Rosie Swales

Rosie Swales is a heroine from the Magic Kitten book A Puzzle of Paws.

A Puzzle of Paws
Rosie has an attic in her house, where she keeps all kinds of animals as pets, but she is disappointed when her family has to move to a new house with smaller rooms. Rosie is even more upset when she hears that she has to find new homes for her other pets, apart from Daisy the rabbit, and she doesn't want to. She then finds Flame, a jet-black kitten with emerald-green eyes in her fish tank and quickly fishes him out. She befriends him when she hears that his Uncle Ebony has stolen the Lion Throne and has sent his spies to find him. Rosie promises to keep him safe.

The next day, Flame accidentally fills the room with a giant stack of hay when he is making Daisy's bed, and melts the haystack away and makes a very neat pile in Daisy's pen. Jade then comes to take Rosie to school. At school, to Rosie's surprise, she finds Flame in her school bag. She then meets Uchena, a new girl of the school. Uchena and Rosie share ideas of what to make out of cardboard, which upsets Jade. Rosie and Uchena make a rat activity centre for Midge and Podge, Rosie's rats, but Jade admires it and accidentally on purposely breaks it. Rosie is furious, but Jade is more upset than usual. Flame fixes the activity centre for Rosie, and when her class comes back from recess, Uchena is impressed when she sees it.

When Rosie's family goes to the new house, Rosie meets her new neighbour Mrs Galloni ginger tomcat, Tinker, on Mrs Galloni's doorstep. Mrs Galloni finds Rosie petting Tinker and accuses her because she thinks she is hurting Tinker and shoos her. Later that day, Jade comes round to Rosie's new house and admits that she has been uninterested in pets because Rosie has been paying attention to her pets more than her. Rosie suggests that Jade could look after Midge and Podge for her. Rosie and Jade get Midge and Podge's things ready for Jade. That night, Jade's mum is horrified to see Midge and Podge scurrying around in her house. Before the rats head for the wall, Flame saves them.

Still upset with her parents about the new house, Rosie decides to run away and bring Flame with her. When she sees Tinker, she saves him, and is welcomed by Mrs Galloni into her house, and she apologises to Rosie for being rude to her the last day they met, and offers her a banana milkshake and some chocolate cake. As Rosie explains why she ran away from home, she starts to cry. Mrs Galloni comforts her and tells her she'll phone her parents. She then shows her Rufus, her parrot, and suggests she'll look after Rosie's other pets, like a pet hotel. When Rosie realises Flame is gone, she finds him as a grown-up lion standing next to his father, Cirrus. Rosie tries to say goodbye, and the two lions go back to their world.

Pets

 * Midge and Podge - Rosie's rats.
 * Daisy - Rosie's house rabbit.

Friends

 * Jade Ronson - Rosie's best friend. She is sarcastic about pets and doesn't like them because she has never been allowed to have pets.
 * Uchena - A new girl in Rosie's class. She is a bit shy and has bronze-colored skin and her black hair is plaited in neat rows.
 * Mrs Galloni - Rosie's new neighbor. She accuses Rosie for tormenting her cat Tinker, but then befriends her when Rosie found Tinker.