MISJUDGED KITTENS
“Miaou, miaou, miaou,” was heard in the distance.
“What an ugly, hoarse voice!” remarked Minette.
“Just like a croak,” said Tompkins. “I wonder who it can be.”
But the little kitchen kittens didn’t wonder, they knew it was their old
mother, Tibby, who had missed her babies and was calling for them. They
liked her ugly voice and they answered with little mews, and one by one
they scuttled out of the room. Ugly was the last to go and he just lapped
up a drop of milk on his way, for he never neglected an opportunity.
A few minutes after, the cook came in to find Mary’s mother, and of
course, caught sight at once of the disgraceful looking tray. She was
shocked to see it in such a state, with the sugar scattered about and a
nasty sticky mess where the milk had been lapped up.
“Oh dear! Oh dear!” she cried, trying to tidy up, “whoever has done this?”
“Miaou, miaou,” said Tompkins, which meant “not us.”
Cook turned round and saw the kittens. “Well, of all the impudent little
thieves!” she cried, “so you must go and steal the milk, must you? You
little good-for-nothings!”
“No, really it wasn’t us,” mewed Minette.
But, of course, cook couldn’t understand cat language and she went on
scolding. “You deserve a good whipping, that you do, and I’ve a great
mind to give it you, greedy little things, when you get as much to eat as
ever you can swallow.”
[Illustration: Pussy pretended to be her daughter.]
[Illustration: “You may look like little angels, but you are nothing but
little imps of mischief.”]
Both kittens looked up at her with their sweetest expressions, trying to
convince her how innocent they were.
“Oh, I know all about that,” cook went on, but already her scolding was
getting more into a smiling one, “you may look little angels but you’re
nothing but little imps of mischief.”
“Miaou, miaou,” said Minette in her sweetest voice, and Tompkins gave
a plaintive little purr, for they were getting very sleepy after their
exciting adventure. This was too much for cook; they both looked such
darlings that before they could drop off to sleep she was down on her
knees petting them and calling them her “saucy little poppets.”