Chapter 1: Perfectly Perfect CHAPTER 1 Perfectly Perfect
Snowpea’s bedroom was spotless.

The cat beds were freshly fluffed, and all the little toys were tucked away neatly into the toy bin. Not so much as a speck of litter was out of place.

Snowpea, a small white kitten with soft stripes and icy blue eyes, walked daintily along the edge of the windowsill, dusting it with her tail. “A clean home is a happy home!” she said, pausing to glimpse her reflection in the glass. She licked her pink paw pad and ran it through her fur. “And a clean cat is a happy cat!”

Next, Snowpea checked on her potted plants, rotating the cat mint to give it even sunlight, then tapped her paw into a dish of water and shook it to spritz the leaves.

With her plants tended to and everything looking just the way she liked it, Snowpea hopped down and pranced through the center of the room, which was lined on either side with tall scratch posts shaped like palm trees and sunflowers. It was a bright and cheery path that led to the tallest tower in the room: a cat castle where she liked to rest in the sunshine and enjoy the silence. She leapt to the tippy-top and gazed over her flawless, peaceful territory.

Life hadn’t always been so perfect. Snowpea was born on the street, where all she knew was the horrible crunch of dirt between her toe beans and the sound of horns blaring on the highway. Back then, she didn’t have a single thing to call her own, and she would cry out to the people passing by, longing for a chance at a fresh start. Luckily for her, a fairy godmother had scooped her up, dusted the filth from her fur, and brought her to Fosterland—a temporary residence where she could clean up and prepare for a forever home.

A forever home! The thought alone made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. Who’d have thought a crusty little kitten like me could one day be adopted? Sitting on top of her castle, she daydreamed about her future life as the ruler of her very own kingdom. Would she be a dignified duchess, demanding pets? Or a peaceful princess, purring on a lap?

At least in Fosterland, she could get plenty of practice being pampered!

One of the best things about being a foster kitten, it seemed, was that she was showered with gifts. Each day, her fairy godmother would bring her something new and exciting to play with! As the door creaked open and the yellow-haired godmother approached, Snowpea leapt up, asking, “What do you have for me today?”

On this day, the fairy godmother pulled out a glittering wand, which sparkled in her hand. She waved the wand over Snowpea’s head, and the way the light flickered upon it was enchanting. Snowpea squealed with delight as she reached for it again and again, tapping it with her paws until she finally grabbed the wand and pulled it onto the castle top with her. As the godmother exited the room, Snowpea held the wand at her side like it was a royal scepter.

“Hear ye, hear ye! I am Queen Snowpea!” she called out. “Queen Snowpea,” she repeated under her breath. “I like the sound of that.”



“Looking quite regal up there,” called a voice from the doorway.

It was Haroun, a big brown cat with a leopard-spotted coat. She knew him as one of the rulers of the Three-Cat Kingdom, the land just beyond the foster-room door. There, he lived with Coco and Eloise: wise, full-grown felines with shining coats and complete reign over their home and humans. Snowpea aspired to be as royal as them! She sat tall atop the tower, holding her wand at her side, trying to impress her visitor.



“Just don’t take yourself too seriously!” He smirked.

“But ruling over a territory is serious business,” Snowpea said. “This is important practice for when I become the queen of a real kingdom someday—as all cats ought to do!”

“Indeed, Your Highness,” Haroun joked.

“Which is precisely why everything has to be perfectly perfect! That’s what forever families want in a cat, after all!”

Haroun looked at her with soft, wise eyes. “Just remember: No one is perfect. Not you, not the cats you might share your home with in the future, and not even me!”

Snowpea scrunched up her face. It had never occurred to her that she might someday have to share her kingdom with others.

Haroun took a deep breath and spoke softly:

“You don’t have to be pristine

To be a cherished, worthy queen.

Someday soon you’ll come to see

It’s love that makes us royalty.

Just be yourself, and do your best;

Embrace the real, embrace the mess.

Love others for their charms and flaws,

And they’ll love you—with open paws.”

Snowpea listened carefully, but when Haroun finished, she said, “Thanks, but you lost me at ‘mess.’ A queen doesn’t do mess! As far as I can tell, I’m the only foster in Fosterland, and I like it that way. Besides, you know, everything must be orderly if I want to protect my territory against… you-know-who.”