THE KITTY WITH A RED SCHOOLBAG
Once upon a time, a little black and white cat lived in a cosy house by the park. He loved nothing more than to escape his garden and explore the park, where he met all sorts of fantastic friends like crows, squirrels, and ducks. Sometimes he even ventured all the way to the other side of the park, where there was a little house with blue shutters called "school". Dozens of kittens would play hopscotch, red light, green light, and other games in the courtyard, and oh, how our little cat called Freddy longed to join in the fun! But the other cats always told him he was too young to attend school.
Then one day… but I’ll let him tell the story himself.
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(illustration)
1 – I woke up mum to prepare my sandwich
"Freddy, school is starting soon, and you're finally old enough to attend," said Mum one sunny morning while I played in the garden.
I was ecstatic! Often during my patrols, I walked by the little kitties' school and stopped to watch them hanging on the fence. They shouted and laughed, they played games I didn't even know, and they had so much fun! I wanted to go in and play with them, but a woman there said I wasn't "registered", whatever that meant.
"Am I registered now, Mum?" I asked to ensure no one would turn me away.
"You certainly are, my sweetie. We just need to get you a schoolbag".
I couldn’t contain the excitement and jumped over the rosebush and climbed three times up and down the big maple tree in my garden. I imagined all the amazing things I would learn at school, like building a space shuttle and, most importantly, opening a can of tuna! Life was looking up.
In addition, I would have to cross the park each morning to get to the school, and I liked that idea.
Mum went shopping and returned with a cute little schoolbag for me to carry my lunchbox. And it was red!
When the first day of school finally arrived, I got up early and carefully washed my paws and ears to make a good impression. I even woke up Mum to prepare my sandwich, to which I added some treats to share with my new friends. Once everything was ready, I set off, running as fast as I could across the garden and leaping over the fence.
"You're hours too early, Freddy!" Mum shouted, but I was already on my way.
As soon as I entered the park, a squad of crows flew over my head, calling out to me excitedly:
"Caw, haw, caw! Here comes Freddy! Where are you going so early?"
I puffed out my chest and replied proudly,
"To school! Only the coolest cats get to go to school."
"To school? What is this? Where is this?" they enquired and, without waiting for a reply, asked hopefully, "Have you brought treats for us?"
Of course, I had treats, but I wanted to wait to share them with the friends I would be making at school. I ran along the big lawn and turned right into the little wood, where a bunch of squirrels scurried out to greet me.
"Freddy, Freddy, where are you going? Can we come with you?" they chattered excitedly, leaping from tree to tree. "And hey, what's in that bag? It looks heavy! Are they all treats for us, our dear sweet Freddy?" I couldn't help but laugh at their antics and replied, "Maybe I should have brought more treats!"
