all summer so it becomes very tall. It was just a capital place for
us cats to play hide-and-go-seek, and to catch grasshoppers. I heard
mistress say to Charlie one day that she wondered what we cats found to
interest us so much in his back yard; so I thought I would show her.
The following Sunday, when she sat on the piazza, I carried a hopper
up-stairs and laid him down at her feet. She was busy reading and did
not notice him at once; but when he began flying around and I after
him, she laid her book down and watched us. After the hopper had landed
on the floor several times, and I had had several rounds with him, he
seemed pretty well tired out, and remained still for a few moments.
Mistress picked him up, and seeing he was not the least bit injured,
she placed him on the vines, which was very nice for the hopper, but
rather cruel to me, I thought. But nothing daunted, I went down-stairs
and fetched another one. As I laid him on the floor mistress seemed
horrified, for she thought I had mutilated him carrying him so far.
She had not known up to this time where the first one came from. She
was just reaching out to take my treasure from me, when Mr. Hopper
flew toward the ceiling, which led her to conclude that he must be
all right, and she did not interfere with me any further. Thus during
the warm summer weather I had many pleasant times with my little
playfellow, the grasshopper.
XXIII
OUR SUMMER OUTING
When the time came again for mistress and Guy to take their outing,
they were quite puzzled what to do with so many cats.
“It was easy enough,” said mistress, “to take one cat when we traveled
by boat, and went to grandpa’s. But three cats, and traveling on
wheels, and stopping at hotels, is quite a different thing.”
“Perhaps you can make an arrangement with Charlie Watt to take care of
them,” said Guy.
Mrs. Watt was sitting on her veranda, and before mistress went away
that morning, she went over and asked whether Charlie could take care
of us during her absence; and as Charlie was present and said he would
be delighted to do it, his mother assented.
I was very thankful, for Charlie and his mother had always been very
kind to us.
Soon after that, one morning, two gentlemen called, and mistress and
Guy rode away with them. Our basket and plate had been placed in Mrs.
Watt’s kitchen, and Charlie fixed us a very nice meal at dinner-time,
and we played with the grasshoppers in his yard, so the first day went
off all right.
But the very next day we saw what threatened to destroy our peace of
mind at Charlie Watt’s. His neighbor had a great fat pug dog, who acted
very ungentlemanly from the first, and tried his best to frighten us,
peeping between the fence pickets and barking as loud as he could. That
very morning the grocer had left our gate open, and Pug who had been
watching for such a chance, came in, snorting with rage. It was clearly
a declaration of war; but to my great surprise, Budge, who is usually
very timid, was the first to take up arms against the enemy. With the
most artistic curve in his back, and bristling his tail to suit the
occasion, he started out, single-handed and alone. Of course, Toddy and
I were not slow to follow such a courageous leader, and for a time the
peaceful yard resembled a torrid race-track, with Pug in the lead and
myself on the home-stretch.
As round after round took a little wider range, Pug was nearing the
corner where the ash pile is located, and stumbling over a tin can,
he fell to the ground, and we three on top of him. Being such a fat
fellow, he was much more easily exhausted than we, who are lithe and
agile; and once down, surrounded as he was, his defeat was complete.
Nothing remained but an ignominious surrender. He crouched like the
coward that he was, begging for mercy. But we did not let him off until
we had thoroughly humbled him, chasing him back several times when he
attempted to go, and that was the last difficulty we ever had with Pug.
One night during mistress’ absence, we heard a terrible noise, and the
next morning Buttercup’s mangled and bleeding body lay in our front
yard. It was said that a dog had done the awful deed.
But the cat population was not diminished by Buttercup’s sudden taking
off, for on that very same morning, Daisy had a little spreckled kitty
in her basket--only one. But that was enough for poor little Daisy
to take care of, for she had a rattle in her throat, which Dr. Smith
called “consumption.” I think that is why Daisy was not invited to go
with us to Mrs. Watt’s. But Charlie gave her food and water daily at
the basement window, and after Buttercup was gone, she had her own
little kitten to keep her company.
We were just enjoying our vacation very nicely, when one morning Budge
disappeared, and that night we could not find him anywhere, although
we could hear his doleful cry coming from some place, no one knew just
where. I tremble to think what would have become of poor Budge, if
mistress hadn’t come home in time to save him.
Late the next afternoon she and Guy rode up to the curb. I was lying on
the grass, and Toddy was in the hammock with Charlie.
