Read Online Night of the Werecat by R.L. Stine - Free Book Online Page B

girls who are so interested in cats would have heard of me,” Mrs. Bast said indignantly. “I use my house as a grooming parlor.”
    Wendy tried to understand what Mrs. Bast was saying. Could it be true? Could Mrs. Bast be an ordinary woman, and not a witch after all?
    â€œWhy were you sprinkling powder on the cat?” Wendy asked.
    â€œWhy, to clean her coat,” Mrs. Bast replied. “If you sprinkle a little cornstarch on a cat, it will absorb dirt. A free grooming tip.” She winked at Wendy.
    Wendy almost laughed out loud. She’d been so silly! Thinking Mrs. Bast was a witch! It was because of that stupid charm. But the werecat nightmare was over.
    â€œThanks again, Mrs. Bast,” she said cheerfully. “And we’ll tell all our friends what a great cat groomer you are!”
    Wendy skipped out of Mrs. Bast’s yard. Tina followed slowly. She stared down at the ground.
    â€œTina, what’s wrong?” Wendy asked. Then she realized—Shalimar! Wendy was so thrilled about getting rid of the werecat charm that she had forgotten about the missing cat. Tina must feel terrible, Wendy thought. They still hadn’t found Shalimar, and they had lost his trail completely.
    â€œCome on,” Wendy declared. “Let’s keep looking.”
    They retraced their steps back to Tina’s house, calling his name, searching the alleys. No luck.
    When they entered Tina’s backyard, Wendy could see Tina fighting back tears. “What if we never find him?” Tina asked sadly.
    But Wendy was too relieved and happy to believe anything bad could happen to Shalimar. “Don’t even think that!” she scolded her friend. “We’ll put up posters, we’ll call the animal shelter, we’ll—”
    Tina interrupted her. “Look!” she cried. She pointed to her back steps.
    There he was. Sleeping peacefully.
    â€œShal!” Tina raced over to her pet. “Oh, Shal, are you all right?” She hugged him tightly to her. He gave a little mew and a sleepy yawn.
    â€œOkay, Shal, into the house,” Wendy called. She opened the kitchen door. At the sound of Wendy’s voice, the Siamese wriggled out of Tina’s arms and streaked into the house. He raced down into the basement.
    â€œWhoa!” Tina exclaimed. “I never saw him go into the basement on purpose before.”
    â€œHe’s never been outside before,” Wendy reminded her. “He’s probably still scared.”
    And I know just how he feels, Wendy thought. It can be scary being a cat!
    She smiled. That was all behind her now.
    *  *  *
    That night Wendy sat at her desk working on her homework. But her mind wandered, thinking over the strange events of the past week.
    So werecats really exist, she thought. It wasn’t just a story.
    Now that it was over, she could admit how much she enjoyed being a cat. There were many scary things about life as a werecat, but she was glad it happened.
    She loved being able to see in the dark. Her cat senses made everything exciting. The prowling, the roaming—it was all thrilling. She especially loved her cat confidence.
    But she hated feeling out of control. Each time she transformed she became wilder.
    And the black werecat! It almost killed her. It probably would have, the next time.
    But there wasn’t going to be a next time.
    Wendy got up and gazed out the window. The full moon was rising high above the old tree in her yard.
    Full moon. Mrs. Bast said the werecat was wildest at the full moon. And, Wendy remembered, once the werecat experienced the first full moon, the human and the werecat are completely blended. There is nothing human in the werecat, and the werecat’s instincts come out even during the day.
    Wendy shuddered. She was so glad she wouldn’t transform tonight.
    Wendy glanced into the yard. It was a perfect night to prowl. She could almost feel the soft grass beneath her paws,