When Ula got back to Vondelpark, Catvinkle was standing on a rock, still trying to convince the other cats that her friend really was the famous singing cat, Ketzington, disguised as a dog to avoid fans and unwanted attention.

‘It’s Ketzington, I tell you, and you made her run away. That’s so rude of you!’

‘Catvinkle,’ asked Twinkiepaws, ‘really, how stupid do you think we are?’

‘Well, it varies from cat to cat, naturally,’ said Catvinkle. ‘You, I think, are very stupid. Schrodinger, not at all.’

Just as Catvinkle was saying this, she saw Ula getting closer. Ula could tell that Catvinkle was nervous that all the other cats were going to find out for sure that Ula was really a dog, not a famous kitten singing star from New York. The rose-ringed parakeets with their bright green feathers sat as still as they could be on the branches high above, watching the whole thing.

Catvinkle didn’t have much time. She had to get to Ula before her new friend did or said anything that might make things worse.

‘Excuse me a moment, won’t you?’ she said to the crowd of waiting cats and kittens. ‘I think Ketzington is coming back and she probably wants to speak to me privately. We’re very close, you know.’ Then she climbed down from the rock she had been standing on and started walking away from them towards Ketzington – who, of course, wasn’t really Ketzington but Ula.

All the cats watched as the two friends stood talking quietly under a tree.

‘Okay,’ said Catvinkle almost in a whisper to Ula’s ear, ‘a lot of these cats definitely don’t believe me. But I think I’ve still got some of them thinking you’re Ketzington. The important thing, Ulee, is to keep cool, look completely unafraid, and never, ever admit that you’re not really Ketzington. We’ve got to keep this up. Don’t take off your dog suit, whatever you do.’

‘I’m not wearing a dog suit, I really am a dog. Remember?’ said Ula.

‘Oh yeah,’ said Catvinkle, ‘it gets so confusing, doesn’t it?’

‘Not if you tell the truth,’ Ula began. She wanted to tell Catvinkle about Lobbus’s suggestion that Ula should admit she was a dog.

But Catvinkle didn’t seem to be listening. ‘Whatever you do, Ulee, never, ever admit that you’re really a dog.’

‘Don’t you want these cats and kittens to accept you for who you really are?’ asked Ula.

‘No, I’ll be happy if they accept me for who I’m pretending to be. But thanks for asking,’ said Catvinkle in a hurried whisper. She sounded as though she was very sure about this. ‘Ulee, you don’t really understand cats. Some of these cats can be very, very mean. They can make fun of you and try to make other kittens frightened to be your friend.’

‘Why should other kittens be frightened to be your friend?’

‘Because the mean cats will make them scared that if they’re my friend they won’t have any other cat friends.’

‘But then couldn’t you be friends with those cats?’ asked Ula.

‘Listen, Ulee, we don’t have much time so I’ll explain this as simply as I can. Everyone wants to be friends with the mean cats. That’s just the way it is.’

‘But if they’re mean,’ asked Ula, ‘why would you want to be friends with them?’

‘Because,’ said Catvinkle, ‘if you’re friends with the mean cats, you think they won’t be mean to you and that they will pick on someone else.’

‘Who will they pick on?’

‘I don’t know. They’re always changing it. Sometimes they pick on fluffy cats, sometimes on short-haired cats, sometimes on skinny cats who don’t have enough to eat. Sometimes they pick on cats who’ve been forced by the incredible smell of yummy food to become tubby round the face and tummy areas. You just never know who they’re going to be mean to.’

‘That sounds awful,’ said Ula.

‘Yeah, it’s tough being a cat. It’s not all lying around in a soft basket by the fire … Although, that is quite a lot of it.’

‘I think you should be strong and of good courage,’ said Ula.

‘What?! Who told you that?’

‘Oh, someone. I forget now,’ said Ula.

‘Was that someone your cousin, Lobbus the brave dog Lobbus?’

‘Oh, yes, it was Lobbus. That’s right,’ said Ula, pretending that she had only just remembered.

‘Well,’ said Catvinkle, ‘Lobbus probably doesn’t know that many cats.’

‘Oh, he has friends right throughout the animal world,’ volunteered Ula.

‘Ulee,’ said Catvinkle, still very quietly, ‘take a look at that bunch of cats over there staring at us.’

Ula looked over at them. Some were growing impatient. You could see it in their fur, which stood up a little bit from their bodies. The occasional tail was slightly raised too. And twitching!

‘Hmmm … You’re right. Some of them do look a bit mean, Catvinkle.’

‘Right,’ said Catvinkle. ‘Trust me, I know them. Some of them are my oldest friends. So whatever you do, don’t tell them the truth.’

Ula realised she had to make a decision. Should she listen to her new friend Catvinkle, a cat who really did know what cats can be like? Or should she follow the advice of her wise and loving cousin, Lobbus the brave dog Lobbus, who had met a lot of animals over the years and who had told her to be strong and of good courage? How would mean cats react to a dog with courage?

Catvinkle had started walking back to the waiting cats and kittens.

‘Come on, Ulee,’ she turned around to whisper.

What would Ula do?