As soon as I heard mistress’ voice, I rushed out to meet her, and she
picked me up and petted me, and said how glad she was to get home
again. Then Mrs. Watt told her the distressing news that Budge had not
been seen for two days. As soon as Guy reached his room up-stairs, he
heard a muffled “meow” coming out of the wall, and in reply to his name
Budge answered “meow,” “meow.” In the cellar his voice could be heard
very plainly, so mistress went there and tried to coax him down with a
piece of raw beefsteak. He was just above the studding; having taken
fright at something, and crawled up between the boards of the inside
and outside wall, to the second story.
After trying for several hours to coax him down, mistress went at ten
o’clock at night to get a carpenter to open the wall. The good man had
already gone to bed, but he arose and came with mistress. He pried
away a base board in Guy’s room, and Budge stuck his head through the
opening, and mistress pulled him out. Toddy and I were very glad to
have our companion with us again, and I hope another time Budge will
know enough to run up a tree, instead of getting himself into such a
predicament.
The day before mistress came home, a water spaniel puppy arrived from
the country, that had been sent to Charlie as a present. He looked
just like Dennis, and I hoped he would grow to be as good and wise a
dog; but it was not to be so, for he only lived a few days after he
came. They named him “Brownie.” So innocent and unsuspecting was he, he
would walk right up to us cats and kiss our noses. If he had been a big
handsome dog like Dennis, we would not have objected so much. But lady
cats don’t care to be kissed by silly little puppy dogs. But no matter
how many times Toddy scratched his face, Brownie was so forgiving; the
very next minute he would go up to him again. As for Budge, whenever
Brownie came near him, he growled so deep down in his throat that once
mistress actually looked up into the sky and asked Guy whether he heard
that thundering, and Brownie did not venture any farther. After getting
several more scratches and a good many taps, he finally stayed away
from Toddy. But he came to me whenever he wanted to, and I tried to
teach them by my example that a little innocent, harmless puppy is not
to be treated like a big, saucy, ferocious dog.
If Brownie had not disobeyed his mistress I think he would be with us
still; but the day after we returned home he came into our yard between
the fence pickets and helped himself to a dinner that was intended for
three cats, a little more than a puppy dog ought to attempt at a single
meal. But Brownie evidently thought himself equal to it, and when he
went away, our plate was empty. He could not go back the way he came,
but had to go around the house and through the gate. That was Brownie’s
last visit to us, for that same evening, after suffering dreadful
agonies in spite of all that mistress and Mrs. Watt did for him, poor
Brownie lay down on the lawn and died.
I couldn’t help thinking of poor Dappledun, of whom it is written:
“He ran in clover up to his knees,
His trough was filled with stuff;
Yet he’d jump the neighbor’s fence, and act
As if he hadn’t enough.
“If only he could have been content
With his feed of oats and hay,
Poor headstrong, foolish Dappledun
Had been alive to-day.
“But one night when the rack was filled
With what he ought to eat,
He thrust his nose out of his stall,
And into a bin of wheat.
“And there he ate, and ate, and ate,
And when he reached the tank
Where Johnny watered him next morn,
He drank, and drank, and drank.
“And when that night John carried him
The sweet hay from the rick,
He lay and groaned, and groaned, and groaned,
For Dappledun was sick.
“And when another morning came
And John rose from his bed,
And went to water Dappledun,
Poor Dappledun was dead!”
Early the following morning I saw Mr. Watt carry the little stiff body
out to the rear part of the yard, where he dug a deep, dark hole. There
he planted Brownie just as the rays of the rising sun were gleaming
over the housetop; and it seemed as though even the proud and stately
hollyhocks were bending their heads in sorrow over our young friend’s
untimely taking off.
So you see we had all sorts of experiences during our summer vacation.
XXIV
RAISING A FAMILY
Very soon after we had gone to Maple Road to live, one night a lot of
little kittens came into my basket; I suppose the kind Providence had
sent them, for it was not yet time for Santa Claus to be around again.
The little things squirmed and whined most pitifully, and I covered
them with my body to keep them warm.
As soon as it was daylight I took a look at my visitors, and there,
behold, were six little blind, helpless creatures, two tigers, two
Maltese and two black. “What will my mistress say,” thought I,
“when she sees this?” I must confess I awaited her coming with some
misgiving, fearing very much that she would be displeased.
When mistress opened the door in the morning I arose and went to meet
her as usual, and I apologized as best I could; but she did not even
seem surprised. She petted me just as she was wont to do, or if
anything even more fondly, and my saucer of milk that morning tasted
as if it was more than half cream. While I was eating my breakfast,
Guy came out, and together they examined my kittens, and praised them.
