“So,” he sneered. “I heard you’ve been winning all those ribbons, Buckley. Buckley Yuckley. But that stops now. You can never beat a cat like me. In case you didn’t notice, I’m the cutest cat here. You, on the other hand, are a real bow-wow.”
Amelia put a paw to her chest. “Wow, that cat is mean.”
I nodded. “Very mean.”
“Buckley Yuckley!” Cutie Pie hollered again. “Won’t win another ribbon!”
“I can’t believe the things he’s saying,” Amelia told me.
Now Cutie Pie sat up and pointed at Amelia. “And who is that beside you, Buckley? Is that your girlfriend, Amelia Airhead?”
Okay, right about then I started to get really mad. It was bad enough that this cat made fun of me. But when he made fun of my friend, well, he’d just crossed a line.
Holy Mackerel!
And that’s when I realized exactly what Gracie had meant about being cute on the inside. And that’s when I also realized how I could beat Cutie Pie in this competition. Because, even though this cat was cute on the outside, he was anything but cute on the inside. Maybe if I egged him on just a little, he might show that side to the judges.
But first I had to get ready to be judged myself. Because Seymour Katts had already started this round and pulled the first cat from his cage. The judging seemed to go even faster than the last time. And before I knew it, the judge came by to take Amelia.
I held my breath the whole time she was up at the podium. But I couldn’t have been happier when my friend put on the show of her life. She pranced and posed like I’ve never seen her before. Wow, I figured if she kept acting like that, she would easily make it to Best in Show! And for that matter, she might even win the whole thing!
I cheered her on while Cutie Pie kept on making fun of her. But she just ignored him every time he yelled, “Amelia Airhead! Better go to bed. No ribbon for you!”
Then the next thing I knew, the judge had put Amelia back and now opened my cage door.
He smiled at me. “Are you ready, Buckley?”
Well, let me tell you, I wasn’t taking any chances this time. So I answered him by giving him a kiss on the nose.
The judge laughed and the audience clapped while I was brought up to the podium. That’s when I tilted my head and meowed nice and sweet. Again, everyone clapped for me.
Then I went through the rest of the judging with my head tilted one way or another. And this time I looked right at the audience and purred while I batted at the feather wand.
I noticed Gracie could hardly stay in her seat. In fact, she bounced up and down a few times. And she cheered for me the whole time. So did Amelia.
But behind me I could hear Cutie Pie meowing at me. “Buckley Yuckley! Buckley Yuckley go home! You don’t know how to bat at a feather wand! Give up now, because I’ve got this one in the bag!”
Holy Catnip!
Instead of getting upset, I did exactly what Amelia had done before me. I completely ignored the guy and I focused on doing a good job. And when the judge was just about finished, I reached up and gave him another wet kiss on the nose.
Everyone was applauding really loud for me by the time the judge put me back in my cage.
“Way to go!” yelled Amelia. She smiled and bounced up and down just like Gracie.
“Thanks,” I told her and gave her a paw bump.
It was wonderful to hear I’d done a good job. But now I wondered if it had been good enough. Had I done enough to beat Cutie Pie?
I looked over at the fuzzy-faced Cutie Pie. Amazingly, the guy was still yelling at me and trying to put me down. He’d been meowing “Buckley Yuckley” so many times that he was almost going hoarse.
That’s when I decided it was time to egg him on. And more importantly, get him to show the real Cutie Pie to the judges. After all, I couldn’t let such a mean cat prevent me from saving the Princess.
So I just lolled onto my side and examined my front paw.
Then I turned to Amelia, who had been staring at Cutie Pie. “Say, Amelia. Do you hear something? A noise or something?” I asked in a really loud voice.
Amelia raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”
I winked at her. “I hear something. Kind of a weird noise. It’s sounds like a bug or a mouse or something.”
Amelia grinned and I knew she’d caught on to my game. “Oh, yes, Buckley. I do hear something kind of high-pitched and whiney.”
