Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE THE LOST CAT One morning it was very wet, and Mollie, Peter, and Binky were playing a very noisy game of snap in the playroom together. Whiskers, the cat, had come with them and had curled herself up on a cushion in the wishing-chair, where she had gone fast asleep. 'Snap! Snap! SNAP!' yelled the children -and were so interested in their game that they didn't hear a little flapping sound. The wishing-chair had grown its wings and was flapping them gently to and fro. Before any one noticed the chair rose silently into the air and flew out of the open door- taking the puss-cat with it, still fast asleep!

'Snap!' yelled Binky, and took the last pile of cards in glee. 'I've won!'

'Good,' said Peter. He looked round the playroom to see what game to play next- and then he looked rather surprised and scared. 'I say!' he said. 'Where's the chair gone?' Binky and Mollie looked round too. Mollie went pale. 'It's gone!' she said. 'It was here when we began our game,' said Binky. 'It must have slipped out without us noticing. I sort of remember feeling a little draught. It must have been its wings flapping.' 'Whiskers has gone too!' said Mollie, in alarm. 'She was asleep on the cushion. Oh, Binky- will she come back?' 'Depends where she has gone to,' said Binky. 'She's a black cat, you know- and if a witch should see her she might take her to help in her spells. Black cats are clever with spells.' Mollie began to cry. She was very fond of

Whiskers. 'Oh, why did we let Whiskers go to sleep on that chair?' she wept. 'Well, it's no good crying,' said Binky, patting Mollie's shoulder. 'We must just wait and see. Perhaps old Whiskers will come back still fast asleep when the chair returns!'

They waited for an hour or two with the door wide open- but no wishing-chair came back. The two children left Binky and went to their dinner. They hunted about the house just in case Whiskers should have got off the chair cushion and wandered home- but no one had seen her.

After dinner they ran down the garden to their playroom again. Binky was there, looking gloomy. 'The chair hasn't come back,' he said.