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Lukas explained what he’d done the previous evening.

‘You mean you went out in the middle of the night?’ she said. ‘And the saucer was empty this morning?’

Lukas nodded. Sometimes it took such a long time for parents to understand what their children were saying. Lukas wondered why parents always thought so much more slowly than children. Why was it so difficult for parents to understand things that were so simple and straightforward?

‘There’s no cat food left,’ Lukas said. ‘We’ll have to buy another tin so that I can put out some more meat. And I’ll be sitting out there, waiting until Night comes back.’

‘Of course you will,’ said Beatrice. ‘Why don’t you go to the shop and buy whatever you need. It’s marvellous news that Night has come back again.’

‘No, you can go to the shops,’ said Lukas. ‘I’m going to sit waiting by the currant bush.’

‘Oh, come on! It’s not all that urgent,’ said Beatrice.

‘I’m not going to give Night another chance of escaping,’ said Lukas. ‘You can do the shopping.’

Beatrice went to the shop. Meanwhile, Lukas carried out one of the kitchen chairs and sat down next to the currant bush. The neighbour who was raking up leaves gave Lukas a curious look. He couldn’t resist asking why Lukas was sitting on a kitchen chair and staring at a currant bush.

‘I’m just sitting and thinking,’ said Lukas. He didn’t want to say that he was sitting there, waiting for Night to come back. He was afraid that Night wouldn’t show up if he seemed to be too certain that his cat really was hovering around in the background.

It’s children who ought to be curious, he thought. Adults shouldn’t stand by fences, asking unnecessary questions.

The neighbour shook his head in response to Lukas’s answer, and continued raking up his leaves. And Lukas carried on waiting.

Beatrice came back and put some more cat food onto the saucer. Then she also wanted to wait and see if Night came back. But Lukas told her to go back indoors. He wanted to be alone.

It was cold, sitting there on the chair. Cold and boring. Lukas kicked away, and dug out a hole in the ground with his heels. But still Night didn’t make an appearance.

Then it started raining again.

Beatrice came out and told him he’d catch a cold if he carried on sitting out there in the rain. But Lukas told her to bring him an umbrella. And his dad’s sou’wester. Beatrice shook her head and sighed. But she did as he’d asked.

Lukas sat out there in the rain, holding an umbrella over his head. The neighbour had stopped sweeping up leaves when it started raining, but Lukas could see him standing in the window of his house, keeping watch.

In the end, Lukas couldn’t sit waiting on the chair any longer. Maybe it was better if he didn’t sit there? Maybe Night was a bit afraid that Lukas would be angry with him for running away? Maybe it was better to do what the neighbour had done, and stand looking out of a window?

Lukas decided that this would be best, and carried the chair back to the kitchen. Beatrice made him a sandwich. But Lukas didn’t have time to sit eating in the kitchen. He sat on a chair by the window and stared at the currant bush. He suddenly noticed something moving behind the currant bush. He pressed his nose up against the windowpane. Had he been mistaken? No — there it was again. Something moving. Something black...

Lukas yelled out loud and raced into the hall. He didn’t have time to put on his Wellingtons, but rushed out in his stockinged feet, ran over the soaking wet lawn, climbed over the fence and staggered up to the currant bush as fast as he possibly could.

Then he discovered that it wasn’t Night.

It was another black cat. But it didn’t have a white tip on its tail. It was another cat eating Night’s food — and perhaps this was the cat that had eaten the food Lukas had put out the previous night as well?

Lukas was so angry that he aimed a kick at the cat. It ran away, of course. Lucas picked up a stone and threw it at the cat. It gave a squeak when the stone hit it. Then Lukas picked up a handful of gravel and threw it — but the cat ran over the road and vanished into the bushes where the red lion normally lurked.

Beatrice had followed him out and came up, carrying his Wellingtons.

‘What on earth are you doing?’ she said, and sounded angry. ‘Are you throwing stones at the cat?’

‘It ate Night’s food,’ said Lukas angrily.

‘It couldn’t know that it was meant for Night,’ said Beatrice.

‘But it’s Night’s saucer,’ said Lukas.

‘That’s enough of this nonsense,’ said Beatrice. ‘Put your Wellingtons on this instant. Then we’re going in.’

Night didn’t come back home that day either. Lukas didn’t bother sitting by the window any more, staring at the currant bush. He shut himself away in his room.

What could he do?

Night had been missing for over three whole days now. Lukas tried to understand why Night had wandered out into the rain. What had happened? Had Night been upset about something? Had he run away?

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НИКОЛАЙ НОСОВ — замечательный писатель, автор веселых рассказов и повестей, в том числе о приключениях Незнайки и его приятелей-коротышек из Цветочного города. Произведения Носова давно стали любимейшим детским чтением.Настоящее издание — без сомнения, уникальное, ведь под одной обложкой собраны ВСЕ рассказы Николая Носова, проиллюстрированные Генрихом Вальком. Аминадавом Каневским, Иваном Семеновым, Евгением Мигуновым. Виталием Горяевым и другими выдающимися художниками. Они сумели создать на страницах книг знаменитого писателя атмосферу доброго веселья и юмора, воплотив яркие, запоминающиеся образы фантазеров и выдумщиков, проказников и сорванцов, с которыми мы, читатели, дружим уже много-много лет.Для среднего школьного возраста.

Аминадав Моисеевич Каневский , Виталий Николаевич Горяев , Генрих Оскарович Вальк , Георгий Николаевич Юдин , Николай Николаевич Носов

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