A Kitten Called Tiger

“Ava, are you all right?” Grandma Shirley called up the stairs.

“I can’t find Tiger!” she said, dashing down to Gran. “And the dogs next door, they’re barking like mad. Do you think Tiger could have got into their garden?”

Gran looked doubtful. “Surely not … with that big wall? But then, cats really are amazing climbers…”

“I know. I have to check, Gran, but I can’t see over the wall from the back windows, I’ve tried.”

Ava hurried out into the garden and looked up at the wall helplessly. She’d never be able to see over it. It was more than two metres tall. Ava drew in a deep breath – the wall was just too big. Tiger couldn’t have jumped on top of it, could he? But then, he’d managed to jump on to her bedroom door… He might have managed it if he’d jumped on to something else first. She had to make sure.

“Gran, can you hold on to this chair for me?” Ava asked, pushing one of the garden chairs up against the wall. “I need to look over the top.”

She stepped up on to the chair. “Oh no. That’s no use – it’s not tall enough.” She was still a long way from seeing into next-door’s garden.

“Oh, Ava, be careful,” Gran gasped as she jumped down. “I don’t want to ring your mum and dad and tell them I’ve had to take you to hospital with a broken leg!”

“I am being careful, Gran, I promise. But I have to see if Tiger is there…” Ava shuddered. “Charlie and Max are nice dogs, Gran, but listen to them. They sound so fierce. Look, do you think you can help me push the table up against the wall? I can get on the chair, then the table and then I think I’ll be able to see over the top.”

Gran sighed. “I suppose there’s not much else we can do. I’m so sorry, Ava, I really don’t think I can climb up there.”

“I’ll be fine, Gran, honest. Here, just push this for me.” Ava grabbed the edge of the metal table, dragging it towards the wall. “It’s coming!” With Ava pulling and Gran pushing, the table bumped and juddered up against the wall.

“Why are you in the garden?” Bel was standing at the back door, with Lucy peeping round her.

“Oh! Go back inside, you two!” Gran sounded harassed.

“What are you doing?” Bel’s bottom lip stuck out. She was going to cry, Ava realized.

“They won’t go back in,” Ava told Gran. “Not without having a real meltdown. We have to tell them what’s going on.” She turned to Lucy and Bel. “The dogs are barking a lot and I can’t find Tiger. I think he might be in Megan’s garden.”

Bel stared at Ava, her eyes round with horror. “But they might eat him!”

“Tiger!” Lucy wailed. “I want Tiger!”

“I do, too,” Ava said, stepping up on to the chair. “So that’s why I’m climbing up here. Now, you have to be good and not cry.”

Gran nodded. “Ava’s right. Come out here, you two. I know you’ve only got your slippers on, it doesn’t matter for once. You can help me hold the table so Ava doesn’t wobble.”

Lucy and Bel pattered out, and held on tightly to the edge of the table. It was clever of Gran to get them to help, Ava thought as she crawled cautiously up on to the table. Now they wouldn’t whinge about being left out.

“Is he there?” Lucy gasped, as Ava balanced herself against the wall and stood up.

“I can’t see yet.” Ava peered over the top, looking anxiously round the garden. “Oh! Oh, Tiger!”

“He is there! Is he all right?” Gran called up. “Oh, be careful, Ava!”

“He’s there but I don’t know if he’s all right,” Ava said, her voice shaking.

Tiger was curled up in a tiny ball, right by Megan’s back gate. Charlie and Max were standing over him, still barking. The gate was a solid one, with no gaps in it and hardly any space underneath. And it was high, too. It looked like Tiger hadn’t been able to scrabble his way up and over – he was trapped.

“I don’t think he’s hurt,” Ava called down. “Just really, really scared. But I can’t tell for sure.”

Max realized at last that someone else was invading his garden. He trotted over to the wall and barked at Ava.

Even though he was huddled up with his eyes closed, Tiger heard the difference in the barking. One of the dogs had gone! He opened his eyes a tiny bit and looked over.

Ava! She was there, looking over the wall! He tried to get up to run to her but the other dog leaned over him, barking even more fiercely, and Tiger huddled back down to the ground. He didn’t dare move – he was frozen with fear.

“Oh, Tiger,” Ava whispered. “Gran, I have to get him out! He’s so scared, and Charlie and Max might hurt him.”

“What about the lady next door – when’s she going to be back?” Gran asked. “Do we have a phone number for her?”

“The home number’s in Mum’s address book but that’s no good. She’s at work.” Ava looked down at Gran. “It’ll be hours till she’s back. Megan works till about six on Saturdays, I know she does because she told Mum she doesn’t like it.” Ava leaned over the wall again. “I’m coming to get you, Tiger. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Coming to get him? No, you are not!” Gran said, sounding horrified. “You can’t get over there, Ava!”

