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Library of Congress Control Number: 2026941198
ISBN (HB): 978-1-63655-220-0
ISBN (EBOOK): 978-1-63655-221-7 26 27 28 29 TLF 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition Manufactured in China Red Comet Press is distributed by ABRAMS, New York
CAT CAPERS
TWISTED WISHES
Diego Vaisberg · DGPH Studio · Translated by Jay Noden
RED COMET PRESS • BROOKLYN
Meet Calico, a clever and curious stray cat. Her coat is three different colors, and she has earned a reputation for getting into trouble.
She lives on the rooftops of a bustling city, where irresistible smells hang in the air and a playground of alleyways awaits her below.
One sunny afternoon, while racing after a tasty-looking pigeon . . .
. . . Calico, in her excitement, took a wrong step . . .
“Great. Now I smell like last week’s trash!” she muttered, shaking herself dry.
As she got up, a glimmer of light caught her eye. Peering through a small crack in the brick wall was a shiny, golden figure—a little mouse glowing like the sun. He wore a small crown made of what looked like . . . cheese?
G O LDEN M O U SE
“Hello, Calico!” it squeaked in a voice so high-pitched that she had to stop herself from giggling. “I’m the magical Golden Mouse! And since you’ve found me, I’m going to grant you three wishes!”
Calico blinked in astonishment. Who was this mouse, and how did he know her name? “Hang on a minute. Three wishes?” asked Calico suspiciously. “I thought I’d fallen into a sewer, not a fairy tale!”
“Oh, it’s definitely both. So what do you want? Fame? Treasure? A lifetime’s supply of tuna?” he suggested, polishing his crown.
Calico scratched her head. This couldn’t be happening. But hey, three wishes were three wishes!
“Okay, let’s give it a try. For my first wish, I want the most delicious food a cat could ever wish to taste!”
GOLDEN MOUSE’S NOSE TWITCHED AND . . .
Outofnowhereappearedaplate, brimmingwith...
Calico stared at it, swishing her tail disappointedly.
coli
Broccoli?! I’m a cat! Where’s the grilled fish? Where’s the roast chicken?
“Well, you should have said,” replied the mouse, shrugging his shoulders.
You told me you wanted “the most delicious food,” and I’ve heard some creatures love broccoli! Try it, you might like it.
Calico sighed, thought for a moment, and then his whiskers twitched with excitement.
“Well, then for my second wish, I want . . . a towering mountain of fish! Delicious fresh fish, all for me!”
Golden Mouse twitched his nose, wiggled his tail, and . . .
POof!
A huge heap of fish appeared in the sewer, their fishy bodies flapping and slippery tails wriggling!
Calico’s eyes lit up. “Yessss! Fresh fish forever!”
The pile of fish didn’t just have mouthwatering salmon, scrummy tuna, and delicious cod, it also had ferocious piranhas, terrifying sharks, electric eels, and crabs with enormous pincers, among a host of other bizarre-looking creatures.
Calico cowered out of sight, trembling with fear, while the fish swam away down the stinking sewer river.
“What was that?!” Calico shouted. The mouse was baffled; wasn’t that just what she’d asked for?
Calico sighed and gathered her thoughts.
“Okay, well, lesson learned, I suppose. For my third wish, I want a huge hoard of shiny treasures! This time, no revolting vegetables or sharp, pointy teeth!”
Golden Mouse squeaked again, closed his eyes, and with another poof! conjured up an enormous pile of shiny treasures . . .
. . . made entirely of bottle caps, junk-food wrappers, and glittering scraps of foil.
Poof!
Calico lowered her ears in disappointment.
You call this treasure? It’s nothing but garbage!
“Well, it’s treasure to someone!” said Golden Mouse with a wink. “I have a magpie friend who would love all that sparkle in her nest.”
Calico couldn’t believe what was happening.
I’ve had enough of this. I just want to go home, please!
“Oh, don’t worry, I can take care of that,” Golden Mouse said. He wiggled his nose and waggled his tail one last time, and then . . .
Calico was on her beloved rooftop again— above the alleyways—the hum of the city all around her. The delicious smell of fish in the air, the traffic jams and car horns in the distance . . . everything as it should be.
Home sweet home.
She sighed with relief, glad to be out of that stinky sewer, and settled down into her favorite spot where she often liked to bask in the sunshine.
Did that really happen, or was it just a crazy dream?
She was just starting to close her eyes when, suddenly, an amused, highpitched squeak came from the ledge. Lovely afternoon, isn’t it?
Startled, she opened her eyes. There, sitting on a tin of sardines, was Golden Mouse polishing his cheese crown.
What are you doing here?!
“I think this sunny rooftop is much better than my hole in the stinky sewers,” said the mouse with a grin.
“I guess we’ll be roommates from now on.”
Calico glared at the mouse. He was already nibbling on a slice of pizza he’d found lying on the tiles.
Golden Mouse chuckled.
“It’s funny how things work out, don’t you think? Sometimes we just want more and more . . . But you know what? All I wished for was a new best friend.”
Golden Mouse snuggled onto Calico, covered himself with a dried leaf, and said, “Wishes can come true.”
Shaking her head, Calico sighed. “I should have wished for a bigger bed.”
