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The Adventures of Flat Cat

Balboa Press

A Day to Remember

Nearly a year had passed since Flat Cat became Master of the Enchanted Forest. With the exception of Bandit, Flat Cat's original pack of friends remains close by. After their return from the land of the past, Bandit made some new friends in the forest. He decided to live with them and was adopted into their family.

The anniversary of the late Master Ming's passing has arrived. Today, a special meeting to honour him will be held in the meadow by Flat Cat. The animals of the Enchanted Forest arrived and gathered around a small cross, which stood among the wild flowers. Flat Cat walked proudly toward them wearing the Master's robe and medallion. He also carried the Master's bamboo cane. As he stopped beside the cross he bowed to the animals surrounding him. He then began the meeting. He talked once again of the late Master's wisdom and kindness to all. The animals nodded and bowed their heads respectfully, as they listened.

Flat Cat secretly wished he could tell them their late Master Ming lives on in spirit and is still very near. He wanted to say he is content in spirit form inside the secret cave of magic beneath the forest. He also wanted to announce, Master Ming remains there to help and protect. However, he knew the animals would not understand the miracle of his presence. It is a secret that is part of the magic of the Enchanted Forest and known by only him and his trusted pack. Flat Cat felt happy in knowing that as he spoke, their Spirit Master was aware of the meeting. He was aware of everything that happened in the forest and could be summoned to offer advice and guidance at any time. Flat Cat knew he would be honoured by the tribute to him.

As the meeting came to an end, Flat Cat promised to continue to do his best as Master of the forest. He felt confident as he stated, "Our late Master Ming will never be forgotten!" Flat Cat then waved the old bamboo cane, as was the custom at the end of a meeting. Colourful sparkling dust, which was hidden inside the hollow cane, was released and floated down through the air. As the magical Light of the sparkling dust filled the air, Flat Cat wished for continuing peace and well-being to all.

The meeting was over and the animals returned to their homes. All but a single doe remained. She walked over to Flat Cat and asked to speak to him. Flat Cat nodded politely, as she introduced herself. "My name is Madge and my family and I live over on the north ridge. I'd like to say thank you for the wonderful tribute to our late Master Ming. We all miss him and loved him dearly. We also think you are doing a good job as our new Master." Flat Cat thanked Madge and she began to tell him the reason why she had stayed behind. "I was hoping you could help me with something Master. One of my yearlings has had an accident and has injured his leg. It happened this morning while he was playing with his brother near a fox hole and accidentally stepped into it. He can't walk and I'm worried it might be broken. It is known in the forest that our late Master Ming sometimes used a healing potion to heal injuries. Since you are now the Master, I was hoping you could use some of that potion to fix his leg." Flat Cat replied, "I'm sorry to hear about the accident Madge, but don't worry because you have come to the right place. I know about the healing potion and I would be happy to help him. Wait here and I will get some. Then we will go and ?x his leg." Madge thanked him and looked relieved.

The late Master Ming had created the healing potion by combining different herbs and special rare berries from the forest. Not only did the potion work miraculously to heal injuries upon contact, but it worked if ingested. The late Master had been taking a little of the potion himself on occasion to prolong his life and it worked wonders.

Inside the hut, Flat Cat reached up to the shelf and grabbed one of the tin cans, which held the healing potion. However, it was empty. He grabbed the other can and saw there was a little bit of the potion left. He knew it would be enough to do the job. He wrapped the last of the healing potion between a leaf and he was ready to join Madge. Together they headed to the north ridge. As they hurried along they chatted. Flat Cat learned of something which was puzzling. Madge told him some of the smaller animals who lived along the north ridge had been upset. Their nuts, which they had gathered the previous fall, had all gone missing. She explained how they had left them in a big pile under a tree. They were going to divide and store them the following day. However, the next morning, all the nuts were gone. "That's strange, the animals should have come and told me," replied Flat Cat. "They didn't think it was a big enough problem to concern you Master," replied Madge. "Besides, they all managed to gather more in time to see them through." "I'm glad," replied Flat Cat. "Actually Master, it has been happening every fall for quite a while and usually just before the colder weather sets in." Flat Cat was more surprised by this and sorry that no one told him sooner. "I'm sorry Madge. I don't understand why anyone would behave that way. That kind of behaviour is dishonest and unacceptable in our forest. Please tell the animals I now know what has happened and I intend to find out who it was!"

When they arrived at the north ridge, Flat Cat applied the healing potion onto the yearling's injured leg and instantly he was as good as new. He then said goodbye to Madge and her family and headed back. He intended to look into the matter of the missing nuts soon, but first there was something he needed to do. The potion was now gone and it was time to make more.

