HarperElement
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
First published as Ben’s Gift by HarperCollins 2010
This edition published by HarperElement 2018
SECOND EDITION
© Julia Romp and Megan Lloyd Davies 2010
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018
Cover photographs © John Daniels/Ardea.com (cat); Shutterstock.com (background)
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
Julia Romp asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
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Source ISBN: 9780007382743
Ebook Edition © DECEMBER 2015 ISBN: 9780007382750
Version: 2018-02-15
For George, who opened my eyes to your world and what a
wonderful place it can be, and in loving memory of my dad
Colin, who gave me the laughter that I try to
pass on to George every day.
Contents
When it came to first impressions, Ben didn’t exactly shine. He wasn’t a small, pretty kitten with a blaze of ginger hair or even a sleek adult cat with a shining tortoiseshell coat. In fact, his black and white fur was covered in dried blood, his red rump was completely bare and his thin tail looked more like a hairy twig. Thankfully, I couldn’t tell by looking at him that he was also home to scores of fleas and ear mites.
But as off-putting as he looked, when the sickly stray started visiting my garden I left out food, because I’ve always been soft when it comes to animals. Even my pet rabbit Fluffy lives in a shed that I painted with bright flowers – it’s like the Ritz for rabbits – so I made up a bed for the cat in a carrier, which I left in the shed, hoping it would sleep there. The stray was looking worse each day and, I thought, once it felt at home in the carrier, I’d shut the door and take