Wayne, the racing squirrel, won so many Catsville squirrel races that he soon ranked as the supreme Catsville champion racing squirrel, and Oliver - the Mighty Mouser in charge of his training - decided one fine summer day that it was time to enter him for The Squirrel Cup.
The Squirrel Cup was a race held in Squirrel City once a year to find the fastest squirrel of all, with a big silver cup presented by the Squirrel City beauty queen as first prize, along with a free supply of hazel nuts for life. Every young racing squirrel in Squirrelland, and racing squirrels from all over the animal world, gathered at the Squirrel City race course to compete in the preliminary heats, and of course they all hoped to carry off not only the cup, and the free hazel nuts, but also the beauty queen as well, because she was always simply fabulous, and very sweet and nice into the bargain.
Oliver made Wayne train very hard. First he had to get up early in the morning and race along the squirrel wires upside down for half an hour, then swim for another half hour, and then eat just a small bowl of nuts - because Wayne was always hungry after his swims.
Then he was allowed two hours free time, which he generally spent jumping from tree to tree in the squirrel compound, practising his grip and keeping his balance, because balance and grip are very important in squirrel racing. Then he was allowed to nap for half an hour, before racing along railings, because competitors for the Squirrel Cup had to run some of the eliminating races upside down along wires strung between high poles, before racing along wooden rails right way up for the Cup itself.
Then he took another nap, swam another swim, ate another bowl of nuts, and started his training routine all over again.
Wayne grumbled a good deal, because Oliver's training programme was really very tough. But the Mighty Mousers took it in turns to time him, and soon realised that he was racing faster than ever before.
‘You're going to be a real star,’ Nathaniel told him after one training session, when all six Mighty Mousers had gathered to cheer him on, because Nathaniel considered himself a bit of an expert on racing, as his father sold some very fast cars.
‘We'll send off your entry form today,’ nodded Oliver. Fluffy smiled her most encouraging smile, because she had a vision of Wayne on Squirrel-tv, telling the whole animal world what marvellous friends he had, with herself looking beautiful in the background. ‘I think you're going to become a squirrel champion,’ she purred.
Wayne blushed, because he was already dreaming of a beautiful squirrel princess, with sharply pointed ears, and delicate little paws, enormously long silky whiskers, and a tail much bushier than the kittens could ever imagine.
He received a very smart form, decorated all round the edges with a neat row of squirrels, a few days later. The form said he could bring a trainer with him, but all the Mighty Mousers were so keen to go that their parents agreed to pay for them to stay at a squirrel hotel, and Merlin agreed to fly them all to Squirrelland on his magic carpet.
Squirrel City was completely different to Catsville, where the cats all lived in neat little homes surrounded by neat little gardens along neat little streets. The squirrels lived in tree nests, with shops and a town hall built like tree houses on platforms of branches, travelled from tree to tree along thick ropes, and cultivated orchards of apple trees and nut bushes.
Fortunately they also had a hotel at the airport for other small animals. But the kittens had to allow the squirrel Customs to check their bags first, because the Squirrel Cup organisers were very strict about drugs and stimulants capable of making squirrels race faster than normal.
The squirrel customs officers were very polite young animals in smart blue jackets with gold buttons, but they grew most suspicious when they found that the kittens had brought little catmint pillows with them to help them sleep.
They held the pillows up to their noses, and sniffed at them carefully, and asked a great number of questions, and then carefully wrote out special permits in squirrel, which looked to the kittens like strings of little scratch marks.
Then the kittens munched on some dry catfood they had brought with them, and collapsed into their beds.
When they woke the following morning they found the hotel full of all kinds of animals, with a family of badgers in a room to one side of them, some miniature deer on the other side, a family of ducks swimming in a special guest pond outside their bedroom window, and several small dogs eating their breakfast on the terrace.
They sampled the hotel catfood, which was quite tasty, but nothing like the catfood they ate at home, and then set off to find Wayne and Oliver, who had a small tree nest all to themselves in the race enclosure.
