Children`s Cat Stories.

Rory's Story. Rory the tiger is having a terrible time! he has a new baby sister. She is very small and cries a lot, and she waves little, clenched paws in the air. Rory does not know what to think of her. She is too small to play with him. He is afraid to hold her in case she slips. Now his mother and father are always busy. "Will you cuddle me?" asks Rory. "In a minute," says Mother Tiger. "First I have to feed the baby." Rory waits..... "Will you cuddle me now?" asks Rory. "Soon," says Mother Tiger. "First I have to wash the baby's ears." Rory waits..... "Will you give me a ride on your back?" asks Rory. "Soon," says Mother Tiger. "First I have to wah the baby's face." Rory waits..... "Will you give me a ride on your back now?" asks Rory. "Soon," says Mother Tiger. "First I have to wash the baby's tail." Rory sighs and goes to see if his father will play with him. "Will you climb a tree with me?" Rory aks Father Tiger. "Soon," says Father Tiger, "But first I have to finish tidying the den." Rory waits..... "Will you climb a tree now.? asks Rory. "Soon." says Father Tiger. "First I have to teach the baby how to growl. Do you want to help?" "No," says Rory, feeling a little bit left out, and sad, and bored. Everyone is so busy. Rory goes outside. Hippo comes bouncing along the path. "Hi!" says Hippo. "Shall we play a game?" "Okay," says Rory, grinning, "What shall we play?" Crocodiles! They have a fun game! First Hippo pretends to be a crocodile chasing Rory. Then Rory pretends to be a crocodile chasing Hippo. The two friens run in circles until they fall over, laughing and kicking their legs in the air They pretend to SNAP! big crocodiles teeth. SNIP SNAP! Growwwl! Mother Tiger opens the door, looking angry. "Ssshh, you two!" she says. "You are making too much noise. You will wake the baby..... there, she is crying already." Mother Tiger goes back indoors Rory and Hippo can hear the little cub crying, but after a while the sound stops. "Lets take a look" says Hippo "I haven't seen your new baby sister yet." So they tip-toe inside. Mother Tiger is holding the baby and singing softly to her. "Hush little tiger, don't growl and cry, Mama's going to sing you a lullaby. The jungle is green, the sky is blue, Your brother Rory wants to cuddle you." "No I don't!" says Rory, "I don't know how." "It's easy." says Mother Tiger. "Sit down and I'll show you." Mother Tiger brings the baby over to Rory. Suddenly, there is Rory's new baby sister, all cuddled up on his lap. She feels warm and soft. She smiles. Rory smiles back. "You're nice," says Rory. His baby sister makes a gurgly growl back. She clasps his paw tight. Then she closes her eyes and falls asleep. Mother Tiger puts the baby back into her snug corner of the den. Rory and Hippo creep back outside to play a quite game. "She's okay, my baby sister," Says Rory to Hippo. "She's cute," says Hippo "You're lucky, Rory." Now Rory tells everyone in the jungle about his new baby sister. "She's soft and warm!" he says. "She can clench her fists!" he smiles "And she's got a gurgly growl!" he grins. Then he practices his own lullaby to sing to his little sister, "Hush little sister, don't cry at all, Rory will hold you so you won't fall. The jungle is green, the sky is blue, Your brother Rory is proud of you." Written by Gill davies and Lynne Gibbs.