In this YouTube Storytime segment, Lois Letchford reads Chapter 6, “Screams and Tears,” from Anne Fine’s children’s book The Killer Cat’s Christmas. The chapter is narrated from the cat’s point of view and details the cat’s growing irritation with a child named Ellie, who constantly pets, fusses over, and sings off‑key for the cat’s sake. The cat’s frustration culminates in a tiny accidental scratch on Ellie’s arm when the cat tries to stop her stroking. Ellie’s family—her parents, Uncle Brian, and Aunt Anne—rush in, overreact dramatically, and obsess over the minuscule bead of blood, with Uncle Brian shouting about rabies despite Ellie’s vaccinations. Feeling misunderstood and fed up, the cat retreats to a dark cupboard, hiding from the chaos and dreading the upcoming Christmas. The video concludes with Lois’s typical YouTube outro, encouraging viewers to like and subscribe.
Welcome to Storytime with Lois Letchford. This week we're reading The Killer Cat's Christmas by Anne Fine.
Hello, I am Lois Letchford reading from Anne Fine's The Killer Cat's Christmas, chapter 6, Screams and Tears. All right, all right, so spank me. I lost my temper. You would have lost yours too, faster than I did probably. I was so sick of being petted and fussed over and sung to by Ellie. The trouble is that Ellie has a voice like one of those corn-crack birds that are supposed to be famous for singing like 2 sticks being rubbed together. In fact, if you want my opinion, 2 sticks being rubbed together would make a much, much nicer noise than Ellie does When she sings. Folding her arms around me, she began that stupid song for the 90th time. I love little Posse, her coat is so warm, and if you don't hurt her, she'll do me no harm. Well, she was dead wrong, wasn't she? Because it was a nasty scratch I gave her. Mind you, it was not. Deliberate? I was just putting up a paw to try to stop her stroking me. So how was I supposed to guess that she had just decided her show would be much better—
So how was I supposed to guess that she had just decided her show would be much better if she suddenly leaned down to kiss me on the nose? Me! A cat? If you ask me, she was pretty well asking for trouble. As you can imagine, 3 were screams and tears. Her mom and dad and Uncle Brian and Aunt Anne rushed in to find out what was going on, and suddenly everyone was peering at this teensy-weensy little bead of blood on Ellie's arm. You practically had to have a microscope even to see it. And Uncle Brian was turning round and round in circles, shouting about rabies. Rabies. I was a bit put out, I can tell you. For one thing, Ellie's had her shots, and for another, mad dogs and bats and things that give you rabies, not a musically gifted cat who simply had enough of hearing someone singing like 2 sticks rubbed together. I tell you, I was so fed up that I walked out. Nobody noticed because they were all still fussing over Ellie, and that's how I ended up inside a cupboard all alone in the dark. Just 2 big staring eyes hiding from everyone, misunderstood as usual, and not at all looking forward to Christmas Day. In fact, I was hoping that the whole idea of special little nursery rhyme show would go away forever. If you enjoyed this video, please be sure to leave a like and subscribe.