Wayne was already busy training, doing a really fast lap along a squirrel wire, watched enviously by a group of rival racing squirrels, all of whom obviously thought themselves very handsome animals indeed. The kittens noticed that they also also eyed Oliver from time to time in a rather unkind sort of way, and realised that he was the only trainer not to be a squirrel.
‘They don't like the idea that other animals can be as clever as they are,’ Oliver explained in a whisper. ‘One of them has already complained to the Squirrel Cup Committee, but the Committee told him not to be so jealous.’
Wayne won all his elimination races that day, and the following day as well, and the kittens cheered and cheered, and presented him with a big basket of nuts, which made the jealous racing squirrels whisper together in a most unpleasant way.
The Squirrel Cup itself was set for the afternoon of the third day. But a group of very official looking squirrels with red sashes across their fur marched up to Wayne after breakfast, just as he was running up and down a tree to get himself into a Cup-winning mood.
‘Somebody has written us a letter, saying you are taking drugs,’ said the largest of the red-sashed squirrels, looking very fierce, and he waved a piece of paper, all covered in squirrel language scratches. The group of jealous racing squirrels stood around in the background, muttering together.
Wayne looked astonished. ‘Never,’ he said. ‘I'm a proper racing squirrel. I don't do things like that.’
‘We'll have to test you,’ the large red-sashed squirrel said coldly. He was called Mr. Nutcracker, and he was not only the chairman of the Squirrel Cup Committee, but also the Squirrel City beauty queen's uncle, so he felt it his duty to make quite sure everything about the Cup was as clean as clean could be.
Wayne had to let the red-sashed squirrels test his fur, and examine his paws, and carry out various other tests. Then one of the jealous racing squirrels sidled up to Mr. Nutcracker, holding Oliver's catmint pillow. The jealous squirrel whispered into Mr. Nutcracker's ear, and Mr. Nutcracker looked at the little pillow with the deepest suspicion.
‘What's this?’ he snapped, in a voice that made it plain he considered the pillow to be very doubtful indeed.
‘It's catmint, it helps me to sleep,’ replied Oliver. But he could not speak squirrel very well, and Wayne had to help him.
The jealous squirrels began to mutter even louder, and a crowd of other squirrels gathered to see what was going on.
‘You mean it's a sleeping drug?’ Mr. Nutcracker dropped the pillow as if it might bite him.
‘It's a herb we grow in Catsville,’ Oliver explained. ‘We cats like it, because it has a nice smell for us. But that's all.’
One of the jealous squirrels stepped forward. ‘We think it's a drug, and that you should disqualify Wayne, and send him and his cat back where they came from,’ it hissed in a most unpleasant voice.
‘But I've got a special catmint permit from squirrel customs,’ wailed Oliver, who was now beginning to get really frightened.
‘Where is it?’ hissed the jealous squirrel.
Oliver raced back to Wayne's tree nest, but all his belongings were thrown all over the place, as though they had been searched, and his permit was gone. The jealous squirrels began to laugh amongst themselves, and Mr. Nutcracker took the other red-sashed squirrels to one side and began to talk to them very seriously. Wayne began to cry.
Luckily Salem, who was watching, had tucked his own permit into his fur. He tugged it free, and the jealous squirrels watched him in a fury.
They waited for Mr. Nutcracker to read it, and then began to complain loudly.
‘That's a permit for another cat, not this one,’ hissed the jealous squirrel.
Mr. Nutcracker held another discussion with his fellow committee members. Then he looked at Oliver sternly.
‘Make sure you get a fresh permit before the Cup starts,’ he ordered.
The squirrels made a tremendous event of the Squirrel Cup. The Squirrel City stadium was absolutely packed - a sea of fur from wall to wall chattered in a great breeze of sound, whilst other animals crowded into their own special guest enclosures were just as excited. The crowd hushed as a band of trumpeter squirrels marched in to perch on the racing rails and play a special fanfare, and then began to cheer wildly as a group of pretty young squirrels followed, scattering a carpet of hazel leaves. The girl squirrels waved, and danced themselves into a circle as a team of strong young boy squirrels entered the stadium pulling a carriage decorated with flowers and fruits and nuts.