“Aren’t they beauts,” said he, as he fondled one after the other; “I
wish we could keep them all.”
After breakfast mistress lifted the pad with my kittens out of the
basket and made us up a fresh clean bed with an old comfortable, which
was large enough to fall over the rim of the basket, and so prevented
any draughts from striking my little ones. Then for many days mistress
brought my food and water to me, for with so many kittens I was busy
every minute washing them to keep them sweet and clean.
At the end of about ten days my kittens began to open their eyes;
and to be able to crawl over each other, and over me as well. One by
one, as their eyesight became stronger, they would crawl up on the
comfortable and look over the edge of the basket; and very often one
would step over a little too far, lose his balance and tumble over unto
the floor. Then after a few minutes of groping around he would begin
to cry, and I had to go and bring him back, unless Guy or mistress
happened to be there.
One day I heard mistress say to Guy: “These kittens seem to be strong
in their bodies but weak in their limbs, they topple over when they
attempt to walk.”
“They need to exercise their limbs more,” said Guy. “They ought to have
a larger place to move around in.”
Then mistress spread an old comfortable on the floor in a sheltered
corner of her room, and placed a market-basket in the middle of it, in
the bottom of which was a bag full of stones to keep it from falling
over when the kittens should climb up on the side of it. Mistress
then put the kittens on the comfortable, and in an instant they began
hobbling around and in and out of the basket. I lay on the comfortable
with them, and watched them with great pleasure. Whenever one got far
enough away from the “gym” (as Guy called the basket) to feel lonesome,
he would whine; but at my call would follow the direction of my voice,
and promptly return. By degrees they became so independent that they
would walk clear to the edge of the thick comfortable, tumble over the
“embankment,” and meander off at their own sweet will; and so they
grew daily stronger.
One pleasant Sunday when mistress and Guy were at home, the comfortable
was spread on the garden lawn, with the basket upon it as usual. At
first I protested most seriously against this innovation, and started
to take my kittens back to their accustomed place in the house. But
they had grown so large, it was impossible for me to carry them up the
steps, and I had to let them stay. I soon found, however, that the
radiant sunshine was as a tonic to them, filling them with joy and
strength and courage, and before the afternoon was gone, I had become
well pleased with the change.
Just as soon as the sunshine disappeared, Guy put the kittens into the
basket and carried them back into the house, and after that I never
objected when they were given an outing.
Oh, how very happy I was in those days, with my little ones basking
around me in the beautiful sunshine, for even in the house mistress
always saw to it that our comfortable was in a sunny place. The basket
became the scene of most wonderful activity. Guy said it was horizontal
bar, side horse, long horse and race-track all in one; and here were
performed some remarkable acrobatic feats, all of which served to make
my little ones strong and steady. Of course I was very busy training
them in various ways, and first of all I took great care to teach them
clean and orderly habits. In this respect mistress was always very
helpful, for she left each day a little box of fresh earth beside my
basket, and whenever she saw one hunt around and get into a corner,
she would go after him and set him into the box, and very soon they
understood what it was there for.
As soon as they were old enough I tried to teach them to lap milk with
me from the saucer, and this proved to be the hardest task of all. They
seemed to get the milk all up into their noses, instead of on their
tongues, and it was a veritable sneezing bee. Then again some seemed
to think that the saucer was a bath tub. Topsy, one of the black ones,
walked deliberately into the dish, and when in the middle of it, sat
down and took a sitz bath. Guy said he guessed she wanted to change her
complexion. But in a few moments she landed safely on the other side.
Meow Junior, one of the tigers, was satisfied to merely face about and
dip his tail into the milk, much to the disgust of the rest. But in a
few days they had learned to lap milk very nicely, and I thought it was
time to take the next step in their education; so I carried my piece of
beef to them, to teach them how to chew something solid.
When mistress saw it she was quite alarmed, and promptly took the meat
away. But I persisted, fetching it back several times, till finally she
let me have my way, saying that a mother was the best judge of what was
good for her children. Then seeing that only one could get access to
the piece, because he would growl so fiercely as to frighten the others
away, she gave a piece of meat to each one. Of course, they could not
chew very much as yet, and the pieces were too large to swallow whole,
but it was excellent exercise for their jaws and teeth, and a pleasant
pastime as well.
On the first day that my kittens began to feed from a dish, they also
began to practice at washing themselves, and it was a winsome sight to
watch their earnest endeavors to do their very best. I was so thankful
that mistress did not forget to keep a saucer of water in a convenient
place for them. Then, having made their toilet, usually they would lie
down in groups of two, or three, and take their after dinner nap.
