Speaker 1: Welcome back friends to short stories for kids.
Speaker 2: Kitterkatter. Once upon a time, in a distant land, there
Speaker 2: lived a woman. She didn't look like you or me,
Speaker 2: for her face was covered in fur and long whiskers.
Speaker 2: She wasn't terribly tall, and a striped tail could be
Speaker 2: seen beneath her skirt. Her name was Kitterkatter. Every day,
Speaker 2: kit Katter would climb down the steps from her tree
Speaker 2: house and take a walk with her basket, gathering items
Speaker 2: that she could turn into a meal. Sometimes she would
Speaker 2: find fruit, but would take a moment to make sure
Speaker 2: that it was ripe before picking it. Sometimes she find mushrooms,
Speaker 2: but would take a moment to make sure they weren't
Speaker 2: poisonous before picking them. And sometimes she would find honey,
Speaker 2: but would take a moment to make sure she didn't
Speaker 2: anger the bees before removing some. Once her basket was full,
Speaker 2: kitdter Katter would climb up the steps that circled her
Speaker 2: tree to her home amongst the branches, and there she
Speaker 2: would make her meal. Today, though, was different. Her basket,
Speaker 2: she was pleased to see, was full, and her treehouse
Speaker 2: was in sight, but something was a miss in the
Speaker 2: woods where she lived. The birds in the trees all
Speaker 2: took off at once, cawing and shrieking their warnings that
Speaker 2: something was approaching. Kit Katter was no fool, so she ran,
Speaker 2: and just in time too. As she climbed her treehouse steps,
Speaker 2: a terrible beast bounded up behind her. It had the
Speaker 2: body of a big cat, but the head of an alligator,
Speaker 2: an Ali cat. It snapped its jaws at Kittercatter's heels,
Speaker 2: but Kitterkatter was too quick. The Ali cat was too
Speaker 2: large to follow her. Come back down and fill my belly,
Speaker 2: pleaded the Alla cat never called down, Kittercatter. I intend
Speaker 2: to fill my own belly with the contents of my basket.
Speaker 2: I don't want to fill up yours. How selfish of you,
Speaker 2: complained the Alli cat. Perhaps I'll hang around here awhile,
Speaker 2: and maybe, just maybe I'll catch you later. Chuckling to himself,
Speaker 2: the Ali cat slipped away. Kitterkatter's treehouse home wasn't large.
Speaker 2: There was barely enough room for her bed, a small
Speaker 2: table and chair, and a tiny kitchen, but it was
Speaker 2: enough for her. She unpacked her basket, ate her meal,
Speaker 2: and once she had tidied it up, looked for the
Speaker 2: Ali cat from her window. There was no sign of
Speaker 2: it anywhere. I shall worry about it in the morning,
Speaker 2: thought Kitterkatter. Perhaps by then that Ali Cat's hungry belly
Speaker 2: will have pulled him somewhere else. When it was time
Speaker 2: to take her basket out the next morning, Kitterkatter took
Speaker 2: a moment to look again from the window. Seeing nothing
Speaker 2: of the Alla cat, she ventured out on to the
Speaker 2: tree house steps, taking a moment to check again. I
Speaker 2: do believe that Ali cat has gone, said Kitterkatter, and
Speaker 2: so with a smile on her whiskered face, she headed
Speaker 2: off to fill her basket. She had not gone far
Speaker 2: when she found some wild garlic. She was just pulling
Speaker 2: it from the ground when a commotion behind her almost
Speaker 2: made her drop it. A man was running towards her,
Speaker 2: holding his hat in place to stop it from flying.
Speaker 2: Like Kitterkatter, he was short, although his furry nose was long,
Speaker 2: and he had speckled fur. Run run, there's a terrible beast.
Speaker 2: If we're caught, he'll have a feast, puffed the man
Speaker 2: as he sprinted, stuffing the garlic into her basket. Kitterkatter
Speaker 2: ran follow me, she shouted, leading the man straight to
Speaker 2: her treehouse steps. They were barely half way up when
Speaker 2: the Ali cat jumped, narrowly missing the man's heels. Come
Speaker 2: back down and fill my belly, suggested the Alla cat.
Speaker 2: We'd rather not called down, Kitterkatter. What a selfish pear
Speaker 2: you are, grumbled the Alli cat. But now I know
Speaker 2: there are two of you up there, perhaps I won't
Speaker 2: go too far. As Kitterkatter watched from above, the Ali
Speaker 2: cat slinked away. My goodness, said Kitterkatter as she turned
Speaker 2: to the man. You're quite shaken up. I've had such
Speaker 2: a terrible fright, said the man with speckled fur. They
Speaker 2: call me spitter Spatter. Then let me make you a
Speaker 2: calming cup of tea, spitter Spatter, said Kitterkatter. You're welcome
Speaker 2: to stay in my little treehouse until the danger has gone.
