The Adventures of Caterwaul the Cat Read Online Free Page A

rat will eat some really disgusting things.” His eyes flashed widely. “I mean really disgusting!”
    The queen was by now starting to show signs of amusement. Whether this was from the things the cat was saying or from the sheer ineptitude of her guards would be hard to say. Nevertheless a smile began to form in the corners of her mouth, and if one listened carefully enough, he might have detected some soft chuckling.
    The cat railed on.
    â€œWhy I knew this one rat that would never shut up.” The cat continued to avoid capture as he spoke. “He just kept yammering on about this, or jabbering on about that . . . and this went on all the time, believe me, all the time. It got so bad that I had to sneak around the cavern on tiptoes just so he wouldn’t notice me. It was important that I not be seen because, if the rat caught even a sight of this bushy tail, it was over. The next three hours of my life would be booked up instantly—and that, my queen, was time I’d never be able to get back.
    â€œSometimes he’d wake me up in the morning just to tell me that he couldn’t sleep. Can you believe it? And he never felt bad about it either. It was like somehow he had the right to wake me up to keep him company. From the way he tells it, he was some kind of bigwig at one time. Rats,” he sighed. “No thank you, I don’t need ‘em.”
    By now the queen’s brief flirtation with amusement had faded, and she became extremely aggravated. “What is wrong with you guards? It’s just a cat . . . and an overly talkative one at that. Just grab him quickly and get him out of my castle. I can’t believe that I have such inept guards. You can’t even capture a little cat!”
    Despite his impressive display of catrobatics, the queen’s quarry calmly said, “I don’t understand you, queen. You live here all alone in this enormous cold castle of stone. I would think you would go insane. It’s so cold and empty, and it has no soul. You have no one to talk to.”
    The queen looked at her guards as if to say I have them , but the cat shook his head. “They don’t count. You don’t talk to them; you give them orders. The only people you allow around you are your guards and servants, and from what I see, they seem to stay here more out of fear than loyalty.” He jumped again. “It must be terribly lonely for you, being here in this huge and empty place. I’d think that by now you would be tired of being lonely and that you would welcome a furry little diversion like me.”
    Druciah stiffened, more upset by the cat’s insight than anything else. “You, Sir Cat, know nothing about me, though you seem to consider yourself an expert.” Still, she turned away. What he’d said obviously struck a nerve.
    The guards kept grabbing at him, catching only thin air. It was quite comical they way they thrust and stumbled in pursuit of the wise and unwelcome animal. But then the cat saw the queen was visibly shaken and decided to end the game.
    He propelled himself forward and came to rest gently on a table directly in front of her. “My name is Caterwaul,” he said. “I will share my wisdom with you if you let me stay with you here in the castle.” Tired of the chase, he bowed his head to show respect.
    Staring upward at Druciah with his big yellow eyes, he added, “Look . . . I need a place to live and you need a friend. So what do you say? Do you want to give it a try?”
    The queen appeared to be sniffling, as if fighting back tears, when she said, “Well, I must admit, good Sir Cat, you are a feisty one.” She rubbed her chin in consideration. Just then the guard with the woven grass sack dove toward the cat and captured him.
    â€œI have him your majesty,” said the guard triumphantly, “I have him!” The guard was grinning from ear to ear. He considered it quite an