Chapter 17 - Making friends
Mr Arnold put Torbjorn in a cage with some other kittens.
'You'll be safe here until I can work out how you came to be lost,' said the old man.
Torbjorn didn't want to be put in another cage.
'Mewl, mewl, mewl,' he cried, scratching at the opening.
'It's for your own protection,' said Mr Arnold. 'It's dangerous to wander about on your own.'
Torbjorn scowled. Mr Arnold even sounded like Tomten. He watched the old man wander back to the desk and climb onto the stool. Mr Arnold took a large book down from a shelf, blew off the dust and began to flick through the pages until he found what he was looking for.
'The history of the ancient line of Skogkatt's,' he said to himself, and continued silently reading.
Torbjorn clawed at the bars again, but they didn't budge. He gave up and watched the five kittens wrestling at the other end of the cage. They were cream and brown and much smaller than him. He wondered if they could be any help.
'Hi, my name's Torbjorn,' he trilled. 'Do you know where we are?'
The five kittens stopped playing and stared up at him with worried looks on their faces. The biggest kitten stood in front of the others, arched his back and hissed.
'What is he, Smudge?' asked a pretty girl kitten with soft green eyes.
'I'm not sure, Sadie,' said Smudge, his fur standing on end so he looked bigger.
Two boy kittens peered around Smudge's legs.
'Ask him what sort of animal he is?' said the first kitten.
'Why don't you ask him, Flinch?' said Smudge. 'You and Whiskers are such scaredy-cats.'
'No we're not,' said Flinch, but he and Whiskers stayed behind their brother.
Smudge looked Torbjorn up and down and hissed. 'How come you got put in with us? You're not a kitten.'
'Yes I am,' said Torbjorn.
'He's lying,' said Whiskers. 'Look how big he is. His back legs are longer than the front. Cats don't look like that.'
'There are tufts of fur sticking out of his ears,' said Flinch, 'and between his toes.'
'His tail is very long and it wags like a dog's,' said Sadie, her eyes wide with surprise.
'Look at the size of his paws. They're bigger than father's,' whispered another girl kitten, creeping forward to sit beside Smudge.
'Boo's right,' said Flinch. 'He's even got a mane. Kittens don't have a mane.'
'But lions do. Maybe he's a lion cub from Africa,' said Whiskers, still hiding behind the others. 'Mr Arnold was reading about lions yesterday.'
'I'm not a lion cub,' growled Torbjorn, stepping forward. He glared down at them. 'And I'm not from Africa. I'm a Norwegian forest cat from Norway.'
The kittens hurried into the corner and crouched beside one another. Torbjorn moved backward and sat down.
'I'm sorry I scared you,' he said. 'But you were being mean.'
Smudge stood up and moved closer to Torbjorn.
'We're sorry,' he said. 'It's just we've never seen a forest cat before.'
Whiskers crept forward and sat beside Smudge. 'If you're from Norway, how come you're in Australia?'
Torbjorn flopped onto the straw and laid his head on his front paws.
'I was catnapped by two Huldre Trolls and brought here,' he sighed, and tears ran down his long, straight nose. 'I want to go home but I don't know how.'
Torbjorn told them about his home in Norway, the Skogkatts, Albertine and Tomten. The kittens didn't move a whisker as he described the foxes, trolls and giants who roamed the forests looking for creatures to eat.
'The Skogkatts sound very brave,' said Sadie. 'The forest sounds scary.'
'I don't like going anywhere near it because it's full of strange noises and shadows,' said Torbjorn, flattening his ears.
'So why did you go outside if you were scared?' asked Smudge.
'I didn't want to train in the barn with my brothers and sisters,' he said. 'I wanted to prove I was brave enough to protect the farm. I thought I'd find out what was outside and chase it away, but all I did was get myself into a whole lot of trouble.'
'I wouldn't have gone outside on my own,' said Whiskers. 'I'd have hidden under a bed.'
'Me too,' said Flinch, snuggling closer to his brother. 'I'd have hidden in a cupboard. No wait, not a cupboard. I'm scared of the dark because of monsters.'
Smudge shook his head. 'Don't be silly. There is no such thing as monsters, and cat's aren't afraid of the dark. That's what makes us good hunters.'
'Not me,' said Flinch. 'I'm never going out after dark.'
'At least you'll be safe here. Mr Arnold is very kind to us,' said Sadie, curling her tail around Torbjorn's shoulders.
'And, we'll be your friends,' said Whiskers, placing his paw on top of Torbjorn's.
'Thanks,' said Torbjorn, looking around the room. 'What is this place anyway?'
'It's a pet shop,' said Sadie, sitting up tall and proud. 'Mr Arnold sells animals to people who want a pet. I'm going to be the first kitten to go home with a family because I'm the prettiest.'
'No you won't,' cried Whiskers. 'I'll be first because I'm the funniest.'
'No you're not,' joined in Flinch.' I'm the funniest.'
Torbjorn didn't want another family to take him. He wanted to find Tomten and go home to Norway.
