Carla Norris and the Strange kitten

Carla Norris and the Stange Kitten

Once upon a time there was a rude girl called Carla Noris. She was on the way to see her friend Laura Barlow, when she decided to take a short cut through Thetford Forest.

It wasn't long before Carla got lost. She looked around, but all she could see were trees. Nervously, she felt into her bag for her favourite toy, Little Mouse, but Little Mouse was nowhere to be found! Carla began to panic. She felt sure she had packed Little Mouse. To make matters worse, she was starting to feel hungry.

Unexpectedly, she saw a Strange kitten dressed in a purple coat disappearing into the trees.

"How odd!" thought Carla.

For the want of anything better to do, she decided to follow the peculiarly dressed kitten. Perhaps it could tell him the way out of the forest.

Eventually, Carla reached a clearing. In the clearing were two houses, one made from sweet potatoes and one made from lollipops.

Carla could feel her tummy rumbling. Looking at the houses did nothing to ease her hunger.

"Hello!" she called. "Is anybody there?"

Nobody replied.

Carla looked at the roof on the closest house and wondered if it would be rude to eat somebody else's chimney. Obviously it would be impolite to eat a whole house, but perhaps it would be considered acceptable to nibble the odd fixture or lick the odd fitting, in a time of need.

A cackle broke through the air, giving Carla a fright. A witch jumped into the space in front of the houses. She was carrying a cage. In that cage was Little Mouse!

"Little Mouse!" shouted Carla. She turned to the witch. "That's my toy!"

The witch just shrugged.

"Give Little Mouse back!" cried Carla.

"Not on your nelly!" said the witch.

"At least let Little Mouse out of that cage!"

Before she could reply, the Strange kitten in the purple coat rushed in from a footpath on the other side of the cleaning.

"Hello Big Kitten," said the witch.

"Good morning." The kitten noticed Little Mouse. "Who is this?"

"That's Little Mouse," explained the witch.

"Ooh! Little Mouse would look lovely in my house. Give it to me!" demanded the kitten.

The witch shook her head. "Little Mouse is staying with me."

"Um... Excuse me..." Carla interrupted. "Little Mouse lives with me! And not in a cage!"

Big Kitten ignored her. "Is there nothing you'll trade?" he asked the witch.

The witch thought for a moment, then said, "I do like to be entertained. I'll release him to anybody who can eat a whole front door."

Big Kitten looked at the house made from lollipops and said, "No problem, I could eat an entire house made from lollipops if I wanted to."

"There's no need to show off," said the witch. Just eat one front door and I'll let you have Little Mouse."

Carla watched, feeling very worried. She didn't want the witch to give Little Mouse to Big Kitten. She didn't think Little Mouse would like living with a Strange kitten, away from her house and all her other toys.

Big Kitten put on his bib and withdraw a knife and fork from his pocket.

"I'll eat this whole house," said Big Kitten. "Just you watch!"

Big Kitten pulled off a corner of the front door of the house made from lollipops. He gulped it down smiling, and went back for more.

   And more.

      And more.

Eventually, Big Kitten started to get bigger - just a little bit bigger at first. But after a few more fork-fulls of lollipops, he grew to the size of a large snowball - and he was every bit as round.

"Erm... I don't feel too good," said Big Kitten.

Suddenly, he started to roll. He'd grown so round that he could no longer balance!

"Help!" he cried, as he rolled off down a slope into the forest.

Big Kitten never finished eating the front door made from lollipops and Little Mouse remained trapped in the witch's cage.

"That's it," said the witch. "I win. I get to keep Little Mouse."

"Not so fast," said Carla. "There is still one front door to go. The front door of the house made from sweet potatoes. And I haven't had a turn yet.

"I don't have to give you a turn!" laughed the witch. "My game. My rules."

The woodcutter's voice carried through the forest. "I think you should give her a chance. It's only fair."

"Fine," said the witch. "But you saw what happened to the kitten. She won't last long."

"I'll be right back," said Carla.

"What?" said the witch. "Where's your sense of impatience? I thought you wanted Little Mouse back."

Carla ignored the witch and gathered a hefty pile of sticks. She came back to the clearing and started a small camp fire. Carefully, she broke off a piece of the door of the house made from sweet potatoes and toasted it over the fire. Once it had cooked and cooled just a little, she took a bite. She quickly devoured the whole piece.

Carla sat down on a nearby log.

"You fail!" cackled the witch. "You were supposed to eat the whole door."

"I haven't finished," explained Carla. "I am just waiting for my food to go down."

When Carla's food had digested, she broke off another piece of the door made from sweet potatoes. Once more, she toasted her food over the fire and waited for it to cool just a little. She ate it at a leisurely pace then waited for it to digest.

Eventually, after several sittings, Carla was down to the final piece of the door made from sweet potatoes. Carefully, she toasted it and allowed it to cool just a little. She finished her final course. Carla had eaten the entire front door of the house made from sweet potatoes.

The witch stamped her foot angrily. "You must have tricked me!" she said. "I don't reward cheating!"

"I don't think so!" said a voice. It was the woodcutter. He walked back into the clearing, carrying his axe. "This little girl won fair and square. Now hand over Little Mouse or I will chop your broomstick in half."

The witch looked horrified. She grabbed her broomstick and placed it behind her. Then, huffing, she opened the door of the cage.

Carla hurried over and grabbed Little Mouse, checking that her favourite toy was all right. Fortunately, Little Mouse was unharmed.

Carla thanked the woodcutter, grabbed a quick souvenir, and hurried on to meet Laura. It was starting to get dark.

When Carla got to Laura's house, her friend threw her arms around her.

"I was so worried!" cried Laura. "You are very late."

As Carla described her day, she could tell that Laura didn't believe her. So she grabbed a napkin from her pocket.

"What's that?" asked Laura.

Carla unwrapped a doorknob made from lollipops. "Pudding!" she said.

Laura almost fell off her chair.
The end