Alone in the Night Read Online Free PDF

with some pencils, but she couldn’t enjoy the game properly. She was still feeling the need to find herself a quiet place to rest, and she sneaked away to go searching again. This time she found a space under the stairs. It was quiet and dark, and it didn’t have a door that anyone could close on her by accident. There were lots of odd things stored under there: wellies, roller skates, and a big basket full of gloves and scarves and hats. Star scrambled up the side and turned round several times, purring throatily. This was just right. She would stay here.
    But it didn’t last. Star was sleeping peacefully when she felt her hiding place shudder as Jasmine raced up the stairs over her head, calling for her. And then Jasmine’s mum hauled out the vacuum cleaner, which was right next to her basket bed. 
    “Oh, Star, I didn’t see you. She’s down here, Jasmine!” Mum called. And Jasmine came dashing down the stairs again, thud, thump, thud, and picked Star up for a cuddle.
    Star was still half-asleep, and she was grumpy. She didn’t want to be picked up. She wanted to be left alone. Crossly, she gave a loud hiss, lashed out with her claws and scratched Jasmine’s arm. 

    Jasmine was so surprised she yelled and dropped Star, who hissed and shot into the kitchen. There she yowled at Jasmine’s mum until she opened the back door.
    Jasmine clutched her arm, which was oozing a few spots of blood. She entered the kitchen just in time to see Star’s grey and brown striped tail disappearing round the back door. Then she sat down at the kitchen table and cried. Star had scratched her – and then Jasmine had scared her so much by shouting that she’d run away!

    Star stayed out in the garden until it got dark, hiding under a clump of bushes. She was shivering from the cold and knew she couldn’t stay out all night. But she’d spent a long time trying to work out where she could go and hadn’t found anywhere good. Everywhere was too busy, too full of people.
    She crept out from under her bush and sneaked over to the hole under the fence. She didn’t quite have the energy to climb over the fence right now. She dug a little with her claws, widening the hole, then squeezed herself underneath. She had been back to her own garden quite a lot while she was staying at Jasmine’s house, trying to make sure all the local cats still knew it was hers. Perhaps she could go and make a nest in the bramble patch? She shivered again. No, it was far too cold, colder than she’d ever felt it, and the ground was frozen hard. She needed somewhere really warm.
    Her house! Of course. She had been back a few times since she’d been staying with Jasmine, to see if the Murrays had come back, but it felt strange and empty. Now the quiet house felt like just what she needed.
    Eagerly, Star scurried over to the door and nosed at her cat flap, squeezing herself in.
    It was so quiet. No one around. Quite warm, or at least warmer than the bramble bushes. Perfect. She looked round the kitchen thoughtfully, trying to think of a good place to go.
    After her experience with drawers at Jasmine’s house, she didn’t want anywhere too small and tight. Star set off upstairs, and tried all the beds, but they weren’t right either – too out in the open. At last, in the smaller bedroom, she found the airing cupboard. The door was shut, but it only had a light catch, and the door itself was made of wooden slats that were perfect for claws to hook between.
    Star pulled it open and crept in, sniffing delightedly at the clean, fresh smell. The floor was covered in a pile of old towels, and she curled up on them, closing her eyes peacefully. She was home. Just in time.

Chapter Six
    It was almost bedtime. By now Jasmine was panicking. She couldn’t find Star anywhere. She’d even checked the kitchen cupboard drawer, just in case.
    “She’s run away because I shouted at her!” Jasmine wailed. “It’s all my fault!”
    “She’s probably just out