Ginger the Stray Kitten

Rosie was determined to stop and look for the kitten the next day, but she and Gran got a shock when they reached the farm. Gran had come another way to collect Rosie from school, because she needed to go to the shops, and they both stopped in surprise as they came close.

“Goodness, that’s gone up quickly!” Gran exclaimed.

A huge wire fence was now surrounding the farmyard, covered in big notices about wearing hard hats, and no children playing on the building site. It was a building site already!

Rosie pressed her face up against the wire fence. The farmyard was deserted, with no sign of life at all.

“Can’t we go in and look for him?” she asked Gran.

“No, Rosie, look – it says no one can go in.” Gran sighed. “We’ll just have to keep coming by and hope we spot him – or perhaps we could ask the builders to keep an eye out. There’s no one here now, but I’m sure there will be soon, otherwise they wouldn’t have bothered to put the fence up, would they?”

Gran was right. The next day, a couple of men in yellow hard hats were wandering round the building site with a little machine that beeped, which Rosie and Gran guessed was some sort of clever measuring gadget. It took them ages to catch the men’s attention, but at last one of them came over.

“Yes?” he asked.

“Have you seen a kitten?” Rosie said nervously. “There were some cats here, and they were taken to a rescue centre, but we think one of the kittens ran away and…” She trailed off. “We just wondered if you’d seen him? A ginger kitten?”

“No, sorry.” The builder turned away. Rosie didn’t dare call him back, even though she wanted to.

“Could you keep an eye out for him, please!” Gran called, and Rosie squeezed her hand gratefully. She’d wanted to ask that, too.

They carried on walking, Rosie looking back sadly every so often. They seemed to be able to see that fence for ages.

“Don’t give up hope, Rosie,” Gran told her. “You never know.”

But Rosie couldn’t help feeling that her chances of finding Ginger were getting smaller and smaller. What if he had escaped before the fence went up. Maybe he wasn’t there at all!

Ginger was hiding between two hay bales in the barn, peering out occasionally, and trembling as the men’s heavy boots thumped past the door. Who were they? And why were they stamping and crashing round his home? He wished his mother and his brother and sisters would come back, but he was almost sure now that they were gone for ever. If his mother had still been here, she would have come to find him by now, wouldn’t she?

He had hidden in the barn when the men came to put the fence up, and he’d dashed back there again this morning when they returned. He didn’t dare do more than poke his nose out occasionally to see if they’d gone. He was starving, and it was getting harder to find anything to eat in the bin bags by the farmhouse.

There were voices outside now. Were more people coming? He shivered. He wanted the farm to go back to being quiet and safe like it was before. He listened miserably, but then his ears pricked up. He knew that voice. It was the girl! She was there! Maybe she’d known he was hungry and had brought him some more sandwiches? He edged nervously round the barn door, the fur on his back ruffling up.

The men were still there, and the girl was talking to one of them. If only they would go, he could run over to her. Perhaps she didn’t know he was here. He mewed a tiny mew, hoping she would hear. But he didn’t dare call more loudly in case the men saw him.

No! The girl was turning away. She was going!

Rosie walked sadly away down the lane with Gran, leaving the kitten staring desperately after her.

The girl had gone, and Ginger didn’t know if she would come back. He felt so small and scared, and very, very alone…

Chapter Five

On Friday Gran was waiting outside school for Rosie as usual. It was spitting with rain, and Rosie was taking a while. She and Millie were among the last few to come out, and Millie had her arm round her friend.

“Rosie’s really upset about Ginger,” she explained to Rosie’s gran.

“I just don’t think I’m ever going to see him again,” Rosie whispered sadly.

“You mustn’t give up!” Millie said firmly.

Millie’s mum had come up and was giving Rosie a concerned look. “Is everything OK, Millie?” she asked, and Millie explained about Ginger being missing.

“Poor little thing,” her mum murmured. “Have you tried putting food out to tempt him, just in case he’s still around?”

Rosie lifted her head. “No! No, we haven’t, we should try that! Can we do that today, Gran? Oh no, I should have saved my sandwiches for him!”

“You could buy some cat treats in the pet shop!” Millie suggested. “Sammy loves those, especially the salmon-flavour ones.”

“Please!” Rosie begged. “I’ll pay you back out of my pocket money, Gran.”

Gran smiled. “I think I can afford some cat treats. Come on then.”

“Oh, I wish I could come with you, but I’ve got dancing,” Millie said. “I’d love to see him. I bet he’ll come out for those cat treats.”