The Other Kitten

by Patricia St John

  There was only one shop in the village and they had to wait some time to pay at the checkout. Mark stood in the queue with the basket, but Carol wandered outside and looked round. There was a path behind the shop leading up to some cottages. At the top of the hill was a caravan site. They had never been up there and Carol thought there would be an amazing view of the coast. Mark was sure to be ages; she would run a little way and see.

  But she never got to the top of the hill because when she reached the gate of the first cottage she saw a notice. She thought it was the most exciting notice she had ever seen. She just stood staring at it. This is what it said:

  KITTENS GIVEN AWAY FREE TO GOOD HOMES

  Ours is a good home, thought Carol. A kitten was almost as much fun as a new baby. She must tell Mark at once. She ran back to the shop and found him. He had just paid and was standing at the door looking for her. She grabbed his free hand.

  “Come quick!” she shouted. “I’ve found something.”

  “What?”

  “Come and see.” She almost dragged her brother up the hill. When they reached the notice they both stood staring at it.

  “Would Gran let us have a kitten?” asked Mark.

  “She’d have to, if we took it back with us,” said Carol. “Anyhow, we’d take it home soon. Mum wouldn’t mind.”

  “I think we’d better ask Gran first,” said Mark slowly. He was determined to go to Hartland Point and he didn’t want any more trouble. “But, of course, we could always go in and look at them…”

  “Yes!” said Carol, pushing open the gate and dancing up the path. She knocked loudly at the door and a woman opened it.

  “We’ve come to see the kittens,” said Carol. “We’ve got a good home. We’re staying with Mrs White; she’s our gran.”

  “Well, the kittens are ready to go,” said the woman. “Your gran’s a friend of mine. She’d know how to look after a kitten. They’re all out here in the woodshed.”

  Mark and Carol knelt down in the woodshed and forgot about everything else. There were four kittens. They had long, soft fur and round blue eyes. They were crawling in and out of their basket or scampering back to their mother for a feed. Carol picked up a grey kitten; Mark picked up a black one with four white paws and a white nose.

  “We’ll have this one,” he said, “and I shall call him Tippet because of the white tips on his paws and nose.”

  “No,” said Carol, “we’re having this one, and I shall call him Fluff because he’s so soft.”

  “No, we’re not having that one!” said Mark. “I’m the eldest so I’m going to choose. I’ve made up my mind. I’ll share Tippet with you.”

  But Carol wanted the grey kitten more than anything else in the world.

  “I wish I’d come in to see them without you!” she cried. “I want this one.”

  The woman took away the kittens in a hurry. She was afraid the children might have a fight and pull them in half.

  “Dear me!” she said. “I’m not giving you a kitten if you’re going to argue over it like that. You can go back to your gran and ask her what she thinks. When you’ve made up your minds, tell her to come with you.”

  She led the children out into the garden. Then she went into the cottage and shut the door. Mark gave Carol a kick.

  “You see, you’ve lost them both now!” he said angrily. “That woman will tell Gran we argued. Then Gran will say we can’t have them. You always spoil everything, Carol.”

  “No I don’t!” sobbed Carol, kicking back as hard as she could. “They were my kittens. I found them. I hate you! I’m going to run away. And I’ll come back and get Fluff all by myself.”

  She was off, slamming the gate behind her. She began to run down the hill. Mark couldn’t see which way she went because the trees hid her from view.

  Chapter four

  Mark waited for a few minutes, just to show Carol that he didn’t care if she did run away. Then he walked back to the shop and looked round. He couldn’t see her anywhere.

  She was probably hiding, but he wished he knew where. She might have run very fast and turned the bend in the road that led to Gran’s cottage. She might now be telling tales to Gran and Gran would think it was all his fault! And of course it wasn’t, not at all. He was the eldest, and the black and white kitten was by far the prettiest. And he did so want to go and see the lighthouse. He sniffed and felt very sorry for himself.

  On the other hand, Carol might have run into the field opposite the shop and be hiding behind the barn. He was quite sure that she would not have run down the twisty little road that led to the sea because she was afraid of the dark woods. When they were not arguing, he always held her hand when they ran between the trees. He didn’t like them much himself.

  He decided to search behind the barn. If she wasn’t there, he would go home and peep round the kitchen door to see if she had arrived first. If she was not there, he would pretend they were playing outside and wait till she turned up. Carol was such a baby!

  “Wait till I get her alone,” he muttered. “I’ll teach her! But not till after we’ve been to the lighthouse…”

  But Carol wasn’t behind the barn, or anywhere in the field. He walked a little way along, peering into the hedge. He did not find her, but he found a hedge sparrow’s nest, beautifully woven from moss with five bright blue eggs in it. It was so beautiful that he almost forgot Carol. He waited quite a long time, crouching in the grass, until the sparrow came back. Then he tiptoed away, feeling rather sorry. If only they had not argued, he could have shown Carol that nest. She would have loved it.

  He thought he had better go home with the basket and see what was happening. Gran would be wondering where he was. If he was nice to Carol, they might still go to Hartland Point. He hurried up the road and stuck his nose cautiously round the back door.

