KIT AND KAT'S CHRISTMAS by linda Hastings

Kit and Kat were very cute and very curious kittens. One day Kit and Kat watched as their round-round Food Lady did something very interesting. First she brought to the big room with the sunny windows large boxes which smelled strange - they smelled yummy.

Then Food Lady took out some spiky green brushes from the biggest box. She laid the spiky brushes out on the floor and studied a crumpled piece of white paper with black markings on it. She said, "hummm, hummm." She looked up to see Kit and Kat chewing on one of the spiky brushes. "Kit and Kat! Shoo-shoo-shoo little cats," she yelled.

Kit and Kat went skittering to the other side of the room. But slowly, very slowly, they crept back to the brushes and hid behind them. Now the lady was putting together a stick with feet which stood straight up. Kit wondered about this new stick. Kat wondered... "was it a climbing stick?"

When the lady went to pick up a brush, Kit and Kat decided to try out Food Lady's new stick. "O-o-oh so nice to scratch, meeow," they purred as they climbed up the stick. "Meeow!" they screamed as the stick crashed to the floor. "Kit and Kat!" yelled Food Lady. "Shoo-shoo little cats."

Food Lady began to stick the green brushes to the stick with the feet. When Food Lady was finished, all the brushes were gone from the floor. Kit and Kat had to rub their eyes. "What's this? A tree? In the house? Yippee!" Kit and Kat ran round and round the house celebrating their good luck. They were so happy that they had to share their happiness with the Food Lady. Kit and Kat leapt at the Food Lady but they only got as high as her knees. Out came their claws. Rip went Food Lady's nylons. "Kit and Kat!" yelled Food Lady. "Shoo-shoo-shoo, little cats."

Kit and Kat went running .....to their new tree! Up the trunk they skittered and skattered. "This new tree sways a lot," thought the kittens. "This tree is going to fall down! Meow! Meeeow!" yelled the kittens as the green brush tree came crashing to the floor. "Kit and Kat!" yelled Food Lady. "Shoo-shoo-shoo, little cats."

Food Lady picked up the tree and opened another box. Kit and Kat just had to see, so they perched on the arm of a chair near the box. The Food Lady unwrapped an object which had many coloured balls attached in a long string. She wrapped first one string then another round and round the green brush tree. As she was doing this, Kit and Kat leaned way out over the box to see what else was inside. Bump! Thump! Kit and Kat fell into the box. Soft tissue broke their fall and they burrowed down deep into the box. Then they waited. And waited.

The Food Lady unwrapped one object, then another, and placed them on the tree. She picked out one, two, three... suddenly Kit stretched out her paw, stretched out her claws, and swat went Kit at the Food Lady's hand. "Ouch!" she yelled. "Kit and Kat, shoo-shoo-shoo little cats." But Kit and Kat were stuck. As hard as they tried, they could not get untangled from the stuff in the box. Food Lady tried to help them out but Kit and Kat were all claws and teeth. Food Lady tried to be patient. Food Lady tried to be kind. But Kit and Kat would have none of it. Finally, out sprang Kit and out sprang Kat. They both ran behind the piano and hid.

Shortly after that, two pairs of shiny eyes peered out from behind the piano. Two pair of eyes full of mischief and fun. The tree looked different. It now had interesting objects hanging all over it. Food Lady was hanging metal strings on the tree. They made the tree look like a frosted cake. "Yum, frosting," thought the kittens. "Let's taste some." Kit and Kat crept from their hiding place and tiptoed up to the tree. First they ate one and then two of the shiny, stringy frostings. "Yuck! No taste." "Blah, it's like a fir ball!" "Cough," went Kit. "Choke," went Kat. And up came the wet, soggy tinsel. "Kit and Kat! Shoo-shoo-shoo little cats," said the Food Lady.

The cats ran, but not very far, because something very extraordinary happened. Something which made them turn and look. The tree was bright, the tree was glowing. It twinkled, it flashed. The kittens were scared. The kittens ran away as fast as they could but as they hit the kitchen floor they lost control. Skitter, scatter, crash. They fell over their bowls. Water and food covered the kitchen floor.

"Kit and Cat," said Food Lady. "I am tired of saying ... Kit and Kat! Shoo-shoo-shoo little cats. Let's give you some time out." The Food lady scooped up Kit and Kat and put them into the room with the loud flushing well and the drip drip spouts. They liked this room so they were not too sad. As the door closed, Kit and Kat looked for the roll of soft paper which was fun to scratch and unravel on the bathroom floor.

Meanwhile, the Food Lady cleaned up the kitchen floor and placed more colourful objects throughout the house. She took out her recipe box and planned her baking and cooking of wonderful Christmas foods.

When she was finished, she went to let Kit and Kat out of the bathroom. Kit and Kat were curled up on a pile of crumpled and torn toilet paper, sound asleep. The food lady shook her head and smiled. "Kit and Kat, you busy, busy kittens. You're both so cute. I love you just the way you are." And as time passed, Kit and Kat grew up to be just as loving as the Food Lady but they were still very busy cats at Christmas time. They were forgiven, for as we all know, not one creature on this earth is perfect.