I nodded. “Oh, yes, whiney is the word. Very whiney. Maybe there’s a mosquito in here.”
Before I could say another word, Cutie Pie meowed even louder. “A mosquito? A mosquito? I’m not a mosquito! I’m the cutest cat here. And you’d better remember that. Because I’m going to win.”
I looked at Amelia and opened my eyes wide, and tried to look completely innocent. “I still hear that whining noise. Maybe we should call the exterminator. Bugs aren’t allowed in the cat show.”
Amelia covered her mouth with her paw to stop from laughing.
And Cutie Pie hissed at me. “You won’t be calling me a bug when I have a blue ribbon, Buckley Yuckley. Oh, no, then you’ll be jealous! That’s for sure. You’ll be really jealous.”
I sat up and stretched. “Say, Amelia, have you been enjoying all your ribbons? You’ve sure won a bunch.”
Amelia giggled. “Oh, I love all my ribbons, Buckley. They really make my cage look pretty.”
I nodded. “I love all my ribbons, too. And between me and Bogey, we’ve got so many ribbons hanging on our cage that we can barely see out.”
Okay, that kind of talk really seemed to make Cutie Pie mad. Because all of a sudden, he jumped onto the side of his cage like he wanted to get out and get us. He hung on with his claws and yowled at us.
And just at that moment, the judge headed to Cutie Pie’s cage. He frowned and very carefully pulled Cutie Pie out.
“Looks like someone’s not too happy today,” Seymour Katts said. “But our last cat in this final round is Cutie Pie.”
Then the judge took Cutie Pie to the podium and started to hold him up. But let me tell you, Cutie Pie wasn’t exactly in the mood for that kind of treatment. So he yowled again, stuck out his front claws and took a big swipe at the judge.
All the people in the audience went “Ooooh . . .”
Seymour Katts shook his head. “I’m sorry, Cutie Pie. But swatting at the judge is an instant disqualification. We don’t allow bad behavior here.”
With those words, he signaled to Cutie Pie’s Mom. Seconds later, Cutie Pie was being carted away.
“But I’m the cutest cat ever!” he kept yelling over and over. “I’m supposed to win! I’m so cute.”
Holy Mackerel!
Amelia and I just glanced at each other and shook our heads. Gracie had been right. Being cute on the inside really was way more important than being cute on the outside. It was a good thing she’d told me that before this round of the competition.
And speaking of competitions, I think I must have held my breath the whole time the judge passed out ribbons. Before long, he was down to the final two — a red and a blue. As soon as he put that red ribbon on Amelia’s cage, I started to cheer. After all, that meant she’d be in Best in Show.
But then I remembered the blue ribbon, and that I needed to be in Best in Show, too. Would I win? Would I be there to help rescue the Princess?
The judge turned away and stepped toward the podium. I think that was about the time when my heart sank to my toes. Was he going to another cage to award that ribbon? Had I failed? I stretched out and put my head between my legs.
How would I ever face Bogey if I didn’t win? And how would I save the Princess?
Just then, I heard Seymour Katts speak to the audience. “I have been a cat show judge for many, many years. And judging the Cutest Family Pet Competition has always been my favorite. This year, one cat stood out above the rest, time and time again.”
All of a sudden, I started to shake just a little. Was he talking about me? Or was he
talking about some other cat?
I leaned forward so I could listen better.
Seymour Katts spoke on. “No other cat in this competition deserves to win the title, Cutest Family Pet, like the cat whom I met today. And that cat is a big, fuzzy black cat.”
I quickly looked around. Were there any other big, fuzzy black cats in this round?
“And that cat,” Seymour Katts went on, “is Buckley. A cat whom I hope we see again and again at the St. Gertrude Cat Show.”
Gracie screamed, Amelia jumped up and down and I flopped onto my back. The whole crowd was cheering and clapping. Seymour Katts came over to my cage and took me out. He held me up high so everyone could see me. Gracie came bouncing onto the stage and he handed her my blue ribbon.
Tears streamed down her face and she covered her mouth with one hand. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look so happy!
