The Catlady Read Online Free PDF

a nearby town, to be told some astonishing news.
    “This, Miss Nutt,” said the solicitor, “is a copy of the will of Miss Muriel Ponsonby. As you know, she had no remaining family, no one for whose benefit Ponsonby Place might be sold. She therefore decided that she would leave the house to the RSPC.”
    “RSPC?” asked Mary.
    “The Royal Society for the Protection of Cats. So that the charity might use PonsonbyPlace as its national headquarters. More, the will states that because of your loyal service to her and her deep affection for you, you should continue to live there, rent-free, for as long as you wish. I am delighted to tell you that Miss Ponsonby has left you a substantial sum of money, to cover your day-today expenses and to enable you to employ such help as a housekeeper and a gardener. You are a very fortunate young lady.”

    Fortunate indeed, thought Mary afterward. But oh, how I shall miss her! And so will the cats.
    Six months later the RSPC had not yet moved into Ponsonby Place, but Mary, with help, was keeping things in apple-pie order. The only change she made was to remove Vicky from the Catlady's bedroom and Percival and Florence from the master bedroom, and to shut both bedroom doors.
    “You'll just have to find other rooms to sleep in,” she said to them all, and fat ginger Vicky gave her a look that said plainly,“We are not amused.”

    Six months to the day from the death of the Catlady, Mary saw a strange cat come walking up the drive toward the house, in a very confident way, as though it knew just what it was about.

    It was a gray cat, about six months old, Mary guessed, with a sharp face and green eyes and rather pointed ears. A female, she was sure, by the look of it.
    It walked straight up to her and began to rub itself against her legs, purring very loudly indeed. Then it walked straight in through the front door. Mary followed.

    The stranger set off up the stairs and along the landing, to the now closed door of the bedroom of the late Muriel Ponsonby. Standing on its hind legs, it reached up with a forepaw as though trying to turn the door handle.
    Mystified, Mary opened the door for it, and it ran into the room and leaped upon the bed. It lay there, ears pricked, its green eyes staring into hers with a look that told Mary Nutt exactly what had happened, something that, up to this moment, she had never quite been able to believe possible.
    This strange, green-eyed gray cat, this lady cat, was … the Catlady!
    “Oh, Miss Muriel!” Mary breathed. “You're back!”

    THE END

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    DICK KING-SMITH was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England. He served in the Grenadier Guards during World War II, then returned home to Gloucestershire to realize his lifelong ambition of farming. After twenty years as a farmer, he turned to teaching and then to writing the children's books that have earned him many fans on both sides of the Atlantic. Inspiration for his writing comes from his farm and his animals.
    Among his well-loved novels are
Babe: The Gallant Pig, Harry's Mad, Martin's Mice
(each an American Library Association Notable Book),
Ace: The Very Important Pig
(a
School Library Journal
Best Book of the Year),
Three Terrible Trins, The Stray, A Mouse Called Wolf, Titus Rules!,The Golden Goose
, and his memoir,
Chewing the Cud.
Additional honors and awards he has received include a
Boston Globe–Horn Book
Award (for
Babe: The Gallant Pig
) and the California Young Reader Medal (for
Harry's Mad
). In 1992 hewas named Children's Author of the Year at the British Book Awards. In 1995
Babe: The Gallant Pig
became a critically acclaimed major motion picture.

Published by Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children's Books
a division of Random House, Inc., New York
    Text copyright © 2004 by Fox Busters Ltd.
Illustrations copyright © 2004 by John Eastwood
    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or