In this narrated excerpt from Anne Fine’s children’s novel The Killer Cat Strikes Back, Lois Letchford reads chapter 3 from the perspective of a mischievous cat. The cat recounts how it accidentally (or deliberately) tore a portrait of the family cat Tuffy while trying to free a claw caught in the canvas, describing the resulting mess of shredded paint on the carpet, dresser, and lamp. Ellie, a human child, discovers the ruined artwork, scolds the cat, and laments the loss of her mother’s first painting. The cat boasts that it could paint better than the humans and hints at future artistic sabotage. The passage blends humor, the cat’s self‑justifying narration, and a light‑hearted conflict over art and responsibility.
Chapters
Hello, I'm reading from Anne Fine's book, The Killer Cat Strikes Back, chapter 3, read by me, Lois Letchford. One little biff. Okay, okay, so clip my claws, I scratch the cat to pieces. For pity's sake, if anyone had the right to scratch that painted cat's eyes out, it was me! And it was an accident. All I did was put out one of my sweet little paws to give the painting one tiny biff, just to make myself feel better about it. You could say. How could you argue it was my fault that one of my claws caught in the thread of the canvas and got stuck? No one could blame me for trying to pull my own paw free over and over. The picture did end up looking a bit of a mess, I have to admit. But I felt a whole lot better. I sat on the wall outside and waited. The explosion came soon enough. Look at the mess! My portrait of Tuffy has been torn to bits! It's in shreds! There are bits of painting all over the carpet! Just not on the carpet, isn't that painted ear Up on the dresser! And a bit of tail hanging off the lamp! I found a paw on the windowsill! wailed Ellie. Oh, I certainly spread that portrait of Tuffy about. If anyone was ever going to hang what was left of it on the wall again, they'd have to give it a new Name. They'd have to call it Battle's End. And guess who won? Ellie picked up the frame with all the stringy bits hanging down. Tuffy! she scolded as sternly as she could. Look what you've done to Mummy's very first painting! You destroyed it! What a tragedy! I don't think. And if you want my opinion, they won't be howling with grief down at the art gallery either when they hear the news. Ellie's mother might be clever enough to bring a dead car back to life for long enough to drive it to her art class and back, but she can't paint for toffee. I can paint. better than she can with my paws! And next time she leaves one of her nice new expensive blank white canvas about, I might just prove it! Oh yes indeed, I might!
