In a small house in a small town, there lived three little kittens. Their names were Jackie, Jamie and Johnnie. They all had black and white fur, cute little pink noses and collars around their fluffy necks. Their owner was a sweet old lady who adored them and loved to spend time and talk with them. Their mother, Queenie, also lived with them. She would always lick them and feed them and hold them close when they were asleep. These three little kittens lived a wonderful life, until one day, when they woke up and saw that their mother had disappeared! Their poor owner was looking for her frantically and even made some posters to put outside just in case someone found her. They waited around a whole day yet there was no sign of her, and their owner had quit looking for her for the day. She hugged the little kittens close with a sad expression on her face, until she fell asleep on her rocking chair.

The three kittens decided that they had waited long enough and decided to look for their mother themselves. So, in the dead of night, they snuck out without the knowledge of their owner and began their search for their beloved mother. They decided to ask the other animals on the block if they had seen her. First, they saw a dog chewing on a bone and decided to ask him. “Oh Mr. Dog, have you seen our mother? She is a cat with black and white fur, a little pink nose and a collar”, hearing this, the dog stopped chewing on his bone and told them, “I have not seen a cat like that, little kittens. Try asking the blue fish from the nearby pond, maybe he has seen her.” Thanking the dog, they continued on with their journey until they saw the blue fish that the dog was talking about swimming around in a little pond.

Going up to the fish, they asked him, “Oh Mr. Fish, have you seen our mother?  She is a cat with black and white fur, a little pink nose and a collar”, hearing this, the blue fish stopped swimming and said, “I have not seen a cat like that, little kittens. Try asking the rabbit that lives in the meadows, maybe she has seen her.” Thanking the blue fish, they continued on with their journey until they reached a meadow where they saw a burrow. They called out inside the burrow, “Oh Mrs. Rabbit, have you seen our mother? She is a cat with black and white fur, a little pink nose and a collar”, hearing this the rabbit popped out from her burrow and responded, “I have not seen a cat like that, little kittens. Try asking the snake that lives that lives further down this meadow, maybe he has seen her.” Thanking the rabbit, they continued on their journey. While walking they noticed that the sun had begun to rise, their owner would wake up soon, so they’d had to get back home fast.

They saw a snake coiled up on the grass, as they approached the snake, they heard rustling coming from the nearby bushes. All of a sudden, a man came out of the bushes and caught them in a net. They started mewling and crying out for help as the man laughed and started walking back to where he came from. But then, upon hearing their cries and mewls, the snake shot up and bit the man on the leg with this sharp venomous fangs. While the man was screaming in agony and trying to get the blood to stop, the snake beckoned them to follow him. They agreed to follow him yet kept a keen eye on all of his movements, as their owner had always told them never to trust a snake. After walking for a while, they reached a broken-down house. Before entering, the snake turned towards them and told them, “I saw that man bring a black and white cat in here, I followed him and entered the house once he left. I approached the panicked cat and asked her what happened. She told me that she had gone outside to use the bathroom, when that man grabbed her and put her in a cage.” the snake continued, “She looked scared and asked me to keep and eye out for her three kittens, all with black and white, cute pink noses and matching red collars. She told me her name was Queenie, are you Jackie, Jammie and Johnnie?”. Excitedly, the kittens nodded their heads and said, “Yes! We’ve been looking for her all day, where is she?”, hearing this, the snake pushed the door open and led them to a cage where there sat a sleeping cat. The cat first opened her eyes slightly, and then, upon seeing her little kittens, her eyes burst open and she put her face to the bars of the cage and exclaimed, “My kittens! I was so worried about you, what are you doing here?”. The kittens told her their story about how they had come to look for her, who they talked to, the man who tried to take them away, and the snake who saved them brought them here.

            Queenie looked towards the snake with a smile and said, “Thank you so much for finding and saving them!”. The snake smiled back and said, “No need to thank me, I’m always happy to help.” Jackie then used one of her claws to undo the lock on the cage door, it opened, and their mother rushed out and licked and rubbed up against them. After reuniting with one another, the cats and the snake went their own separate ways. Upon returning home the cats saw their owner standing outside on the doorstep calling out for the with a worried expression on her face. When they came closer and she laid eyes on them her worried expression was replaced with a joyful one. “Where have you been? I was worried sick when I saw you were nowhere to be found, I thought I’d lost all of you! Come inside dears, I’ll run you a bath and get you some milk.” After being bathed and fed, they all lied down on their bed and snuggled up against each other. Safe and warm once again, they kissed each other goodnight and went to sleep. There truly is no place like home!