INKY-PINKY-POOH-1

Inky-Pinky-Pooh was a very little kitten, and he lived in a very large house. It was a very grand house, too, but when a new cook arrived one day things began to be bad for poor Inky-Pink.

For the new Cook did not like animals at all. She rarely remembered to put out any food for Inky-Pink, and there were never nice tit-bits left over as there had been in the old cook's time. And Inky-Pink-Pooh was never allowed to sit by the kitchen fire nowadays.

One day poor Inky-Pink was very hungry indeed. He had had nothing to eat for over two days.

At first he tried mewing gently, and rubbing himself against Cook's legs. But when she smacked him and pushed him INKY-PINKY-POOH - hungry cataway each time, he realised that that was no use!

So he sat beside his plate very quietly and hoped that that would remind Cook and soften her hard heart! But it did not seem to have any effect, and she merely scowled at him whenever she looked his way. Poor Inky-Pink, he felt very miserable. He not only felt more and more lonely and miserable, but more and more hungry, too.

INKY-PINKY-POOH - cat enters larderSo, when one day he suddenly noticed that Cook had left the larder door ajar, he slipped in quietly when she was not looking.

It was the most wonderful place he'd ever been in, and quite took his breath away! For a while he was lost in admiration just looking at the lovely plate of fresh liver, the pheasant hanging from a hook in the ceiling, the chicken and the ham... But, most beautiful of all was a plate of shiny, silvery fish lying there on a plate. It was just begging to be eaten, and it was on the lowest shelf of all!

INKY-PINKY-POOH - cat see fishHe purred happily to himself, "Oh my whiskers and paddy-paws, what a be-au-ti-ful piece of fish...!!!!" But just as Inky-Pink was dragging the fish off the plate, Cook came back into the larder and caught Inky-Pink... To say that she was angry would be an understatement... She was furious!

Poor Inky-Pink was in disgrace!