn’t this fantastic!” Kim said to Flame around a mouthful of Gran’s delicious cake. “I bet not many girls have a boat named after them!”
Flame meowed in agreement.
Granddad went forward to start the engine. “This is the big moment!”
Kim held her breath. There was a tiny squeak, then a little rumble, and the Sally Kimbegan chugging away from the dock.
Kim and Mia cheered as the Sally Kim made her way upriver and then f
ell down laughing as Kim’s dad and granddad started singing together. “Oh! A life on the ocean waves …”
They soon reached a quiet stretch of the river, where willow trees and reeds grew more thickly, hiding the bank from view.
“Do you want to try steering?” Granddad asked Kim.
“I’ll try,” Kim said. But she found it wasn’t as easy as it looked. If she turned the wheel too far the Sally Kimwent toward the bank. When she tried to straighten her up, she turned the wheel too far the other way.
Poor Sally Kimchugged along in a very wobbly line!
“Oo-er!” Kim said, laughing helplessly. “I’m terrible at this! Do you want to try, Mia?”
“Sure!” Mia took the wheel. She frowned in concentration as she looked through the cabin window. The Sally Kimglided along smoothly in a perfect straight line.
“Easy does it,” Granddad coaxed.
“You’re a natural, Mia!” Kim said admiringly.
Mia smiled, blushing with pleasure. “I’m not bad.”
“Not bad?” Granddad patted Mia on the shoulder. “She’s an expert!”
“I’ll leave you two to it!” Kim said with a grin.
She decided to take Flame and go through to the front of the boat, where there was a small sun deck with padded seats.
Kim’s parents and grandmother sat at the tiny table, chatting over cups of tea and cookies. They looked up and smiled as Kim pushed through the bead curtain in the open doorway and stepped down onto the small deck.
Kim patted a cushion and Flame settled beside her. She noticed that the clumps of weed here were very thick. They grew right out from the bank, making the river seem narrow and a bit mysterious.
Kim pet Flame’s small velvety ears. “How do you like it on the Sally Kim?”
“I like it very much,” Flame told her with a contented purr.
Kim had never felt so happy. She thought of the wish she had made when blowing out the candles. “We are going to have so many river trips with my grandparents and …” she began, and then stopped as Flame stiffened and suddenly sat upright. “What’s wrong?” she asked him.