He hadn’t even found a way to get into the forbidden wing of the house. He hadn’t figured out how Sophie arrived, and he hadn’t seen any of the stuff that Simon must busy himself with when he locked himself behind the off-limits door—magical stuff, Jinx was sure. Whenever he hinted that Simon could at least let him in to look, Simon would tell him to go sweep out the loft. It was very frustrating. Then one day Jinx was washing dishes when a cat burst out of the magical cat flap in the off-limits door, holding what looked like a glowing purple frog in its mouth. The door slammed open, and Simon came charging out. The cat went out the magic cat flap into the clearing, and Simon ran out after it. The door to the south wing was standing wide open. Jinx hurried to the window. Simon and the cat were running straight into the forest. There was nothing to stop him. He slipped into the south wing and pulled the door shut behind him. A cat came up and rubbed against his leg. Oh, the cats were allowed in here.
