In her pain at having had her tail jumped on by Twinkiepaws – and her guilt at having let Catvinkle down – Ula ran away from all the cats at Kittens Anonymous.

In fact, she ran all the way out of Vondelpark and into the streets of Amsterdam, where she went looking for her cousin, hoping that Lobbus would give her some advice. She had never been in this situation before and didn’t know what to do.

When she got to King’s Square Street, Ula noticed something going on out the front of Friend’s Herring Shop near where posters and banners were advertising the next day’s first day of herring season celebrations.

There out the front of Friend’s Herring Shop she saw her cousin, Lobbus the brave dog Lobbus, running around a table, followed by a llama, followed by Grayston.

‘Lobbus, why is this big grey dog chasing me? Does he want to bite me?’ called Roy Llama as he ran around the table.

‘No, he wants to bite me,’ called Lobbus, running around the table.

‘I thought you said you weren’t Lobbus,’ said Grayston, running around the table after Lobbus with Roy Llama running between them, before adding, ‘It’s all so confusing.’

‘Well,’ said Lobbus, ‘biting someone in the rump won’t help anything.’

‘I don’t want to bite anyone,’ said Grayston, still running. ‘I only wanted to ask where Lobbus’s cousin Ula was.’

‘I’m right here. Leave my cousin Lobbus alone,’ said Ula.

At hearing this, the three of them stopped running and crashed into each other, with Roy Llama in the middle.

Ula couldn’t believe she had been so brave. She’d wanted to be brave but hadn’t known she could be. She was still a bit scared but knew she had to do the right thing by her cousin Lobbus.

‘Now look here,’ said Lobbus, puffing and panting, ‘you mustn’t bite Ula either.’

‘Why won’t anyone listen to me?’ said Grayston sadly, puffing just like Lobbus. ‘I don’t want to bite anyone.’

‘So you’re not cross about the rubber ball being given back to the children, Anja and Ferdi?’ asked Ula.

‘I have to admit I was angry before. But then my children spoke to me and, well, that’s why I want to talk to you,’ said Grayston.

‘Really?’ asked Lobbus.

‘Yes,’ said Grayston. ‘My children are the most important things in the world to me. I love them so much, more than I can explain. Every morning I wake up and look at them and I’m ready to burst with love for them.’

‘That’s very nice, Grayston. I didn’t know you had that much love in you,’ said Lobbus.

‘Lobbus, do you think we’ll be playing backgammon soon?’ asked Roy Llama.

‘Shhh!’ said Lobbus. ‘Grayston, what does any of this have to do with my cousin Ula?’

‘I was brought up to be a big scary grey dog and to bark at everything and to chase things that came near my house or my family,’ said Grayston. ‘But my children don’t like my barking and my chasing and my running around.’

‘I’m sure they like your running around,’ said Ula.

‘No, they want me to be more like you.’

‘Like me?’ said Ula, quite astonished.

‘Yes, they want me to be happy and friendly, not grumpy and scary. Most of all, they want me to be the kind of dog that human children like Anja and Ferdi would want to play with,’ Grayston said.

‘So I came looking for Lobbus to help me find you, so you could teach me how to be that kind of dog,’ he continued. ‘I know it will be hard. I’m an old dog and you’d have to teach me some new tricks. But I’ll try really hard, I promise. I didn’t know where you lived so I thought I’d ask Lobbus. But I couldn’t find him either – only this other Russian wolfhound who looks and sounds exactly like him and knows exactly how he thinks and feels about everything.’

‘I will help you, Grayston. It would be my pleasure,’ said Ula. ‘And I know I could get Anja and Ferdi to come to play with your puppies. They always want to play with dogs and even a certain cat.’

Ula looked back in the direction of Vondelpark. ‘But right now I have to help my friend Catvinkle. She’s in trouble. She told all the other cats at Kittens Anonymous that I was a cat disguised as a dog. But they didn’t believe her and now she’s all alone with some terribly mean cats. I, too, came looking for advice from Lobbus.’

‘Well, I don’t know where Lobbus is,’ said Grayston, ‘but you can ask this dog who looks like Lobbus for advice. He’s a complete expert in Lobbus. It’s almost like he is Lobbus. He knows what Lobbus would say about any matter under the sun – and probably what he would say at night too.’

Grayston paused. ‘Hey! Wait a minute,’ he said. ‘Is your friend a cat?’

‘Yes,’ said Ula.

‘Why are you wasting your time on a cat?’ asked Grayston.

‘I know this cat, Catvinkle,’ said Lobbus. ‘She is a good cat; loyal, brave and true. Okay, not true. Actually, she lies quite a lot. But still I think she’s a good cat.’

‘A good cat!’ said Grayston. ‘When I was growing up, no one ever told me there was such a thing as a good cat. This is a new world for me. Suddenly we’re talking about cats and saying they’re good!’

‘Lobbus, what should I do?’ Ula asked her cousin.

‘You should go back to help your friend Catvinkle at this important time for her.’

‘It’s not Lobbus,’ Grayston told Ula. ‘It only looks and sounds like him.’

‘But all the other cats there think I’m a dog,’ said Ula to Lobbus.

‘Tell them you are a dog. Admit it. Why not? You have nothing to be ashamed of. Dogs are wonderful. We’re furry, fun, brave, good with children … well, most of us are.’ Lobbus tried not to look at Grayston. ‘Humans love us. Most animals think very highly of us. If these cats don’t like dogs, it’s their problem. As long as you’re not boastful, you should be proud of who you are.’

Lobbus walked over to Ula. ‘I’m going to whisper some words into your ear. Remember them, and if you get frightened just say them to yourself.’

Ula leaned in towards him and Lobbus whispered these words into her ear. ‘Be strong and of good courage!’

‘Be strong and of good courage! Be strong and of good courage!’ Ula whispered to herself. ‘I’ll try to be strong and of good courage but …’ She paused.

‘But what, dear Ula?’ asked Lobbus.

‘Well,’ said Ula, ‘perhaps it would be a bit easier if some dogs could come to Vondelpark near to where the cats and kittens are having the baby-shoe dancing competition at Kittens Anonymous. It might help me to be strong and of good courage.’

‘Baby-shoe dancing? Cats and kittens? Kittens Anonymous? I don’t understand what the world’s coming to,’ said Grayston.

‘I will try to muster up some support dogs just in case you need backup,’ said Lobbus, ‘but it may take a little time. A lot of dogs would still be at work now. You might have to take care of things on your own for a while. You can do it, Ula. I know you can. Remember,’ Lobbus added, ‘I’ve known you since you were a puppy just earning your spots, so I know you very well, dear cousin.’

Ula nodded, took a deep breath and turned around to go back to Vondelpark, to where Catvinkle was facing the disbelief of many of the other cats at Kittens Anonymous. Lobbus, Roy Llama and Grayston watched her as she went.

‘Wow, that’s one brave dog!’ said Grayston.

‘Yes,’ said Lobbus, ‘and she manages to be brave without scaring children. Do you see?’

‘Yes, that’s right,’ said Grayston. ‘She could be a great teacher for me.’

‘Lobbus, do you think we’ll be playing backgammon soon?’ asked Roy Llama.

‘This is not Lobbus,’ said Grayston. ‘How many times do I have to tell you? It just looks like him.’