The Family

Introduce These Words:

Franky, Pippi, and Bobby all live together. Franky and Pippi are cats. They are striped with gray, black, and white. Pippi also has some orange fur. Her eyes are very yellow, and her nose is pink. She has a sweet little pink mouth and white feet. Franky has big green eyes and a nice orange nose. He has a clean white bib of fur in the front that matches his white feet.

Bobby is an old black and white dog. He is a Border Collie. He lost his tail in an accident as a puppy. You will hear more about some of Bobby’s adventures in other stories. The three animals live with Tom and Susan Carter and their daughters, Abby and Tara. They live in California. But the animals haven’t always lived there. Here is the story of how Franky and Pippi came to live with the Carters.

Franky and Pippi were born in a small shed under a huge oak tree. The shed belonged to a woman named Lizzie. There were six kittens in the litter. Franky was the biggest one, and Pippi was the smallest. They loved to snuggle with their warm cat mother and all their brothers and sisters. They loved to play under the oak tree. They were happy.

The kittens grew quickly. Soon Lizzie decided it was time for them to leave their mother. It was time to find new homes. The kittens said goodbye to their mother, and Lizzie put them all in a big basket. She put the basket in the car and closed the door.

“Where are we going?” wondered all the kittens. “What will become of us?” They meowed loudly.

“Don’t cry, little kittens,” said Lizzie. “You are going to meet your new families. You will like your new homes.”

First she drove to Will’s house. His little boy, Ezra, wanted a kitten. Lizzie lifted the basket out of the car. Ezra came running out of the house. He was very excited. “Lizzie is here!” he shouted. “My kitten is here!” The kittens meowed. They were scared. Ezra’s voice was so loud!

Before Lizzie could carry the basket into the house, Ezra lifted the lid. “Six kittens!” he yelled. “There are six kittens!” The kittens jumped out of the basket and ran to hide. One kitten ran under a bush. Two raced up a tree. Two rushed under the fence and into the back yard. One hid under Will’s car.

“Oh no!” cried Lizzie. “The kittens are lost! Ezra, please help me find them. We must be very quiet. We must move very slowly. The kittens are shy.”

Will came out of the house. “Where are the kittens?” he asked.

“They jumped out of the basket,” said Lizzie. “They were scared of all the sounds. There are six kittens. Will you help us look?”

Will got some tasty cat treats and went to the back yard. He was very quiet. “Here, kitty!” he called in a soft voice. “Here, kitty!” Slowly one of the kittens crept out. Will held out the treat. The kitten ate it up. Will picked up the kitten. He petted it. The kitten meowed. “Hush, little kitty. You’re safe now.” He gave the kitten to Lizzie to put in the basket.

In the front yard, Ezra found a kitten under a bush. He carefully picked it up. He spoke very softly to it. He held it gently. “It’s okay, little kitty, I won’t hurt you. Do you want to be my kitten and live here with me?” He took the kitten into the house.

Lizzie found the two kittens in the tree. They did not want to come down. Will was very tall, so he came to help. He got the kittens out of the tree and put them safely into the basket. He gave them a treat to eat.

“We are still missing two kittens,” said Lizzie. “I don’t see them anywhere. I don’t hear them crying. What shall I do?”

“We will keep looking for them,” said Will. “I think we will find them. Ezra has already picked his kitten. You have three kittens in your basket. Take them to their new homes and we will try to find the two that are still missing.”

“All right,” said Lizzie. “I will come back later. Thank you for helping.”

When all was quiet, the two missing kittens crept out. One was in the back yard. One came out from under the car. They meowed. What a big world they were in! The kitten in the back yard heard her brother meowing in the front. She squeezed under the fence and ran into the front yard. “What shall we do?” they asked each other. “The world is big, and we are lost!”

The two kittens curled up together under a bush and went to sleep. They were tired from their adventure. Will came out and found them. He picked them up and put them in a box with a little blanket. He gave them a tasty kitty treat. “You will be safe and warm there,” he said. “Soon Lizzie will come back and take you to your new home.”

When Lizzie came back, the two kittens woke up from their nap. Lizzie put them in the basket and drove them to their new home. When she arrived, Abby and Tara and Susan and Tom came out to meet them.

“What sweet kittens!” said Tara. “Are they boys or girls?”

“The one with the orange is a girl. She is the smallest kitten of the whole litter. The one with the nice white bib is a boy. He is the biggest of the litter,” said Lizzie. “They have just had a big adventure. They will be glad to settle down now.”

“We are happy to have them,” said Susan. “We love cats!”

“Let’s call the boy kitten Franky,” said Tom.

“All right,” said Susan. “What shall we call the girl kitten?”

“I think we should call her Pippi,” said Abby. “She is tiny – a little pipsqueak! But Pipsqueak is too big a name for such a tiny kitten.”

“Welcome to our family, Franky and Pippi,” said all the Carters.

“Meow!” said Franky and Pippi.

And that is how Franky and Pippi got their new home.

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Next: Bobby's Stinky Adventure