  It was very quiet in the kitchen. Gran was all alone, doing the ironing. She looked up and smiled. “At last!” she said. “I thought you’d got lost, and you had all my shopping with you! Where’s Carol?”

  “Er… she’s playing outside. Can we go over to the farm for a bit?”

  “Yes, for half an hour. We’ll have lunch early and then set off to the lighthouse.”

  Mark ran to the farm but Carol wasn’t there. He was beginning to get very worried indeed. Whatever would Gran say if she hadn’t come back by lunchtime? And, anyway, where was she? For the first time he started to feel really bothered, not just about Gran and the lighthouse, but about Carol herself.

  He went back to the shop but the girl on the checkout hadn’t seen her. He stood at the top of the steep, winding road that led down to the sea and felt even more bothered. She couldn’t have run down there all by herself. He was sure she couldn’t. But half an hour was up and there was nothing to be done but to go back and tell Gran. He shuffled into the kitchen.

  “Come along,” said Gran. “Lunch is all ready and I’ve made some nice scones for tea. Where’s Carol?”

  Mark hung his head. “I can’t find her,” he muttered. “She ran away. I’ve looked everywhere for her.”

  “She ran away? But you said you were going to the farm. Did she run from the farm?”

  “It was before that. She ran away from the shop. I’ve looked everywhere, honest I have.”

  “But you said she was playing outside. Just when did you lose her? Tell me at once, Mark. How long has she been gone?”

  Mark knew from her voice that Gran was scared and he suddenly felt very scared too. He had to fight back the tears.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “She just ran. I couldn’t see where she went. We were on the hill behind the shop. She ran behind the trees. When I came down she wasn’t there.”

  “Well, if she hasn’t come home and she isn’t at the farm, she must have run down to the sea. It was very naughty of you, Mark, not to tell me sooner. We must look for her right away. If we can’t find her, we must phone the police.”

  Gran hurried to the garage and got the car
. She called to the neighbour to be on the lookout in case Carol came back while they were away. Mark jumped into the car and they drove slowly down the road, looking to left and right. Neither of them said anything at all. Carol was nowhere in sight.

  They reached the shop that sold groceries, ice creams, cups of tea and blue china mugs. They drove through the dark woods and past the primroses to the cottages. From there, the rocky footpath led down to the beach.

  But there wasn’t any beach. The tide had come in and the waves, blue and sparkling, were breaking against the cliff. Gran turned the car round and then went back to the shop. She stopped the car and spoke to a man and a woman who were drinking tea at a table outside the shop.

  “We’ve lost a little girl of 8,” said Gran. “Did you happen to notice a child by herself?”

  The couple looked at each other.

  “Yes,” said the woman, “about an hour ago when we came up from the beach. Don’t you remember, darling? A little girl ran past us; pretty little girl she was, with fair, curly hair. I thought her parents were down by the sea. But she can’t be there now. The tide’s in.”

  “You haven’t seen her since?”

  “No. But we were in the shop for a bit so maybe we didn’t notice.”

  “Thank you.” Gran’s voice sounded strange and tight. Mark glanced up at her and noticed that her face had gone very pale. She seemed to have forgotten all about him.

  “I suppose she could have run along into the next cove,” said Gran. “The cliff is further back there and it may not be too late. We must ring the coastguard at once.”

  She went back into the shop. Mark stood in the road that turned into a rocky path, staring out over the sea. Where, oh where was Carol?

  Chapter five

  Where was Carol?

  When she ran away from the garden where the kittens lived, she was so angry that she didn’t really know what she was doing. She wanted to run and run and give Mark a big fright. If she didn’t come back for a long time, Gran would be very cross with Mark for not looking after her. So she would run for a long way and get really properly lost.

  She would run right down to the sea and hide behind the rocks. Mark would be carrying that heavy basket. He would never catch up with her. She was so angry that she hardly noticed the dark woods. She was much too busy thinking about that grey kitten – and hating Mark.

  “Fluff, Fluff,” she cried to herself, “I wanted you so badly. If only I’d never shown Mark! If only I’d just gone in alone and got you. I shan’t go back, not for a long time. I hate him.”

  She ran right through the dark woods and came out into the sunshine. The clumps of primroses on the banks were like great yellow pools. She stopped to smell them and noticed some white violets sheltering under a fern. She smelt them too, but she did not pick them, because she thought they might wilt.

  She had reached the cottages and looked down the path that led to the sea. She almost decided to go home. But she still had plenty of time before lunch. She would hide for a little while in case Mark came to look for her.

  She would not go down to the beach because the tide was quite high and all the people were coming up. But there was a little path that ran along the bottom of the cliff for quite a long way. It seemed to turn a corner further on and Mark would never think of looking for her there.

  It was fun running along that path on that bright April morning. There were seagulls nesting on the cliff. As she watched the swoop of their white wings, she almost forgot her troubles. She felt rather sorry. If only they hadn’t argued, she could have shown Mark the gulls’ nests. He would have loved that.