Making the Potion Leads to a Discovery

When Flat Cat arrived back at the meadow, he gathered his pack together. He told them about his conversation with Madge concerning what had happened at the north ridge. They too were surprised by what she had told him and offered to help him find out who was responsible. Flat Cat informed his pack that he had used the last of the Master's healing potion to heal Madge's yearling. He explained, "Our late Master created the healing potion to help others. We must make more of it, just in case anyone else has an accident and needs it. After we make more, I would like to discuss a possible road trip. I have been thinking about it since before our late Master Ming's tribute."

The Pack looked confused by everything Flat Cat was saying. Leaving on a road trip was one thing, but making the potion seemed next to impossible. They knew the late Master Ming was the only one who could make the potion. "Come into my hut, I have something to show you." As the Pack followed curiously behind Flat Cat, Chippy asked, "Are we going down to the secret cave to ask our Spirit Master how to make the potion?" "That won't be necessary," replied Flat Cat."

Inside the hut, Flat Cat reached up to the back of the shelf and removed an old woven basket. In it remained the remnants of dried herbs, which the late Master had collected. Beneath the basket was an old folded piece of birch bark. Flat Cat unfolded it and laid it on the table. Although the writing was faded, it was still readable. "Master Ming left this for me. I have been meaning to look at it, but never did. I now know why it was important and why he left it. It's the instructions for the healing potion. We can now make it ourselves!"

Flat Cat began to read the instructions which said: mix together one basket of cuca-berries, one red clover, the leaves of one wild mint, all the pedals of one purple cornflower and a spoonful of honey. Flat Cat turned his attention to the others and stated, "These are all things we have gathered many times for Master Ming." The Pack nodded to agree. "There's one last ingredient and it says this is very important; add three leaves from the big tree. The directions say to dry the herbs and leaves out in the sun, and then add the cuca-berries and honey. Mix well and store in cans. It sounds simple. I should have looked at this sooner." The Pack agreed. However, it had been a long day and the ingredients they needed were far in the forest. Flat Cat decided they should gather everything first thing in the morning. Tomorrow there would be a new supply of healing potion should anyone else need it. Early the next morning, Flat Cat and the Pack headed to the edge of the forest to pick the rare berries, which the late Master had called cuca-berries. There was only one large bush and it grew beside the fence at the far side of the forest. On the other side of the fence was an old scrap yard. Flat Cat found out previously that two large vicious dogs guarded the scrap yard. Because of their past experience and a close call with disaster, they proceeded quietly and cautiously. After gathering the cuca-berries, they headed back through the forest and stopped to pick the wild herbs and gathered honey from the bee hive. They returned to the meadow and left the wild herbs on a rock to dry in the sun.

According to the Master's instructions, the final ingredient was still to be added. It was three leaves from the big tree. Sam, the squirrel, volunteered to climb up and gather them. He climbed high to the center of the tree because he wanted large perfect ones. He found three and was just about to climb down, when he spotted an opening in the tree just above him. He yelled down to the others, "Hey you guys, there's some kind of natural opening in the tree and it's big! It must be something that formed itself years ago. I think it's really cool and would make a good place for someone to live. I'll be down in a minute. I'm going to check it out." Flat Cat waved and gave Sam thumbs up.

Sam peeked into the opening and saw that it went deep into the large trunk of the big tree. He yelled into the opening, "Hello is anybody in here?" There was no answer. Curiously, he decided to go in a bit further to investigate. He made his way into the opening and saw something he wasn't expecting. A door crudely made of bark blocked the rest of the entrance. Upon the door was scrawled a message. It read "KEEP OUT!"

The Mystery in the Big Tree

Sam quickly climbed down from the tree to tell the others what he had discovered. As he climbed down, he heard the sound of loud croaking coming from the pond. It was old Bob, the bullfrog. Bob had sat in his spot at the edge of the pond since way before anyone else was born. No one really knew how long it was. However, when Sam reached the ground the croaking stopped. Sam handed Flat Cat the three leaves. He told him and the rest of the Pack about his discovery. "That's strange I wonder if anyone still lives there," replied Flat Cat. "If so, why would they build a door and write that message on it? As far as we all know, only Melody and Sattire live in the big tree." Flat Cat walked over and asked Melody if she knew of anyone else who had made a home above them. "You must be mistaken Flat Cat," answered Melody. "Sattire and I are the only ones who live here. What is this all about? And why was Sam in the tree?" Flat Cat answered, "It's nothing to worry about Melody. We just found what looks like some kind of opening high up in the tree. Sam thinks someone lived there once, but they must be long gone now." "You're right about that Flat Cat. If anyone else lived in our tree, Sattire and I surely would have noticed it."

