Ginger the Stray Kitten

No noise of diggers, no rumbling wheels, no men shouting. They had gone. It should be safe now. He slid out, still listening carefully. There was an odd scritch-scratching noise coming from across the yard. It wasn’t the men. Was it that fox who’d been stealing from his bins? He’d seen it again the other night.

There was no smell now, so it couldn’t be a fox. He padded slowly out into the yard, following the noise. It sounded like something was digging under the fence, maybe it was that fox. The fur rose up on Ginger’s back. The sooner he got out of here, the better. He crept round the back of the tractor, and darted a quick look over at the fence.

It was her! The girl! She was still there! The noise hadn’t scared her away. And she was digging under the fence. Was she trying to come in?

Ginger gave a hopeful mew, and crept across the yard towards her, glancing round occasionally, just in case.

Rosie dropped the stone. “Ginger!” She sat up on her heels eagerly, catching hold of the fence to look through the wire, and Ginger paused, scared by the sudden movement. “Oh, I’m sorry…” She edged back on her knees, leaving a little space between herself and the fence. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Ginger. I was just so glad to see you! Look!” Rosie dug the last tiny handful of fishy cat treats out of the packet that she’d been keeping in her school bag, and scattered them for Ginger – on her side of the fence.

“Come on, Ginger… Please…”

The tiny kitten sniffed thoughtfully. The smell was familiar. Those strange round things he’d found before! They were from the girl, too? Well, he preferred ham sandwiches, but he wouldn’t complain. Still, he had to climb under the fence to get them.

He padded closer, peering through the hole. It seemed big enough. And he’d been hoping to find the girl, and a way out. Now she had made him one. Ginger stared up at Rosie, his big green eyes hopeful, and almost trusting. He would do it.

Rosie stared back, her eyes hopeful too, and pleading, desperate for him to trust her. “Hey, little one,” she whispered. “Come on…”

Ginger crouched down, and started to wriggle under the fence, the wire just skimming the fur on his back. He popped out the other side, shook himself and sneezed from the dust. Then he eyed the cat treats, eagerly.

“Go on, they’re for you!” Rosie reassured him, and Ginger gobbled them down, a curious expression on his face. Such an odd flavour. But he could get used to it. He licked his whiskers to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, and looked up at Rosie. Then he put one tiny paw on her knee, and mewed.

More?

“Are you still hungry?” Rosie smiled. “You could come back to Gran’s with me… She’s making ham sandwiches, your favourite.” She stood up, very slowly, and stepped backwards. “You coming? Hmmm? Coming, Ginger?”

And Ginger stepped out after her, his tail waving, following her home.

About the Author

Holly Webb started out as a children’s book editor, and wrote her first series for the publisher she worked for. She has been writing ever since, with over sixty books to her name. Holly lives in Berkshire, with her husband and three young sons. She has a pet cat called Marble, who is always nosying around when she’s trying to type on her laptop.

Other titles by Holly Webb:

Lost in the Snow

Lost in the Storm

Alfie all Alone

Sam the Stolen Puppy

Max the Missing Puppy

Sky the Unwanted Kitten

Timmy in Trouble

Ginger the Stray Kitten

Harry the Homeless Puppy

Buttons the Runaway Puppy

Alone in the Night

Ellie the Homesick Puppy

Jess the Lonely Puppy

Misty the Abandoned Kitten

Oscar’s Lonely Christmas

Lucy the Poorly Puppy

Smudge the Stolen Kitten

The Rescued Puppy

The Kitten Nobody Wanted

The Lost Puppy

The Frightened Kitten 

Copyright

STRIPES PUBLISHING 

An imprint of Little Tiger Press 

1 The Coda Centre, 189 Munster Road, 

London SW6 6AW

Text copyright © Holly Webb, 2009 

Illustrations copyright © Sophy Williams, 2009

First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2012.

eISBN: 978–1–84715–268–8

The right of Holly Webb and Sophy Williams to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

All rights reserved.

Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

www.stripespublishing.co.uk