The Killer Cat's Christmas By Anne Fine - Chapter 8 | Storybook For Children

24 Feb 2024 · 4 min

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In this storytime video, Lois Letchford reads Chapter 8 of Anne Fine’s The Killer Cat’s Christmas. The chapter follows the mischievous cat narrator as the group of cats prepares a nursery‑rhyme performance for a Christmas show. Lucilla chooses the rhyme “Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been?” and boasts about a crown made of wine‑gum jewels, which the narrator dismisses. Ellie protests, recalling a painful part of the rhyme where a cat frightens a mouse. The narrator feels judged for “chasing half‑dead mousies” and, after being excluded, sulks under the Christmas tree, watching his tail flick like a brush. The cats eventually switch to a new rhyme, “Three Little Mittens, They Lost Their Mittens,” prompting a frantic search for mittens and cat toys. While the others are away, the narrator gleefully bats glittery ornaments off the tree, recalling a personal scoring system for how many ornaments fall and roll, celebrating his mischievous “practice makes perfect” attitude. The reading blends humorous cat‑centric commentary, holiday mischief, and playful rivalry among the feline characters.

Chapters

Welcome to Storytime with Lois Letchford. This week we're reading The Killer Cat's Christmas by Anne Fine. Hello, I'm Lois Letchford, author of the book Reverse Time Weimar, reading from Anne Fine's The Killer Cat's Christmas, chapter 8, Chasing Half-Dead Mousies. Now it was Lucilla's turn to be the star of the Which nursery rhyme will you choose? they asked her. Lucilla hugged herself with glee. I'm going to sing Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been? I've been up to London to visit the Queen. Then I can wear the lovely, lovely crown in the dressing-up box. These 3 can get excited about anything! The jewels on that lovely, lovely crown are stuck-on wine gums. I know that for sure because I've licked them. Ellie wasn't happy with Lucilla's choice. Oh, please don't let's do that one. I always cry when it gets to the bit that says, pussycat, pussycat, what did you do there? I frightened a little mouse under her chair. Why? Lancelot said. There was silence. They all looked at me as if I was a criminal. As if I spent my whole life chasing half-dead mousies around the house. I was offended, if you want to know. They wouldn't open the door, so I just went and sat under the Christmas tree, next to the presents. Okay, okay, so I was sulking. But how is it my fault that my tail was flicking from side to side? I am a cat, and that's what happens to our tails when we get cross. My tail's a part of me. From my point of view, it's just the end of my bottom. And you don't spend all day looking to see exactly what's going on at the end of your bottom, do you? Well, neither do I. So how was I supposed to notice that it was acting like a little furry brush and flicking all of those silly little labels off and out of sight under the carpet? It took them ages to finally Finally, they managed to choose another rhyme for their show. 3 Little Mittens, They Lost Their Mittens, decided Lucilla. Yes, perfect! Delly said. We can use Tuffy and 2 soft cat toys. Use Tuffy? Excuse me, what am I now, a kitchen towel or something? Nobody uses me! Now Lancelot was pitching in. And we'll need 12 little mittens. I looked up. Mittens? On my paws? Oh no, no, no, no, no, not even if they made me star of the show! But they were already rushing off to look for what they needed. While they were gone, I had a little laugh, reaching up to bat a few of those glittery balls off the tree. Just last year, I gave myself 5 points if they fell down among the presents, and a bonus 5 if they rolled onto the carpet. I got 120 points in all. Excellent score, even better than last year. But that's practicing for you. You know what they say, practice makes perfect.