"Cat must go!" the king cried.
"We can't have fleas in the castle!"
Dirk had a wicked smile.
"I'll get rid of Cat," he said.
Cat hissed loudly.
The queen looked at Tom.
"Tom is not scratching," she said.
"So the fleas are not coming from Cat."
Prince Eric scratched. "I'm so itchy!"
"Maybe I can help," Tom said.
He waved his wand.
"Stop scratching!" he cried.
Everybody's hands froze.
The scratching stopped.
But the itching didn't stop.
"This is worse than before!" the king cried.
"Oops," Tom said.
"We must get rid of the fleas," the queen said.
"Let's clean the castle!"
Servants brought buckets of soap and water.
They scrubbed all the floors and walls.
They scrubbed the thrones.
"Now everybody takes a bath!" the queen said.
"It's Monday," the king said.
"We take baths on Saturday," Dirk said.
The queen frowned.
Everybody went to take a bath.
The next morning the castle was spotless.
"The fleas have fled!" the king said.
But soon the king's feet itched.
Dirk's neck itched.
Dirk glared at Tom.
Only Tom was not scratching.
"I know that Cat has fleas," Dirk thought.
"But somehow she's protecting Tom."