TM and copyright © by Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. 2012.

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Step into Reading, Random House, and the Random House colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Based in part on The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas! holiday special © CITH
Productions, Inc. (a subsidiary of Portfolio Entertainment, Inc.), and Red Hat Animation, Ltd. (a subsidiary of Collingwood O’Hare Productions, Ltd.), 2012.
The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! logo and word mark TM 2010 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P., Portfolio Entertainment, Inc., and Collingwood O’Hare Productions, Ltd.
All rights reserved. The PBS KIDS logo is a registered trademark of PBS. Both are used with permission. All rights reserved.
Broadcast in Canada by Treehouse™. Treehouse™ is a trademark of the Corus® Entertainment Inc. group of companies. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rabe, Tish.
Home for Christmas / by Tish Rabe; based on a television script by Karen Moonah; illustrated by Tom Brannon. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (Step into reading. Step 3)
“Based in part on The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas! Holiday Special”—
Copyright p.
ISBN 978-0-307-97625-3 (trade) — ISBN 978-0-375-97119-8 (lib. bdg.)
ISBN: 978-0-449-81398-0 (ebook)
I. Moonah, Karen. II. Brannon, Tom, ill. III. Cat in the hat knows a lot about that (Television program). IV. Title.
PZ8.3.R1145Hom 2012 [E]—dc23 2011047339

Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

v3.1

One Christmas Eve

not long ago,

when everyone’s yard

was covered in snow,

the Cat threw a party—

a Christmas event.

Everyone was invited

and everyone went.

There were jingle-bell cookies

and cranberry punch

and a gingerbread house

that the mice liked to munch.

Ralph won the Find-the-Most-

Candy-Canes game.

“Great party!” said a sea star.

“I’m so glad I came!”

Meanwhile, the Fish

looked at his Christmas list.

“Let’s see…,” he said.

“Are there gifts that I missed?”

When the Cat’s party ended,

his friends waved goodbye.

Then he flew them all home.

(That Cat’s such a nice guy.)

But when he took off for

Ralph’s home in the snow,

there was a loud noise

and the Cat said, “Oh no!”

They heard a loud cranking.

They heard a loud creaking.

“Cat,” Sally said, “I think

something is leaking!”

The Cat tried to steer,

but he knew in a flash

if he didn’t land soon,

they were going to crash!

They landed somewhere

that was dusty and dry.

Then a family of elephants

came walking by—

an elephant mom

with her son and her daughter.

“Can you help us?” the Cat asked.

“We need to find water.”

“Of course,” said the elephants.

“That’s what we do.

We can smell water

and we can help you.”

So they took off again,

but the next thing they knew,

they crashed into the sea

in Blue-Puddle-a-Roo!

But as it turned out,

they did not get too wet.

They were saved by some dolphins

the Cat had just met.

Would they get home in time?

Would they miss Christmas Day?

“Push the Faster-ma-blaster,”

the Cat said, “right away!

To get home for Christmas,

it looks like we need

to fly through the air

at a much faster speed.”

But something went wrong,

and the Cat had to land

next to some crabs

marching out on the sand.

“The Jiggermawhizzer

will not let me steer.

I don’t think we’ll get home

for Christmas this year.”

It really looked like

everybody was stuck.

Had the Cat in the Hat

finally run out of luck?

But if you think the story

ends here, well, you’re wrong.

The Cat in the Hat’s never

out of luck long!

“Wait!” said the Cat.

“It’s almost Christmas Day.

I’ll give you your present.

Open it right away!”

“A present?” said Sally.

“Oh, Cat, that’s so nice.”

“Open a present?” said Nick.

“You don’t have to ask twice!”

When they opened their present,

they got a surprise—

a small Thinga-ma-jigger

exactly their size.

“It’s perfect!” said Sally.

“Let’s fly it!” said Nick.

“To the Thinga-ma-jigger,”

the Cat said, “go quick!

I need you to tell me

what’s broken inside.”

“I’ll drive!” said Sally.

And Nick said, “Let’s ride!”

They flew right inside

and they heard a loud clanging.

“There!” Sally said. “I can hear

someone banging!”

“Press the Stoppermatoggle,”

said Nick. “It’s on top.”

Then the Thinga-ma-jigger

came to a stop.

Please help me!” a mouse said.

“I made a mistake.

I only came in for

a little fruitcake.

My name is Fifi

and I can’t get out.”

“We’ll help you,” said Nick,

and he started to shout.

“Cat—there’s a mouse in here!

What do we do now?”

“You save her,” the Cat said,

“and I’ll tell you how.

You need to hurry up

and throw the blue switch.”

“But there are two,” Nick said.

“Which switch is which?”

“Be careful,” the Cat called.

“Throw the one that is bigger.

It opens the top of

the Thinga-ma-jigger!”

“Okay!” yelled Nick.

“Fifi, hold on tight.

He said throw the big switch.

I hope the Cat’s right.”

Nick threw the big switch

and things started to shake.

“That’s IT!” said Fifi.

“I’m giving up cake!”

“Get ready!” shouted Sally.

“Hold on! Here she comes!”

Then Fifi popped out…

…in a shower of crumbs!

“Thank you,” said Fifi,

“for saving me.

Now I can spend Christmas

with my family.

I’m giving up sweets,

but it’s really too bad.

That was the best fruitcake

that I’ve ever had.”

“Glad you liked it,” the Cat said.

“I made it, you see,

from my great-great-great-

grandma Cat’s recipe.

I use special fruit.

Here, I’ll give you a jar.

They’re delicious, but I don’t know

what kind they are.”

So things all worked out,

as most stories do.

Ralph got home for Christmas

and Fifi did, too.

The Cat flew them home

and slowed down on the way

while the Fish dropped his

Christmas list in Santa’s sleigh.

“Home for Christmas,” the Cat said,

“is the best place to be.”

“But something’s wrong,” Sally said,

“with the lights on our tree.”

“Not to worry,” the Cat said.

“I’ll take care of that.”

And he turned the lights on with…

…a flip of his hat!