1. Taking puss in his arms, Dick was surprised to find that she tried
to get away from him again, and to run down to the cabin below. This
was the first time that she had done so, and he could not make it out.
2. She struggled to get away each time that Dick tried to carry her out
of the ship, making an odd sort of "miew," and trying to coax him to
come where she led him.
3. At last he ran after puss, down the cabin steps, and at the bottom,
in a dark corner, he found that puss had hidden five pretty little
kittens!
4. She was purring with all her might over them, and she tried to say,
"Did you ever see five such sweet little things? How could you ask me
to leave them? They would die if I did. Though I love you dearly I
cannot go away."
5. So Dick found a warm piece of flannel, and wrapping the baby pussies
up in it, he took the whole lot with him. Puss was ready enough to come
when she saw this.
6. He made as much haste as he could. Soon he came into the palace with
the kittens under one arm and their proud mother purring under the
other.
7. No sooner did Dick enter than the cat began to sniff the air. Then
she caught a glimpse of the rats and mice, which were still feasting on
the table. The cloth was black with them.
8. In one instant she sprang from his arms. She laid a dozen rats and
mice dead at the king's feet in half a minute, and all the rest were
scared out of their wits, and ran away.
[Illustration: SWEET LITTLE THINGS.]
9. They had never seen a cat before, for there were none in that land.
The king had never seen one either; and his queen did not know what
sort of beast puss was at all. But she thought her very pretty.
10. "What is this strange, useful creature; what is it called?" said
the king, "and where did you get it? I will give all I have to buy it
from you, rather than be left without one."
11. But though the king sent for a great sack of gold, so heavy that it
took three men to bring it into the room, Dick would not hear of
selling his friend.
12. "What is that bundle under your arm?" said the captain to Dick. And
then the boy showed him the kittens.
13. "Why these are even more pretty than the beast itself," said the
queen, and she wished to have all the kittens in her lap. Poor woman!
she had never before nursed a kitten in her life!
14. "You had better sell these to the king," the captain said in a
whisper to Dick. "Tell him that some day they will grow up to be cats
like yours, and in due time will have little ones of their own."
15. "But it would be cruel to take them all away from their mother,"
said Dick, for he had seen how quickly his cat had run to the queen to
beg for her little ones.
[Illustration: THE KING AND THE QUEEN.]
16. The cat was not afraid to stare even into the face of a king, and
ask him bravely to put down the little kit which he had taken into his
royal hands.
17. Puss had at last taken all her treasures to a mat near the door,
where she was busy washing their faces. She did not care to have so
many folks pulling them about.
18. "You must leave one for the mother, and sell the rest," said the
captain. "She will not fret long if you leave her one child. And we
cannot take them all five back on the ship. There would be too many."
* * * * *
_Write:_ Dick found that his cat had five little kits. He took them
with him to the house of the king. The queen was pleased; she had never
seen a kitten before.
Questions: 1. What was Dick surprised to find when he took
up his cat? 2. Where did she try to lead him? 3. What had
puss got in a corner? 4. How did Dick manage to bring the
kittens to the palace? 5. What did his cat do when she got
there? 6. What did the queen wish?