Mr Dog and the Rabbit Habit by Ben Fogle

Author:Ben Fogle [Ben Fogle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2019-02-08T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

THE BLACK CAT

Mr Dog turned round quickly to find a black cat sauntering out from behind the wheel of the caravan. She was swishing her tail from side to side. Her green eyes glittered.

‘What is that thing?’ squeaked Shoe.

‘It’s a monster!’ Sneaker squealed. ‘Can it fly?’

‘No,’ said Socks, ‘but your fur will if it catches you. It’s a cat. A big horrible cat!’

‘My name is Kitty and this is my site.’ Her green eyes met Mr Dog’s. ‘Who are you?’

Now, Mr Dog didn’t care much for cats, but he tried to treat them with respect, the same as all the animals he met. He’d known some dogs who loved to chase cats, and known several cats who loved to fight back with a serious scratch to the nose. Mr Dog had the feeling that Kitty fell very much into that group – and since he was rather fond of his nose he decided it was best to be friendly. ‘Greetings, Kitty! My name’s Mr Dog, and my rabbity friends are Socks, Shoe, Flip-Flop and Sneaker. So, this is your site, is it? Congratulations – and may I say that your water dish is definitely a sight for sore eyes!’

‘You drank from my dish. Which means you’re a thief as well as an intruder.’ Kitty looked past him and stared at the rabbits. ‘The humans here would go mad if they saw you all running about. None of you should be here.’ Her eyes glittered as she licked her lips. ‘This place is a Site of Great Historical Importance, you know.’

‘A what of who?’ said Socks, baffled.

Kitty gave him a disdainful look. ‘Have you never heard of archaeology?’

‘Ark-ay-oll-oh-jee?’ Flip-Flop struggled to get her tiny bunny lips around the big word. ‘I’ve never heard of it. Any of you bunnies ever heard of it?’

‘Nope,’ squeaked Sneaker.

‘We’re only two weeks old,’ Shoe explained, ‘we’ve hardly heard of anything!’

‘But I have!’ Mr Dog yelped. ‘Of course. What a silly dog I’ve been!’

‘Keep your woofing down,’ hissed Kitty. ‘Or you’ll wake my servants. Some of them live here on site.’

Mr Dog swung round to Socks and the bunnies, still peeping wide-eyed from the mouth of the tunnel. ‘She doesn’t really have servants. This place is what’s known as a dig. The people in charge here are archaeologists – people who learn about ancient cultures by digging up the things they left behind. Buildings, tools, jewellery …’

‘And old coins! That’s why they were buried in the mud.’ Socks’s nose was twitching with excitement. ‘So, people used to live here long ago?’

Kitty nodded. ‘There was a fort here back in Roman times, so the ground is full of its ruins and old bits and bobs.’

‘But rabbits don’t care about stuff like that, do they?’ Mr Dog reasoned. ‘So why are your “servants” trying to get rid of them?’

‘Because rabbits mess up the whole dig site!’ Kitty glared at Socks, Shoe, Flip-Flop and Sneaker. ‘My servants moan about your lot all the time. Rabbits dig deep into the soil, making their burrows and warrens.

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