All the while I just tilted my head in every different direction and looked at all the different people who were clapping for me. It was nice to see so many cat Moms and Dads there.
The judge passed me to Gracie. She hugged me like she’s never hugged me before. So I gave her a big kiss on the nose, too.
Then I sort of smiled to myself and just enjoyed the moment. I waved good-bye to Amelia.
As her Mom carried her off, I heard her say, “Now you and Buckley will both be in Best in Show. You could win this whole competition, Amelia.”
And I thought to myself, wouldn’t that be wonderful? I’d love to see my friend win the whole thing.
Because I sure felt good about winning my whole category. And I wanted Amelia to be just as happy as I was, too!
I shook my head and tried to take it all in. Who knew that a guy like me — a cat who had once been in a cat shelter — could now win so many blue ribbons? It was almost more than I could think about.
But one thing I did need to think about was rescuing the Princess. And because I’d won my round, I would be there to save her. Now I only hoped our plan would go off without a hitch!
Holy Catnip!
CHAPTER 16
Holy Mackerel! I still couldn’t believe it! There I was, Buckley Bergdorf, cat detective, former shelter cat, and now I had a new title — Cutest Family Pet at the St. Gertrude Cat Show. It made my head spin. And luckily, Gracie wasn’t spinning me around this time. I don’t think I could have handled it if she did. Because, to tell you the truth, it already seemed like the room was spinning enough.
Cat Moms and Dads and lots of other people gathered around us. People were in front and behind and to the sides of us. It seemed like everyone wanted to take my picture, or pet me, and just say congratulations to Gracie. Suddenly I knew exactly what a movie star cat felt like.
After a while, Gracie started walking back to our cage. But let me tell you, it was very slow going. Partly because she wanted to show off our ribbon to everybody. And partly because she just couldn’t get through the crowd very fast. People seemed to be coming out of the woodwork to talk to us. And on top of that, cats in cages were congratulating me, too!
An orange tabby hollered out, “Good job, Buckley! All the cats have been talking about you. You’re famous now!”
A few minutes later, a gray Persian called out, “You’re a star, Buckley! Hope we see you at more cat shows.”
Another Siamese meowed, “Good luck in Best in Show, Buckley! Hope you win!”
Wow, I was amazed by how much the other cats had been keeping track of the whole competition. Because I sure hadn’t been. I guess I had just been busy trying to rescue the Princess. I really hadn’t thought that much about what cat had won what award.
Finally, Gracie got close to our row again. And even though I really wanted to just stop and enjoy all that attention, well . . . I still had to tell Bogey about my part of the plan.
I turned my head and spotted him being carried by my Mom. She held him in one hand and in the other hand, she held a giant blue ribbon.
I think Gracie and I must have started cheering at the same exact moment. Because we knew what that blue ribbon meant! Bogey had won the Agility Competition!
The big grin on his face let me know it was true. And just as Gracie and I quieted down, my Mom and Bogey must have spotted my ribbon. Then they started to cheer for me, too.
And well, everyone around us started to cheer. Wow, it was like winning all over again. It took a while before Gracie and our Mom made it back to our cage. But instead of putting us inside, they just held onto us.
Lots and lots of people started moving down our row. There was more picture taking and petting and congratulations.
I hollered over to Bogey. “How did it go?”
He grinned back at me. “Piece of cake, kid. I went through that course in record time. And you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, I had some competition this time. But I took care of him.”
Bogey raised his brows. “Way to go, kid! I want to hear all about it later.”
I nodded. “I know. But first, there’s something I have to tell you. Something I came up with and added on to our plan!”
But I had barely gotten the words out when a group of cat Moms came between Gracie and my Mom. That meant Bogey and I were completely separated. And we were too far apart to talk.
Then it seemed like the hoopla just kept growing and getting louder and louder. Cat Moms were talking and taking more pictures. Before I knew it, a TV reporter showed up. She had a cameraman behind us filming the whole thing.
