books

The ‘Dog Who Could Speak Cat’ is the first of four stories taken from the secretly kept Blog of Miss Toast, a pug with literary ambitions. She lives with her owner, Slippers, at ‘Bed & Bones’ a lively Guest House for dogs and faithfully records the adventures of the four legged guests who stay there. Some of these guests have becomes close friends and she likes to refer to them as ‘The Bones Gang’

One of the Gang, a frequent long stay visitor is another pug, named Gertrude. She’s a fearless animal with a nose for trouble and the cautious Miss Toast, much against her better judgment, finds herself constantly dragged into all kinds of risky schemes which her Bloggers’s heart can’t resist.

Our first story is from Miss Toast’s Spring Blog. It concerns Thor, the dog who can not only speak Cat but many other animal languages as well. He lives on a houseboat near The Zoo and when Miss Toast and Gertrude arrive on a weekend visit, Thor’s desire to show off his language skills as they all scamper round the zoo gets the two friends perilously involved in the arrival of a new gorilla. In the confusion Miss Toast gets locked in with the tigers but Gertrude and Thor save the day with a daringly brilliant idea.

Further episodes from Miss Toast’s Blog are being prepared – translated by Nuala from the original ‘Dog’!

A Summer holiday at the seaside where Gertrude attacks the Punch and Judy man on the beach, as she doesn’t like his violent behaviour towards Toby, the puppet dog. She causes chaos, but is then instrumental in saving a little boy trapped by the incoming tide.

Then, an Autumnal midnight visit to the old Victorian graveyard, where the two dogs accompanied by Thor fall in with the local foxes and become embroiled in some scary, mysterious events.

Finally, a case of mistaken identity and Miss Toast’s angry reporting of Gertrude’s intrusion into the Christmas Pantomime at the little local theatre. The triumph that gives Gertrude her a reputation as an entertainer.

©Nuala Willis 2014