Alfie Cat In Trouble

Alfie Cat In Trouble
Rachel Wells

Alfie the Doorstep Cat - star of the smash-hit Sunday Times bestseller - is back in brand new ALFIE story for a younger readership.Alfie is everyone’s favourite cat. A big ball of grey fur who changes the lives of every family he meets. When the Clover family move into Alfie’s neighbourhood he soon makes friends with eight-year-old Stanley Clover. Stanley wants to be a famous explorer and takes Alfie along on his adventures. But Alfie soon realises that Stanley is unhappy. He is jealous of his talented sister Viola and feels ignored by his mum and dad who only ever seem to notice him when he gets into trouble. Can Alfie help Stanley get noticed for the right reasons?

Copyright (#ulink_960f5022-5ae1-5ddc-a60c-e959aa9b727d)

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books 2016

HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd,

HarperCollins Publishers,

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London SE1 9GF

The HarperCollins Children’s Books website address is

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

Text © Rachel Wells 2016

Illustrations © Katie May Green 2016

Rachel Wells and Katie May Green assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

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Source ISBN: 9780008172084

Ebook Edition © 2016 ISBN: 9780008172091

Version: 2016-03-17

For my wonderful son, Xavier

Contents

Cover (#u656794a8-0d72-5796-bf8d-5d9c5eaf8598)

Title Page (#u125a7d68-1a80-5d4e-9be5-ebf209f49b8d)

Copyright (#u79929fb8-6df8-5605-b9e1-56f4ddcf7a55)

Dedication (#ue736e55f-3044-5c20-a85e-25e3161909f1)

Chapter One (#uf7eabc7f-d072-582b-82de-75b39fcad73d)

Chapter Two (#u397a0769-4b4f-56a4-b23f-a4a42958547d)

Chapter Three (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Keep Reading (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

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Sitting under a bush, I stared at a van, which two big men were unloading furniture from. I was about to move closer when my best cat friend, Tiger, appeared.

‘Alfie?’ she said.

I flicked my tail up in greeting. ‘Hello, Tiger. Look, people moving in!’ I was always excited by the sight of a removal van. You see, I am a doorstep cat. I visit more than one house and have lots of humans who think they own me. Of course, in reality I own them. But that is why removal vans have such a fascination for me. They mean new people, and new people need a cat.

I might make some new friends to play with and if I’m lucky they might even give me yummy food – pilchards are my favourite.

‘Alfie, this isn’t even our street, what are you doing here?’ Tiger was annoyed by my doorstep antics. She had one family and she liked it that way. But I loved my families – I had three altogether: one main home and two others, but I always say you can never have enough humans. Or pilchards for that matter.

‘It’s only round the corner.’ We were in the street next to mine, Edgar Road. ‘I’m in trouble again,’ I admitted.

‘What did you do?’ Tiger raised her whiskers.

‘Why do you always assume it’s my fault?’

‘Because it usually is, Alfie.’

I raised my whiskers back at her in protest, but Tiger was right. ‘It’s to do with baby Summer – she isn’t sleeping. She cries all the time. She sounds like you when someone steps on your tail.’

‘Thanks Alfie.’ She glared at me with her yellow eyes. ‘Anyway, what has that got to do with you being in trouble?’ She licked her brightly striped fur; it was clear why she had been named Tiger.

‘I’m just trying to explain,’ I huffed. ‘I’m tired, and Claire and Jonathan are tired and grumpy.’

‘And?’