Knjigice
Fairy tale · Animal stories
The Tale of Tom Kitten
The tale of three little kittens who could not stay clean
Also in: Zgodba o mucku Tomu (Slovenian) · Rozprávka o mačiatku Tomovi (Slovak)
Behind an old garden wall lived Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit with her three kittens: Mittens, Moppet and Tom Kitten. One afternoon she was expecting fine company for tea. Just then the kittens were tumbling on the doorstep, rolling in the dust until their grey coats were greyer still. "Inside, all three of you!" called their mother. "Today you must be the finest kittens in the world."
1
Mrs. Twitchit washed their faces and paws, brushed their coats and combed their tails. Mittens and Moppet were given clean white pinafores and straw hats. But Tom was so round and plump that his blue suit would hardly go over his tummy. Pop, pop! — two buttons flew right off. His mother sighed and sewed them on again.
2
"Now off into the garden," said their mother, "and walk on your hind legs, away from the mud and away from the soot. In exactly half an hour the guests arrive — until then you must stay clean!" The kittens toddled off down the path, but walking on two legs did not suit them. Moppet tripped over her pinafore, and Tom lost another button on the very first step.
3
Of course it did not last five minutes. The kittens forgot all about the guests and climbed the rockery, among the stones and flowers. Tom's suit grew tighter and tighter. Pop! — off flew a button. Pop, pop! — two more. Both sisters' straw hats slid into the ferns, and a white pinafore caught on a twig and hung on the bush.
4
In the end all three of them sat on top of the wall — rumpled, buttonless and with hardly any clothes left. Tom's blue suit had slipped off him piece by piece and tumbled into the ferns. "Oh dear," said Mittens, "whatever will Mother say?" But instead of Mother, something quite different came marching up the path: pit-pat, pit-pat.
5
Along came three white ducks from the pond: Mr. Drake Puddle-duck with Rebeccah and Jemima. When they saw the scattered clothes, they stopped. "What a fine straw hat!" said Rebeccah, and set it on her head. Jemima put on a pinafore. The kittens on the wall watched, and very nearly fell off laughing.
6
Then Mr. Drake Puddle-duck picked up Tom's blue suit and put it on, slowly and solemnly. The sleeves hung down over his wings, and as for buttons — there were none left anyway. "It suits me very well," he said, pleased, like a proper gentleman. Then the three ducks lifted their bills and marched off down the path: pit-pat, pit-pat.
7
Just then Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit stepped into the garden. There were her kittens on the wall — no clothes, no hats, not one single button. "Oh!" she cried, and pulled them down off the wall and sent them straight upstairs. She told her guests the kittens were in bed with the measles — which of course was not true.
8
While Mother poured tea downstairs, from the top of the house came: thump! crash! hee-hee-hee! For the kittens were not in bed at all. They bounced on the pillows, chased each other round the room and rolled about in such a wild whirl that the ceiling rattled above the guests' heads. The teacups jingled, and Mrs. Twitchit pretended to hear nothing.
9
And the ducks? They marched down to the pond and swam out. Straw hats, pinafores, blue suit — it all sank straight to the bottom, for not one button was left to hold it on. And Mr. Drake Puddle-duck, Rebeccah and Jemima have been looking for their fine clothes ever since, heads under the water. If you ever pass the pond you'll see them: tails up, heads down.
10The End