Flat Cat and the Pack agreed that the opening in the tree with the concealed entrance was a mystery. Flat Cat said, "Our forest is supposed to be a place of peace and harmony to all who live here. I think whoever lived there wasn't very friendly. They must surely be gone now or we would have noticed them. I'm curious to find out more about it and I know you all are too, but right now we have a job to do." The Pack all agreed as Flat Cat added, "Let's go now and make the potion. We'll come back later and find out what's behind the door."

On their way back to Flat Cat's hut, Hoppy turned to the others and asked, "Did you notice that old Bob seemed to be acting strange when Sam was in the tree? He seemed to be excited about something." "Yes, he was croaking real loud and hopping up and down, while he watched us from the pond," agreed Chippy. "Something is going on with him today," stated Flat Cat. "It sure is," agreed the Pack. Flat Cat added, "This is turning out to be quite a day and it isn't over yet!"

Flat Cat and the Pack spent the rest of the afternoon preparing the healing potion. When they finished, they stored it in tin cans and placed them on the shelf. Flat Cat turned to his pack and said, "Good job everybody! The potion is here again in case we need it. However, there's still a matter of some bad behaviour in the forest and now some kind of home in the big tree with a mysterious door. I guess the road trip I was planning will have to wait. Come on, lets go and have a closer look at that opening!" They returned to the big tree and Flat Cat climbed up to have a look. He read the message on the door, and tried to open it, but it was tightly shut.

Meanwhile, from the edge of the pond, loud croaking again filled the air. It continued until Flat Cat climbed back down. He shook his head and said, "It seems like that door is locked from the inside and won't budge." "Maybe I should use the magical power and wish for strength to open it. Sam replied, "The Light of the sparkling dust may not grant a wish that really isn't necessary or worthy enough." "He's right," agreed Happy. Hoppy and I think that's not a good idea. We wouldn't want to frighten Melody and Sattire just in case there is someone in there." "Ya, someone unfriendly," agreed Hoppy. "Do you really think that's possible?" asked Flat Cat. "We're not certain, but we are starting to get an unsettling feeling about it," added Hoppy. Everyone knew when the bunny brothers got a feeling about something they were usually right. Flat Cat agreed, "You're right, we have to be prepared and consider that possibility. By the way, I could hear old Bob croaking again while I was in the big tree." "Ya, he was croaking again but he stopped as soon as you climbed down," added Chippy. "I have never heard old Bob croak so loudly and twice in the same day," replied Flat Cat. "There is definitely something strange going on here!"

Happy and Hoppy glanced toward each other and nodded their heads as they always did when they read each other's thoughts. Happy turned to Flat Cat and said, "Old Bob only croaks like that when someone climbs up the big tree. We think there might be a connection." Flat Cat replied, "I was just thinking the same thing."

Old Bob Knows Something

Flat Cat and the Pack walked over to the pond. Old Bob, the bullfrog was quietly plucking mosquitoes from the air with his tongue. He looked up when Flat Cat and the Pack stopped before him. Flat Cat bent down closely and said, "We think you know something about what we found up in the tree. Is this true Bob? Do you want to tell us something about it?" Immediately, old Bob began to croak again, as he hopped up and down excitedly. The bunny brothers nodded to each other. "There is a way we can find out what he knows Flat Cat," said Happy. "You're right," agreed Flat Cat. "We need to know what he wants to tell us and he can't talk. The magic of the forest will help us find out what it is." The Pack agreed, as Flat Cat left to get the cane from his hut.

Melody Sparrow glanced towards the pond and looked concerned. Flat Cat noticed as he headed toward the hut. He walked over to the big tree to talk to her. He said, "There is nothing to be concerned about Melody. Bob is just having one of those days. You know, he's old. We wanted to make sure he was alright." "Oh dear! That's too bad. I was just telling Sattire that old Bob sounded upset about something today. I hope you will all make him feel better." Flat Cat nodded to her and replied, "We will try Melody." He added, "Maybe you too should sing him a song while we keep him company for a while." "We will!" agreed Melody, "old Bob enjoys all of our songs!"

Melody and Sattire began to sing loudly, as Flat Cat ran to his hut. He quickly returned to the pond with the hollow cane, which held the Light of the sparkling dust and the magical power to grant wishes. Flat Cat stopped before old Bob, as the Pack gathered around. He said, "I believe this is a necessary wish to get some answers and help maintain the order and protection of our forest." He then released the top of the hollow cane and waved it above old Bob. As the sparkling dust floated down, he made a wish for him to speak. Seconds later, old Bob looked up, croaked once and then made a gurgling sound as he cleared his throat. Then in a gruff voice he spoke his first words.

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Excerpted from The Adventures of Flat Cat by Louise Rosalynn Norrie. Copyright © 2015 Louise Rosalyn Norrie. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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