Magic Kitten: A Christmas Surprise by Sue Bentley Page B

finished. At the top of the ladder, Molly leaned out further to try and reach a branch near the top of the tree that would look perfect with the bauble she was holding.
    And then she felt the ladder wobble.
    ‘Oops!’ Throwing out her arms, Molly tried to grab something to steady herself, but her fingers closed on thin air. She lost her balance and banged against the tree. It shook wildly and decorations began pinging off in all directions.
    Molly heard the precious baubles smash into tiny pieces as they hitthe carpet. ‘Oh, no!’ she wailed.
    She looked down as she swayed sideways and then everything seemed to happen at once. The ladder and tree both tipped sideways and started to fall to the ground.
    ‘He-elp!’ Molly croaked, tensing her whole body for the painful bruising thud as she hit the carpet.
    Suddenly, the room filled with a dazzling white flash and a shower of silver sparks. Molly felt a strange warm tingling sensation down her spine as she fell. The air whistled past her ears. There was a sudden jolt, but no hard landing.
    To her complete shock, Molly was hovering in mid-air half a metre above the carpet. Swirling all around her wasa snowstorm of brightly sparkling glitter!

    She gasped as she felt herself turning and then drifting gently down to the carpet where she landed on her behind with barely a bump. The sparkling glitter fizzled like a firework and then disappeared.
    Molly sat up shakily and looked around.
    The ladder was upright and the tree was straight and tall once again. The delicate glass baubles were all unbroken and hanging back in place on the branches.
    ‘But… I heard them smash! I don’t get it…’ Molly said to herself. What had just happened? She felt like pinching herself to see if she was dreaming.
    ‘I hope you are not hurt?’ mewed a strange little voice.
    Molly almost jumped out of her skin. ‘Who said that?’ She twisted round, her eyes searching the room.
    Crouching beneath the Christmas tree, Molly saw a tiny fluffy snow-whitekitten. Its silky fur seemed to glitter with a thousand tiny, diamond-bright sparkles and it had the biggest emerald eyes she had ever seen.

Chapter
TWO
    Molly’s eyes widened. She must be more confused and shaken up by her fall than she’d thought. She’d just imagined that the kitten had spoken to her!
    She looked at the kitten again and now its silky white fur and bushy tail looked normal. Perhaps it had wandered in when her dad left the door open onhis way to the garage. ‘Hello. Where’ve you come from?’ she said, kneeling up and reaching a hand towards it.
    ‘I come from far away,’ the kitten mewed. ‘When I saw you fall I used my magic to save you. I am sorry if I startled you.’
    Molly gasped and pulled her hand back as if she had been burned. ‘You… you can talk!’ she stammered.
    The kitten blinked up at her with wide green eyes. Despite its tiny size, it didn’t seem to be too afraid of her. ‘Yes. My name is Prince Flame. What is yours?’
    ‘Molly. Molly Paget,’ Molly said. Her mind was still whirling and she couldn’t seem to take this all in. But she didn’t want to scare this amazing kitten away,so she sat back on her heels and tried to stay as small as possible. ‘Um… I don’t know how you did it, but thanks for helping me. I could have hurt myself badly.’
    ‘You are welcome,’ Flame purred and his tiny kitten face took on a serious look. ‘Can you help me, Molly? I need somewhere to hide.’

    ‘Why do you need to do that?’ Molly asked.
    Flame’s emerald eyes lit up with anger. ‘I am heir to the Lion Throne. My uncle Ebony has stolen it and rules in my place. He wants to keep my throne, so he sends his spies to find me.’
    ‘ Lion Throne?’ Molly said doubtfully, looking at the tiny kitten in front of her.
    Flame didn’t answer. He backed away from the Christmas tree and before Molly knew what was happening she was blinded by another bright silver flash. For a moment she couldn’t see