The reporter put a microphone in front of Gracie’s face. “So do I understand correctly? You have not one but two cats who have won here today at the St. Gertrude Cat Show?”
Gracie smiled for the camera. “Uh-huh. This is Buckley.” She turned me to face the camera. And then she pointed to Bogey. “And that’s our other black cat, Bogey.”
“Very nice,” the reporter said. “Why do you think your cats won today?”
“That’s easy,” Gracie said. “They’re the best cats ever.”
Wow, that sure was a nice thing for Gracie to say. I gave her a kiss on the nose right in front of the camera.
Gracie giggled.
“Thank-you,” the reporter said. Then she stood up and motioned to her cameraman. “Let’s go get some pictures of that famous cat, Princess Alexandra. I heard she won her category, too. And she’ll probably take Best in Show.”
My ears perked up when the reporter said those words. I have to tell you, I was really, really happy to hear the Princess was definitely going to Best in Show. That meant we’d have a chance to pull off our plan.
But that was also when I started to shake just a little bit. After all, I knew the moment was near when we’d have one and only one last chance to save her.
I suddenly felt my heart pounding. Would our plan work this time?
I looked at the floor and noticed Lil peeking out from one of our pet carriers. She gave me a paws up, and I knew she was ready to roll.
Now, the question was, was I ready to roll, too? Could I do my job like I was supposed to?
I gulped. All at once it felt like a whole pack of butterflies were flying around in my stomach.
But I knew I’d feel better after I had a chance to talk to Bogey.
Then an announcement came over the loud speaker. “May I have your attention, please?” boomed Felicia Fairweather’s voice. “Quiet, please. Your attention, please.”
At long last, everyone quieted down. But my ears were still ringing from all the noise of everyone talking.
“Thank-you,” Felicia said over the loud speaker. “It’s now time for the Best in Show Competition on the Big Stage. I would like all pet owners with a cat in the competition to please proceed to the stage at once.”
That’s when I think I completely froze. The Best in Show Competition? So soon? I hadn’t even had a chance to talk to Bogey yet.
Now my heart pounded like a basketball bouncing across a driveway.
Gracie and my Mom both turned and started walkin
g to the end of the building. Bogey and I were carried through some wide, double doors that were held open with doorstoppers. And then I saw it. The Big Stage. The kind I’d seen in pictures from when Gracie was in her school play.
There were bright lights shining down from above and the cages now sat on pillows. Plus there was a big, golden trophy sitting on a table in the middle of the whole thing.
Holy Catnip!
I’d never been on such a huge stage in my life. Now I started to shake even more than before. I cuddled in tight to Gracie and closed my eyes. All of a sudden, I wanted to go home. I wanted to be back in my house with my bed and my cat toys and my family. More than anything, I wanted to be somewhere that was safe and familiar. So I squeezed my eyes closed even tighter and pretended like this whole thing wasn’t happening.
But I soon found out that it really was happening.
Because, a few minutes later, Bogey and I were in our cages on that very stage. I was in the middle and he was on the outer edge with the Second Place Agility Competition winner.
By now I was really starting to panic. Especially since I hadn’t had a chance to tell him about my plan.
Minutes later, Amelia’s Mom brought her in. She kissed her on the top of the head. “Whether you win or lose, I’m proud of you, Amelia.”
Amelia gave her Mom a kiss on the nose and then she jumped into the cage beside mine. “Buckley, isn’t this so exciting! I never dreamed something like this would happen in my life.”
I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “Me, either.” And right at that moment, I wasn’t sure I really wanted all this to happen in my life. Because, somehow, carrying off a rescue on this Big Stage seemed even scarier than I had ever imagined.
Next Ranger’s Mom brought him in. He went into the cage next to mine. If nothing else, it felt good to be surrounded by friends.
“The plan still on?” Ranger asked.
I nodded. “Oh, yeah.”
He saluted. “I’ll be at your service then. Like I said, I’ve got a great left hook to the backside. I’m ready to use it any time you need me.”
The Case of the Cat Show Princess Page 13