The squirrel beauty queen sat on a beautiful throne on top of the carriage, holding a hazel switch in one paw, and waving to the crowd with the other, and she was really a very beautiful squirrel indeed, with a tail that shone like red gold in the afternoon sun.
Wayne, who was waiting with seven other Squirrel Cup finalists on a special stand, caught his breath. The squirrel beauty queen's carriage stopped, and she smiled down at the finalists, and began to make a little speech, but he knew in his heart that she really meant her smile for him, and he made up his mind to run faster than he had ever run in his life.
The whole animal world will remember the race as the most exciting in the history of the Squirrel Cup. The eight finalists shot off from the start like furry bullets, and ran neck and neck for the whole of the first lap.
Then they turned, and two missed their grip and fell off their rails, but the other six sped on like little streaks of lightning. Wayne was pacing himself, and keeping a bit of speed in reserve, because he knew that he had to complete four laps, and wanted to keep his best strength for the final lap. But his rivals were waiting too, and the final lap was really claw-biting, with Wayne and another squirrel pulling away a little as they raced almost side by side to the finishing post.
There was a moment of silence. The race was so close that Mr. Nutcracker had to call for special photographs. But then he stepped up to the microphone in the race committee's box.
‘The winner is Wayne from Catsville,’ he announced, and the whole stadium exploded into a roar of applause.
Wayne could hardly believe his ears. He put his paws over his ears, and shook himself, as if he was in a dream. Oliver was jumping up and down excitedly at his side.
‘You've done it, you've done it,’ he miaowed excitedly.
Wayne looked at him, and knew that his dream was real, and threw his paws around Oliver's neck. Squirrel and kitten did a little victory dance together while the crowd cheered and cheered and cheered, and the jealous squirrels crept away to hide themselves in a dark corner.
Then Oliver brushed Wayne's fur until it gleamed, and followed him to the committee's box, where the squirrel beauty queen was waiting with the silver cup in her paws.
She smiled as she held out the cup, and it was a very special smile, and Wayne knew that she had never smiled like that at any other squirrel before.
‘I'm ever so glad you won,’ she whispered. ‘I think you're ever such a handsome champion.’
Wayne blushed again. Then he kissed her gently, because he knew that he was in love.
The Squirrel Cup committee held a big reception after the race to celebrate Wayne's win. All the guests told him what a lucky squirrel he was to have won the Cup and such a beautiful girl squirrel, and Mr. Nutcracker made sure he had the very best hazelnuts. Squirrel-tv filmed a special programme about the racing squirrel trained by a kitten, and Fluffy posed in the background, looking very beautiful, and everyone - except perhaps the jealous squirrels - was very happy.
Mr. Nutcracker also asked Wayne to think of staying in Squirrel City. But Wayne shook his head. ‘I owe everything to the Mighty Mousers, and my heart is in Catsville,’ he replied slowly. ‘I know I'm a squirrel, but I think part of me is a kitten as well.’
Shirley, the Squirrel City beauty queen, held his paw. ‘I want to live wherever Wayne wants to live,’ she said, and Mr. Nutcracker beamed, because he was really a very tenderhearted squirrel under his red sash.
‘Then I suppose I'd better organise a wedding,’ he said, and went off to plan everything with his committee.
Wayne and Shirley's wedding was almost as big an event as the Squirrel Cup. Mr. Nutcracker arranged for it to take place in the Squirrel City stadium, Oliver acted as best man, Roxanne and Fluffy and two beautiful girl squirrels were Shirley's bridesmaids, whilst Salem, Jack and Nathaniel were guests of honour.
The squirrel trumpeters played a wedding march, and the strong young boy squirrels towed Wayne and Shirley around the stadium on her carriage. Every squirrel in Squirrel City stuffed itself on wedding nuts, and Mr. Nutcracker made a fine speech. But Wayne and Shirley only had eyes for each other, because they knew that each of them had found the finest squirrel in the whole world.