Читать книгу The Secret Cat - Sarah Lean, Sarah Lean - Страница 8

Tiger Days didn’t know anyone who loved tigers as much as she did.

She wore tiger pyjamas, socks and slippers, and spent a lot of time in her bedroom reading about tigers and drawing tiger pictures. Her parents would often suggest bike rides and trips to the swimming pool on Saturday afternoons, but Tiger would much rather be in her bedroom doing tiger things.

One Saturday afternoon, her parents appeared at her door.

“You’ll never guess who that was on the phone …” said Mum.

“Hmmmm?” said Tiger, not really listening.

Dad rolled his eyes as Tiger’s nose stayed firmly buried in her wildlife book. “It was May Days!” he said.

Tiger looked up, surprised. May Days was her grandmother and had been living in Africa on a wildlife reserve since Tiger was a baby. Whenever May Days phoned, Tiger asked when she was coming to visit, but May Days said it was hard to know because the giraffes or rhinos always needed her more. This time, May Days had phoned with wonderful news. She had finally come back to England and bought a place called Willowgate House.

“She wants you to go and stay,” said Dad. “You can have your first adventure together at the new house.”

Tiger wrinkled her nose. She was sometimes nervous about doing new things and the idea of a real-life adventure with May Days was a little scary. She had a feeling May Days wasn’t going to be like everyone else’s grandmother.

“Won’t you be worried about me?” she asked her parents.

“While you’re with May Days? Not even for a second,” said Mum, although it was obvious that somebody was worried.

But Tiger put on a brave smile for her parents. An adventure with May Days would be great, wouldn’t it?

“Are you sure this is the right house?” said Tiger.

She stood close to her dad by the gate, beneath a large drooping willow tree.

Willowgate House was unexpectedly huge, and it stood at the end of a long driveway. It had wide windows and tall chimney pots, and a conservatory that leaned slightly to the left.

Tiger tilted her head to the side to see if it looked any straighter. But it didn’t. The lopsided building made her feel wobbly.

Tiger waited on the doorstep behind Dad while he pulled the bell on the wall beside the door.

The next surprise was May Days.

Weren’t grandmothers supposed to be old and grey and worn?

Instead she had curls that were wild and alive. Her sleeves were pushed up, as if she’d done a hard day’s work, and she bounded out like the kind of person who didn’t sit down very often.

“You’re here, at last!” May Days beamed, throwing her arms around Dad first, and then around Tiger. Tiger peered behind her grandmother at the bare floorboards and curved staircase in the hall. It looked as if nobody had lived here for a very long time.

“You were no bigger than a koala the last time I saw you,” May Days said, holding Tiger by the cheeks.Tiger blinked in surprise, and her tummy did a flip.

“You’ve got a big house,” said Tiger, not sure what else to say.

“Too big for one person,” May Days said, chuckling like a barrel full of chickens. “Come in! Come in!”

Mr Days had also not seen his mother for a very long time and he had lots to tell her over gallons of tea. They laughed and talked while Tiger sat on a chair, still clinging to her tiger-striped suitcase. The faded lino flooring curled up in the corners of the kitchen, and there wasn’t a lot more to see than an old cooking range and a long pine table that had worn into a curve in the middle. Where were the proper kitchen cupboards and worktops? Tiger hoped that the rest of the house had been decorated.

“Thank you for bringing me my granddaughter,” May Days said, squeezing Mr Days’ cheeks when he had to leave.

Tiger clung to her dad for an extra-long hug.

“Are you sure you don’t need me at home?” Tiger whispered.

“We’ll miss you terribly,” said Mr Days, “but you and your grandmother have a lot of catching up to do.”

“It’s just you and me,” said May Days, after they’d waved the car into the distance.

“Shall I put my things in my room?” said Tiger.

“Your room?” said May Days, smiling. “You’d better come with me.”

May Days showed Tiger the outside bathroom first. Although the walls and floor were bare brick, there were soft towels, a cup for toothbrushes, a mirror and a light bulb with a long pull cord, all sparkling clean. Tiger tried to smile brightly.

“I’m afraid we haven’t got a shower or bath yet,” said May Days. “But I have spare flannels if you need one.”

She turned Tiger’s shoulders to face the back garden. “We’re going to share a room.”

Tiger would have her own room one day, May Days assured her, but all of Willowgate needed a lot of work first. For now, they were going to be staying in the garden in an old green tent.

A tent? thought Tiger, her eyes wide. Outside?!