The Adventures of Caterwaul the Cat Read Online Free Page B

accomplishment to have been able to finally put that cat in his trap. He was so pleased with himself, he appeared to be dancing; but when he checked the contents of the bag, it was empty. The cat was gone.
    By some trick, Caterwaul now sat perched on Druciah’s left shoulder. Gliding around her neck, he leaned forward gracefully and whispered in her ear, “I told you I was an enchanted cat.”

3

    Life in the Castle
    C aterwaul settled right in and within a short time became a fixture in the castle. Wherever Druciah went, her black-furred companion followed close behind. When she was sitting, he would curl up at her feet and just rest like he had had not slept in years. They soon became very good friends.
    Caterwaul had been right. Druciah, after all those years of loneliness, really needed someone to talk to. The cat showed he was a good listener and counselor too. Before long, they were inseparable. He found that he liked doing the things she liked. If the queen wanted to read, then Caterwaul would read as well. Usually he could be found curled up on a pillow next to her or, at most, only a few feet away.
    But what he really loved to do was play games, and she proved to be a competent and enthusiastic opponent. For hours on end, they would play. Often it was card games with names like penguins, tiger’s eye, or three crowns. More often than not, it was Caterwaul who was victorious.
    Sometimes if they fancied a longer game, they’d invite Warwick Vane Bezel III and one of the guards for a tournament. With four of them playing, they might indulge themselves with an adventurous game of “One and Thirty.” Caterwaul loved it when Warwick joined in. He took special delight in watching the commander’s brow furrow whenever he would fall behind. And since in these games, for Warwick, losing was a regular event, his face often looked like a shriveled apple left too long in the sun.
    Of course losing did not sit well with a man like Warwick Vane Bezel III. He had a terrible temper. The secret policeman’s hatred for Caterwaul grew with every defeat. Warwick knew the cat was laughing at him, and he did not like it one bit.
    These tournaments could and often did extend deep into the night. They would sometimes lose track of time and only realize how long they had been playing when the light in the oil lamps began to fade.
    Caterwaul liked other kinds of games as well. He was especially fond of board games, which required strategy. When he lived back in the forest, he and the Witch would spend hours upon hours trying to outmaneuver each other. One day he approached his new mistress with a query. “How would you like to see me move castles?” he asked.
    She stared at him incredulously. “Surely that is not within your power. You cannot actually move my castle from one place to another?”
    He smiled and said, “Of course not, my queen. I was just asking you if you might be interested in having a game of chess.”

    Warwick Vane Bezel III had a long history of hating animals. One could not help but notice this, considering he had spent most of his life torturing and subjecting them to all sorts of cruelties. He really didn’t like much of anything, but animals were high on his list of things he didn’t like. Oh . . . and animals who were smarter than he was, he hated most of all.
    It did not matter if the beast was enchanted or not, or that Queen Druciah was obviously fond of him. Warwick Vane Bezel III considered Caterwaul the castle’s lowest occupant. He was always spying on the queen’s new companion. He did not trust him at all and was determined to catch him doing something disloyal, which he could show the queen.
    But Caterwaul was loyal, and after months living together in the castle, he and the queen were quite attached. Where the queen went, Caterwaul followed. And there was no doubt that he had a mellowing effect on her personality. Unfortunately it would