brushes. Farewell. You will never see me more.

“Pixie then crawled to the woods where she was afterwards found dead; so dead that she never came back to life.

_Dum_ and _Dee_, and Mouseroun and Phi, his Wisdom Cat, watched Pixie until she had crawled out of sight. _Dum_ and _Dee_ then frisked away to catch bugs for the puss with the large family of kittens, and Mouseroun and Phi journeyed on to seek the renowned Mistress Tabby Furpurr, who found out a way of not liking birds, and on that account had her picture taken and set in a pussy-willow frame, and who had promised to tell the way to Mouseroun and Phi."“They did not find her. The renowned Mistress Tabby Furpurr had long
lain buried beneath the lilac bush, having died of old age, and alas!
without revealing the way she found out of not liking birds!”                  *       *       *       *       *

“Which was a pity,” said the lovely Pussyanita to King Grimalkum as she
finished the story, “since now our race must be blamed for liking birds
when they cannot help liking them. Blamed, dropped, shot, drowned,
stoned—not many of us would be living had we not our nine lives, though
not many cats have done to them what was spoken of in the story the cat
that hadn’t common sense told at Lady Yellow-paw’s famous party.”

“What story was that?” asked King Grimalkum quickly.

“Nothing your majesty will care to hear,” answered Pussyanita. “It is
not a common sense story.”

“I say I do want to hear it,” cried King Grimalkum. “I don’t want any
more common sense stories. I’m tired of common sense. I insist upon
knowing what was spoken of in the story the cat that hadn’t common sense
told at Lady Yellow-paw’s famous party.”

“Your majesty must understand,” said Pussyanita, “that probably it never
really—”

“I don’t care a mouse-ear for your _never reallys_,” interrupted King
Grimalkum. “I want the story.”

“Your majesty’s wish shall be obeyed,” replied Pussyanita, “but your
majesty will perceive at the beginning that it is not a common sense

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