be. It looked like a dog’s head upside down. It was a dog’s head upside down. Cats that have always seen dogs’ heads upside up, have no idea how a dog’s head looks upside down. This dog’s head was upside down and the whole dog was upside down; upside down and asleep.

“Both our tails began to grow big. We left the room quickly, and softly as possible, and ran through a long passage, then up-stairs, then through another long passage, and _then_ we heard the dog coming, barking! We ran faster. We knew he was on the stairs; knew he was after us. We got to the end of a long passage. The bark of the dog sounded nearer and nearer. There was no way out of the passage. Oh what a moment that was! I saw a door. I sprang up twice, and opened it the second time trying. I tremble, even now, to think what might have become of us had not a window of that room been open, or had I not known how to open a door. We darted through that window, and went down by a water-spout. The dog looked out and turned and ran down-stairs, but by the time he was in the yard we were safe on a shed. Oh how thankful we ought to be that dogs cannot climb!

“I was saved, but in my haste I trod on a tack nail, and it stuck in my paw and made my paw in great pain. I went limping, and the pain of the paw made me sick. My dear mistress! How good she was to me! She took out the nail and bound up the sore place, and fed me with warm sweetened milk and water, or if I was thirsty, gave me cool, clear water to lap, and held me, and made for me a soft bed, and talked to me, and _poored_ me. Oh how pleasant it is to be talked to and _poored_!

“I felt so grateful to my dear mistress that as soon as I was well I went out to catch everything I could for her—rabbits, moles, field-mice. That was why I became a hunter. Everything I could I brought in and laid at her feet, because I wanted to please her. I would not eat one of them until she told me I might. I never ate even a mouse until I had shown it to her. Sometimes I bring birds. She is not pleased with me, then. She scolds me when I bring birds. I don’t know why she scolds me for bringing birds. I should like to know the renowned Tabby Furpurr way of not liking birds.”Scarcely had Madame Pussy Hunter finished when up sprang a Spry White Kitten and hopped out on three paws, and said: ‘_I_ can tell a story of a door opening.’ Some of the older ones tried to hiss her down. She was asked if her story would tell how she lost her right fore paw. Upon learning that her story would tell how she lost her right fore paw, they asked to hear what the Spry White Kitten had to say.

 Prev. P 20/65 next