  The path had turned a corner and she suddenly found herself in another little cove where the cliffs were much further back. Here there was plenty of room and lots of sand and the water seemed quite far away. She had never been here before and she felt quite excited. She would bring Mark here as soon as they had become friends again. She thought it was even nicer than their own beach. She began to look for shells. There were little pools in the rocks too. They had pretty sea plants growing in them, and tiny crabs scuttling to and fro. It was so warm and quiet and sheltered that she felt almost sleepy. She had no idea how late it was getting.

  It was only when she happened to look up that she noticed how much nearer the water had come. She felt a little bit scared. It must be nearly lunchtime, she thought, and she still had to climb that steep hill home. She suddenly wanted to get back as quickly as possible. Mark had had plenty of time to have a big, big fright. Gran had had plenty of time to have been very cross with him. She began to wonder whether Gran might be cross with her too.

  She ran to the place where the path had turned the corner and then she forgot all about Mark and Gran and everything else. She just stood staring and staring. For ahead of her was nothing but water. The path was covered all the way to the bottom of the cliff and their beach wasn’t there any more. The tide had come in and there was nothing at all but sparkling blue water and little white waves breaking against the rocks.

  Carol felt very scared. She began to cry. She wondered if the sea would come right up to the cliffs in the new cove. If it did, she would be drowned. She couldn’t get out either side. She tried to find a path up the cliff, but the rocks were too steep for a little girl to climb. She sat down on a big rock and she had never felt so lonely and afraid before.

  She knew that if she waited long enough, the tide would turn and the path would be there again. But she did not know how far the water would reach in the cove where she was sitting. It was getting nearer and nearer, quite close to her sandals. She thought of her mother and father, the new baby and the rabbits. But they were far away and they couldn’t help her. She thought of Gran and Mark. They would be out looking for her now, but how would they know where to look? She wanted Mark to come so badly! Mark would know what to do. She always felt safe when Mark was there. But how could he come when the path was covered with water?

  Gran and Mark! She began to think about the cottage: the warm kitchen, the apple blossom in the garden. She thought about that cosy time, just before she went to sleep, when Gran sat beside her bed telling stories and Mark curled up under the blanket in his pyjamas. She remembered the first story Gran had told. She began to think about it. It was about the sea, not on a blue sparkly day like this, but on a dark night. There were 12 men who were very scared, just like she was. But Jesus had come, walking on the water. Then they hadn’t been scared any more. Everything was all right when Jesus came.

  She remembered something else too. Gran had said that Jesus was still here, although people couldn’t see him. She’d said that Jesus was ready to help anyone who asked him. Mark had said he didn’t believe it, but Gran had said it was true. Gran knew more than Mark. Suppose Carol told Jesus that she needed to be rescued? Suppose he came to her, walking on the water? She didn’t think he would, but she could at least try.

  “Jesus,” she said, closing her eyes because that was what Gran did when she prayed, “please come and help me. Don’t let the water come right to where I am. Please help me to get out.”

  She opened her eyes but she was still alone. She began to think about Jesus. Gran had said that he was very good. Carol knew that she wasn’t good at all. She had argued with her brother. She had even had a fight with him! She shut her eyes again.

  “Jesus, please help me,” she said. “I know I’m not always very good. I’ve been horrible to Mark. I’m sorry. I’ll let Mark have the black and white kitten.”

  She opened her eyes again and blinked. A boat was coming round the curve of the cliff. It was coming straight into the cove and she could hear the chug-chug of its engine. For a moment she thought it must be Jesus. But then she remembered that Jesus didn’t come in a boat. He walked on the water! Well, someone was coming, anyway. She jumped up and shouted and waved with all her might.

  The boat came right up close to her. The coastguard jumped out and lifted her into the boat.

  “Now, what�
��s this all about?” he said. “You nearly scared the life out of your gran and your brother! Don’t you ever run off by yourself like that again!”

  And Carol, holding tight to the side of the boat as it skimmed out of the cove, made up her mind that she never, never would.

  Chapter six

  Gran and Mark sat on a big rock, just above the waterline, waiting for the coastguard to come back. He had arrived very quickly after Gran had phoned him. He had agreed that it was possible that Carol had strayed into the next cove before the tide was right up. But, he had said, that cove would soon be covered and he’d better get going. He had started the engine and shot off round the corner.

  Gran did not speak at all. She seemed to have forgotten about Mark, sitting so quietly beside her. He felt terribly lonely. He believed that if anything bad had happened to Carol, it was all his fault. Perhaps Gran was very angry with him and that was why she did not speak to him. He looked up at her and saw that her eyes were shut like when she prayed at night. He knew that she was praying for Carol.

  I wonder if it does any good, thought Mark. He shut his eyes and began saying quietly to himself, “Please, God, if you’re there, find Carol.”

  He started thinking about Carol. What if she never came back? It would be horrible without Carol. Whatever would Mum and Dad say? He suddenly felt very sorry that he had kicked her and been selfish. “If Carol comes back,” he said to himself, “I’ll be really nice to her. I’ll even let her have the grey kitten.”