The entire party jumped up and ran toward the kitchen, dashing through the huge swinging doors. The scene that greeted them was utter chaos. Broken plates and cups littered the floor. The tea tray that just moments before ladened with tarts and other treats lay in the middle of the mess surrounded by the tasty morsels. Miss Jessica was beside herself. “He just dashed into sight and caught me by surprise. He flicked a huge fluffy tail in my face and I couldn’t see where I was going. He upset my entire tea tray!”
“There, there,” soothed Wellington. “We’ll have this cleaned up in a jiffy. And look, Miss Lizzie is already fixing a new tray. No harm done.”
“No harm done!” Miss Jessica looked at Wellington with fury in her eyes. “That dratted cat best stay out of my way. If I ever see the likes of him again in my kitchen he won’t have a fluffy tail to flick around.”
“Cat?” asked Georg. “What kind of cat?”
“A furry cat,” she replied, “with a big tail and, and, big eyes. Yes, that’s it. Eyes that, well, glinted scarylike, although I didn’t see much of them. That tail was the thing.”
“Hmmm…” mused Georg.
“It sounds like the Cheshire Cat,” replied Wellington speaking what Georg dared not.
“The Cheshire Cat?” asked Bethleann. “You mean the one with…”
“Yes, the one that took my e,” growled Georg.
“There I told you,” said Velveteen. “That’s precisely the misfortune I’m talking about. I knew you would remember and surely must be missing the thing.”
“A lot,” Georg admitted.
“Come along Golden. We’ve not a moment to lose. Cheshire Cat you say? It figures that one would be in this somehow. He’s always causing some kind of trouble.” Velveteen reached for Golden’s arm and they headed for the back door.
“Sorry we cannot stay for tea,” Golden looked toward Bethleann. “But we must follow the trail while it is fresh. We’ll have your e in no time Georg. Vel is the best tracker for lost items that I have ever worked with.”
Before a word of protest could be spoken from the three, Velveteen and Golden were out the door and down the path. “Well I’ll be,” said Wellington as the two disappeared from sight.
Wellington Rabbit is a sixteen (soon to be seventeen) book series about the adventures of a gentle rabbit and his friends. Each book is ten chapters long, separated into three parts and published here Monday, Wednesday, Friday.