Once there lived a cat called Snowy. Now, you’d think that a cat with a name like that would have been snow white in color, but actually Snowy was black as coal. She was named Snowy by a little girl called, Millie, who had a wicked sense of humor. Snowy was very proud of her color and loved her glossy black fur and licked it till it shone. Millie loved her a lot too and was always giving her little treats to eat, bits of tasty fish and creamy milk.
Snowy had everything a little cat would want. A lovely comfortable basket to lie in, a clockwork mouse to chase that Millie used to wind up for her, lots of toys to play with including a ball of wool that Snowy loved to unwind. But more than her toys, Snowy loved the creamy milk that Millie poured into her bowl and could never have enough of it.
One day, Snowy was feeling very bored. Millie was busy with helping her mother clean up a cupboard. Snowy longed to go out and explore. Luckily for her, the window was open. In a second she was up on the window edge and out in the garden. The gate leading to the lane outside the house was not latched. What luck, thought Snowy and pushed open the gate and off the trot down the lane, feeling very happy to venture out on her own.
At the end of the lane was an old house. The owner had gone away for many years it looked quite dirty. The house looked like it really needed a new coat of paint. Snowy went into the house, for like all cats, she was very curious to know what was there. She wandered around the garden. There, at the corner of the garden was a huge tub filled with what looked like creamy milk.
Snowy was very excited!! She sniffed hard but couldn’t really smell milk.
“Never mind” She thought “It must taste heavenly!”
She looked around carefully to see if anyone was around. And then quick as lightning she jumped right into the tub.
But wait a minute, what was this? It wasn’t milk. It was a tub of white paint! Snowy got a shock. You see, the owner of the old house had returned and had decided to paint the house after all. The tub of paint was mixed by the painters and left there in the garden to come back to later.
Miaw, Miawwww mewed Snowy, for it was rather uncomfortable. She jumped out as quickly as she had jumped in. She was all sticky and wet, but what upset her the most was that she was white in color all over.
Gone was her glossy black coat. She truly looked liked her name. Snowy wasn’t pleased at all. She tried to lick herself clean, but it tasted horrid.
Slowly she padded her way back up the lane, leaving white paw prints everywhere. She soon came to the house she lived with Millie. Snowy went right up to the front door. It was shut. She stood there and mewed loudly.
Millie who was looking around for Snowy heard the mews and rushed to the door. But when she opened the door, all she saw was a white cat instead of her beautiful black Snowy.
“Oh!” She cried “I thought Snowy had returned but you are not Snowy. You are white all over. I so miss Snowy,” and so saying she shut the door with a bang.
This was too much for Snowy who was upset over her white coat and was longing to be back with Millie in her room, hoping to be fussed over. Instead Millie hadn’t recognized her.
She stood in the garden, mewing miserably and wondered what to do next.
Suddenly it began to rain. One minute it was nice and sunny and the next minute it poured. Snowy tried to hide under the bush for she didn’t like getting wet, but it rained for what seemed like hours, while actually it one of those brief summer showers.
Along with the rain, the white paint on Snowy’s fur also began to wash away and slowly Snowy got back her black coat again. Within minutes the sun was out and Snowy’s coat soon was dry.
Snowy turned her head this was and that and was pleased to see her lovely black color was back. She licked it clean and then began to mew again, this time from hunger more than anything else.
Out came Millie once again when she heard the noise. As soon as she saw Snowy, she rushed and scooped her up. “Snowy! Where were you? I searched all over the house for you, you naughty cat! All I saw when I opened the door was a strange white cat. I wonder where it went. Snowy, Don’t you dare disappear again!” she said. Snowy purred in delight to be fussed over this way. She had had quite enough of exploring for the day.
Millie carried her in and set her down. She poured creamy milk into Snowy’s bowl and Snowy lapped it all up hungrily.
Soon, feeling quite tired out from the day’s adventures, she lay down in her basket and drifted off to a contented sleep, dreaming of swimming in a large tub of milk.
