The Cat Who Came in Off the Roof by Annie M.G. Schmidt

It’s going to be in the paper at last… Tibble is writing!”
    When Tibble had finished the article, he took it in to the paper.
    In the newspaper building, he met the Editorial Cat. For the first time the cat looked up at him with respect and appreciation.
    And after he had delivered his article and was crossing Green Square on the way home, he noticed a lot more cats than usual out on the street. They came up to him, brushed past his legs affectionately and called out, “Well done… finally!”
    He didn’t understand them, but he got the meaning.
     
    Mr Ellmore was sitting in the office of the Editor of the
Killenthorn Courier.
    Today’s newspaper was open on the desk and Ellmore was pointing at an article.
    “What’s the meaning of this?” he asked. He was pale and his voice was trembling with anger.
    Now it was the Editor who was biting his nails nervously. “I’m afraid I didn’t know anything about it,” he said. “I’ve only just read it… it got into the paper without my knowing.”
    “That doesn’t make any difference,” Ellmore shouted. “This is slander. And it’s
your
newspaper.”
    The Editorial Cat sat on the window sill listening with big, shocked eyes and its ears up.
    “I’m terribly sorry,” the Editor sighed. “The young man who wrote this is always extremely reliable… he writes excellent articles. It’s never just rumours, it’s always the truth and—”
    “Are you claiming
this
is the truth?” Ellmore screamed.
    “Oh, no, no, most definitely not…”
    My Editor is a coward too, thought the Editorial Cat.
    “I just meant that I’ve never needed to read his articles beforehand… they’ve always been correct. That’s how this got in the paper without my knowing.”
    “I demand,” said Ellmore, pounding the table with his fist, “I
demand
that this young man writes a new article today setting this straight.”
    “An excellent solution,” said the relieved Editor. “I’ll make sure of it.”
    The Editorial Cat had heard enough. He jumped down from the window sill and hurried up to the roof to tell Minou.
    “Listen…” said the cat.
    Minou listened.
    “Thanks,” she said.
    And she went inside to tell Tibble.
    “So,” said Tibble. “Now I know what to expect.”
    The telephone rang. It was Tibble’s boss.
    “I have to go into work,” Tibble told Minou a little later. “He wants to talk to me right away.”
    Nine pairs of cats’ eyes watched him walk down the stairs.
     
    “I’m making a very reasonable request, Tibble,” said the Editor. “You’ve made an enormous blunder. You’ve written something that has offended one of Killenthorn’s best-known and most respected citizens. Your article’s not just offensive, it’s also
untrue
. Where on earth did you get such a ridiculous idea? That it was Mr Ellmore who crashed into the fish stall!”
    “It’s true,” said Tibble.
    “What proof have you got? Where’s the evidence? Who are your witnesses? Who saw it happen?”
    “A few people know about it,” Tibble said.
    “Really. Who? And why haven’t they said anything?”
    “They’re scared of Mr Ellmore. He’s got them under his thumb. They don’t dare to speak up.”
    “Well,” his boss sighed. “It all sounds extremely unlikely to me. But, as I said, you’ve got a chance to make up for it. All you have to do is write a nice article about Mr Ellmore. Stating clearly, of course, that it was all your fault and a stupid mistake. And that you’re sorry. And besides that, he asked if you could write something nice about the Deodorant Factory. How great it is to work in the factory. And about all the lovely fragrances you can get in a spray can. And how terrible it would be if we didn’t have any deodorant… How much everyone would stink… Anyway, you get the idea… And how essential it is that the factory be expanded. So you’re going to do that today, Tibble. Agreed?”
    “No,” said Tibble.
    It went quiet for a moment. The