Speaker 2: But when Kitterkatter handed spitter Spatter the steaming cup, he
Speaker 2: was alarmed to see her pick up her basket to
Speaker 2: head out again. Surely you're not going outside with that
Speaker 2: beast out there, he asked. If I can, I will,
Speaker 2: replied Kitterkatter. But I always take a moment to decide
Speaker 2: what's best before I do anything. Don't you worry about me. Firstly,
Speaker 2: she took a moment to check her window and saw nothing.
Speaker 2: Then kitter Katter advanced to the treehouse's steps and took
Speaker 2: a moment to look from there. Perhaps this time the
Speaker 2: Alla cat was really gone. She headed down with her basket,
Speaker 2: constantly looking for danger as she went, even when she
Speaker 2: was under the cover of the trees. After a short while,
Speaker 2: she came upon fat, juicy blackberries. These would be good,
Speaker 2: Kitterkatter thought, and began to pick them. She'd half filled
Speaker 2: her basket when the pounding of running feet alerted her
Speaker 2: that someone was coming. It was a young woman who had,
Speaker 2: by the looks of her, been out collecting firewood, but
Speaker 2: was now hurling the sticks over her shoulder at whatever
Speaker 2: was chasing her. She was a little taller than Kitterkatter,
Speaker 2: with orange fur and pointed ears. Run run, there's a
Speaker 2: terrible beast. If we're caught, he'll have a feast, panted
Speaker 2: the woman as she threw her sticks. Kit Katter forgot
Speaker 2: all about the blackberries and ran follow me. She shouted
Speaker 2: and dashed for her tree house. This time, the Ali
Speaker 2: cat's claw managed to scratch at the woman's shoe, but
Speaker 2: he was again too slow to catch any one on
Speaker 2: the treehouse steps. Oh misery, wailed the Alli cat. Do
Speaker 2: come back down and fill my belly. We're fine where
Speaker 2: we are, thank you, called down Kittercatter. What a selfish trio,
Speaker 2: mumbled the Alli cat. But now I know that there
Speaker 2: are three of you up there, I won't go too
Speaker 2: far with three. The tiny tree house was quite crowded. Now,
Speaker 2: thank you for saving me, said the woman. My name's Knitternatdter.
Speaker 2: Kitterkatter introduced herself and spitter Spatter before saying Knitternatder, you
Speaker 2: are welcome to stay in my little tree house until
Speaker 2: the danger has gone. Knitternatder, though, was surprised to see
Speaker 2: Kitterkatter picking up her basket to head out again. Why
Speaker 2: are you really planning on going outside with an Ali
Speaker 2: cat out there, she asked. Don't worry, replied Kitterkatter. I'll
Speaker 2: take a moment to make sure it's safe before I
Speaker 2: go ahead. She took a moment to check her window
Speaker 2: and did the same at the steps, then headed off
Speaker 2: beneath the trees. This time she was pleased to find
Speaker 2: a tree full of apples. They were large and heavy.
Speaker 2: Bowing down the branches and making them easy to pick,
Speaker 2: but she'd only gathered six when the sound of running
Speaker 2: got her attention. Three figures were charging toward her, each
Speaker 2: with very different feathery faces. One was taller than her,
Speaker 2: one the same height, and one even shorter. Run run,
Speaker 2: there's a terrible beast. If we're caught, he'll have a feast.
Speaker 2: Puffed the tallest figure, Kitterkatter swung her basket onto her
Speaker 2: arm and yelled follow me, directing them to her treehouse steps.
Speaker 2: This time, the Alli cat was so close to catching
Speaker 2: the shortest figure that he plucked out a tail feather,
Speaker 2: but still didn't catch anyone. Instead of demanding they come
Speaker 2: and fill his belly, the frustrated Ali cat began shaking
Speaker 2: the tree and pulling at the branches, making the tiny
Speaker 2: treehouse tremble and wobble. What was worse, Kitterkatter's home was
Speaker 2: now packed so tightly that the occupants were unable to move.
Speaker 2: As the treehouse shook, kitter Katter learned that the newcomers
Speaker 2: were called Madder Hatter, fitter Fatter, and pitter Patter. What
Speaker 2: do we do? Cried spitter Spatter. The beast has us trapped.
Speaker 2: There's no escape, added Knitternatter. Help us, Kittercutter begged pitter Patter,
Speaker 2: as the treehouse's shaking got worse. Let us take a moment,
Speaker 2: said Kitterkatter. Anciently, she wanted to take a moment to think,
Speaker 2: not wishing to make a bad situation worse. Hurry, yelled
Speaker 2: fitter Fatter, as the treehouse creaked and groaned. Of course,
Speaker 2: said Kitterkatter. At last, we must stand on the steps outside.
Speaker 2: Pitter Patter went first, followed by fitter Fatter, Madder Hatter, Nitternatter,
Speaker 2: spitter Spatter, and finally Kitterkatter. Just as the Alli cat
Speaker 2: gave the tree an almighty shake. With a loud crack,
Speaker 2: the treehouse broke free and fell, squashing the Ali cat flat.
Speaker 2: Oh your poor home, said spitter Spatter. It is a shame,
Speaker 2: said Kitterkatter, But if you take a moment to think
Speaker 2: about it, better to be without a home than in
Speaker 2: the belly of an Ali cat.