“I’m not leaving him! Even if we call Mum and Dad, that food fair they went to is an hour away on the train. We can’t leave him that long, Gran. The dogs…” Ava’s voice wobbled. “They’re really friendly and nice normally but you can hear how excited they are. What if he scratches one of them and they snap at him?”

Gran stared at her uncertainly and then flinched as one of the dogs let out another loud bark. “All right. I suppose we do have to do something. But I don’t see what, Ava. You can only just see over the wall – you can’t get up there and you certainly can’t jump down on to the other side. Then you’ll be in the garden with those fierce dogs!”

“They aren’t fierce, Gran, honestly. I see them almost every day with Megan and I’ve even helped her take them for walks. They’re barking because of Tiger, that’s all.”

“And how are you going to get back again?”

Ava scrambled down from the table. “Dad’s ladder. I should have thought of it before. It’s in the shed. I can climb up on to the top of the wall, and then pull it up after me and put it down on the other side. It’ll be fine, Gran.” Ava crossed her fingers hopefully behind her back. “I do stuff like this in gymnastics club all the time.”

“Throwing ladders around?” Gran muttered. “Get the ladder, Ava, and let me see how stable it is. You won’t have anyone to hold it on the other side. Oh, maybe I should just have rung your mother…”

Ava threw open the shed door and grabbed the ladder. Luckily it was right by the door and she didn’t have to face the enormous spiders that lived in the shed. And it was lighter than it looked, too. She carried the ladder back down the garden and set it up by the wall.

Gran, Lucy and Bel caught hold of it, and Ava climbed up, trying to ignore the wobbling and creaking, and the thumping of her heart. “I’m going to climb on top of the wall now,” she said, refusing to let her voice shake. “And then can you help me pull up the ladder, Gran?”

“Be careful,” Bel called. “Please don’t fall off, Ava!”

“I won’t.” Ava hugged the top of the wall and lifted her closest leg over so that she was sitting with one leg either side. Just like the beam at gymnastics, except a bit higher up, that was all… She reached down and pulled the ladder up behind, feeling grateful that it was so light.

“I’m coming, Tiger,” she murmured, looking over at the huddled pile of brown fur by the gate. “Don’t be scared. It’s going to be OK.”

The dogs were very confused. They had a cat in their garden and now somebody was climbing over the wall, too. They circled between Ava on the wall and Tiger by the gate, barking at both of them but wagging their tails at Ava – they knew her, even if she wasn’t usually in their garden.

“Good dogs,” Ava said, trying to sound calm. “Hi, Charlie. Good boy, Max. I’ll be gone in a minute. I’m just coming to get Tiger. We’ll both be out of here soon.”

She rocked the ladder gently, trying to see if it was nice and steady – but Megan’s patio was gravel, not solid paving slabs like in her garden, and the ladder kept shifting. Ava gritted her teeth and climbed on to it anyway. She wasn’t giving up now. It swayed and wobbled, and Ava closed her eyes and jumped. The ladder fell over with a crash and there was a wail from the other side of the wall. Lucy and Bel were crying.

“Ava! Ava! What happened?” Gran called frantically.

“I just jumped off the last bit of the ladder. I’m fine, Gran, I promise. Tell Lucy and Bel I’m OK. Down, Charlie! Down, Max!” Ava hurried across the garden to the fence, the dogs getting under her feet as she ran.

“Poor Tiger!” She scooped him up and pressed her face against his soft coat. “Come on. We’re getting out of here,” she whispered to the little kitten. “I’ve got him, Gran!” she called.

She dashed back to the ladder, pushing it back close against the wall with her free hand. The dogs stood watching, occasionally waving their tails – they’d probably never had such an exciting afternoon, Ava thought.

Tiger wriggled a little, realizing that he was safely away from the dogs. He was with Ava. He was almost home! He didn’t understand what had happened but the terror that had gripped him as the dogs chased him down the garden slowly began to slip away.

Ava reached up and gently placed him on top of the wall. Tiger stood there for a moment, gazing down at next-door’s garden and the dogs. Then he looked back at Ava, as she cautiously climbed the ladder.

“Can you get back up?” Gran called.

“I’m coming,” Ava said, as she reached the top of the ladder and pulled herself up on to the wall. “Oooh. Ow.”

“Ava?” Bel cried anxiously.

“Don’t worry. I just scratched my arms a bit.” Ava gave Tiger a stroke and waved down to Gran and her sisters. “It’s all OK!”