What the Witch Left Read Online Free Page A

she said, “I think Nora’s right. We ought to keep the cat till we can find out where it belongs.”
    Mr. Cooper shook his head. “You’re just trying to adopt that cat into the family. I want you to put it outdoors right now.”
    “But, Daddy, it might rain. Didn’t you hear the thunder?” Nora held the cat close. “I promise you won’t see the cat tomorrow.”
    “Oh, all right,” said Mr. Cooper. “I only wish Tad were here. He’d get rid of that cat fast enough. By the way, where is Tad?”

While her mother and father were looking all over the house for Tad, Nora took the cat upstairs. She went back into her own room and put the cat on a chair.
    “Now you’d better stay there, Tad, or I’ll have to put you outdoors.” Nora sat onher bed. “It’s all your own fault. You were such a pig about that fudge. I wonder why you didn’t turn into a pig.”
    The cat meowed and seemed to be trying to explain, but Nora couldn’t understand.
    She went on talking to Tad, even though it seemed like talking to herself because she couldn’t understand his answers. “It seems that three pieces of fudge made you act like a cat, and four made you turn into one. After this you’d better let me take charge of any fudge we get. You have no self-control.”
    Nora had an idea. Her room was at the front of the house. A little ledge ran under the windows of all the houses on the block. Nora went to herwindow and opened it. “Tad, climb over to Maggie’s window and get some more fudge.”
    The cat shook his head.
    Nora went on. “I suppose you mean you’ve had enough fudge. But I don’t want you to eat it. Just get it, and I’ll keep it till we need it.”
    The cat didn’t move.
    “Come on, Tad,” said Nora, “you’ve always been a good climber. Just think how good you’ll be now that you’re a cat.”
    The cat pricked up his ears.
    Nora took the plastic bag her new socks had come in. “Put the fudge in this,” she said. The cat held the bag in his mouth. Nora put him on the ledge outside the window. He picked his way along the ledge to Maggie’s window. Nora saw him use both paws to shove it open. Then he jumped into the witch’s apartment.
    “Nora,” her mother was calling,“where is Tad? Do you think he’s run away because I punished him last night?”
    Nora opened her door and went to the head of the stairs. “He went to Mrs. Brown’s to get something.”
    “I hope you children aren’t making a nuisance of yourselves next door.” Mrs. Cooper went back to finish cleaning up the kitchen.
    Nora returned to her room. She decided to do her homework while she was waiting for Tad.
    Nora copied all her spelling words three times over. She did examples A through F on page thirty-six of her arithmetic book. Then she read a chapter in her reader. Tad had still not come back. Nora began to worry.
    It shouldn’t take so long just to stuff a few pieces of fudge into a plastic bag. Nora went to her window and leaned out. Maggie’s window was dark. Suppose thewitch had caught Tad? She might be torturing him right now. It was all Nora’s fault. She was older than Tad. She never should have sent him to steal the fudge.
    Nora knew it was wrong to steal. She decided to take the horseshoe and go and ring Maggie Brown’s bell.
    She was about to run out of the room when she saw a dark shape crawl out of the witch’s window. It crept along the ledge toward Nora.
    It was the yellow cat. He was carrying the plastic bag in his mouth. It was so full of fudge that he could hardly lift it.
    As soon as Tad was inside her room Nora took the bag of fudge away from him. She put it in her desk drawer, locked the drawer, and took the key out of the lock. “I don’t want you to get into it again,” she said.
    Tad meowed something.
    “I wish I knew what took you so long,”
    Nora said, “but you’ll have to tell me tomorrow.” She picked up the cat, carried him down the hall to Tad’s room, and shut the door.
    Before Mrs.