One day when I was on mistress’ bed with my kittens, Guy laid his hat
down by us, and Topsy went over and lay on the crown of it. It being a
soft felt, her weight caused the crown to cave in, but this seemed to
suit Topsy all the better. She settled down contentedly in the little
round box and began to purr so loudly as to attract the attention of
the other kittens. Meow Junior, seeing that Topsy had found such a
good thing, concluded to join her; and so one by one they all deserted
me, and meandered in the direction of the hat. When I looked up, to my
great amusement the five kittens were lying in a circle on the rim with
Topsy in the middle, and the hat had the appearance of being trimmed
with cats.
In telling this incident I hope I shall not set any one to thinking
that kittens would make suitable ornaments instead of the poor unhappy
birds that do such melancholy duty on some ladies’ hats.
Thus for many weeks I devoted myself so constantly to my little ones
that mistress called me “the good little mother.”
XXV
BREAKING HOME TIES
It was with the greatest pleasure that I gave myself to the care of my
babies; and oh, with what pride I watched their progress from day to
day, and how very happy I felt when at my call they would cease their
playing and come and rest on my bosom. But, sad to tell, to every
mother there comes a cruel and relentless day, when her darlings are
taken from her. When that day has come and she mourns in her loneliness
and sorrow, her only comfort then is the thought that she has so
trained her little ones that they will be a pleasure and a joy to the
people with whom they live. I know that this is what my dear mother
endeavored to do for me, and the same I tried to do for mine.
My kitties were about three months old, when one day Miss Dorothy
called. Mistress called her “Mrs. Fogg,” but to me she will ever be
only my dear Miss Dorothy.
She had a bunch of delicious English violets at her waist, and as she
held me on her lap I became so intoxicated with their fragrance that
unwittingly I bit off a few of them. When Miss Dorothy discovered that
I liked them she gave me the whole bunch, and, oh! what a feast! They
were the first I had had since Aunt Minnie visited us; and by the way
I must tell you about that. We cats are very glad when Aunt Minnie
comes, because then somebody always sends such beautiful flowers to
the house. The last time they happened to be English violets, and, of
course, we went up to the vase to look at them and to smell of them.
Such beautiful violets! Their fragrance filled the entire room.
After dinner when Guy and Aunt Minnie came into the library, I heard
her say “What’s the matter with these violets? Nothing is left of them
but the bare stems.”
“I’ll be jiggered,” said Guy. “I don’t know where you’ll find them
unless it’s inside of those cats.” Just then the door bell rang and
Aunt Minnie’s friend came in. When they told him about the sad fate of
the violets he laughed heartily, and said they would stop and get some
more on the way to the concert. So I fear that the violets were not
intended for our dinner.
But to return to Miss Dorothy; it was a beautiful day, and mistress
brought her into the garden where my kittens were gathered around their
big saucer. As each one finished he sat down and gave himself a good
washing. Then they gave a quite noteworthy performance of acrobatic
skill on the gym: some taking possession of the horizontal bar, while
others scaled the walls, or ran a race on the edge.
I think I was the only one in the entire company that was not perfectly
happy that afternoon, for I half-suspected what Miss Dorothy had come
for. She carried a very suspicious looking basket with a cover on it;
and sure enough, when she prepared to take leave, mistress picked up my
two little tigers and carried them into the house, and in a few minutes
I heard the carriage roll away. That was the last I saw of my little
tigers. Oh, how my heart ached; and yet I knew perfectly well what a
happy home they would have. What must a mother’s feelings be who has to
see her babies taken away from her without this blessed assurance?
It was not long after Miss Dorothy’s visit, when late one evening I
missed Topsy, and Jasper one of the Maltese. After searching for them
in every place I could think of, I finally gave up in despair; but on
the following morning I heard a very familiar sound coming from the
next yard. I mounted the fence, and looking over there I saw my kittens
basking in the sunshine on a big rug in Mrs. Moody’s yard. My first
thought was to go and fetch them back; but the fence was very high, and
the kittens were quite heavy; I had to give it up. There was one thing
that worried me: Mrs. Moody’s dog Jip is a very saucy fellow; I did
not know how he would treat my babies, and I kept a pretty close watch
on him. But one day I saw him lying on the rug with Topsy between his
paws, and Jasper on his shoulders, and after that I could no longer
entertain any unkind thoughts of Jip.
A few days after this, Teddy called with his little sister Dorothy,
a sweet little girl with beautiful flaxen curls. They played with my
kittens for a long time, telling each other which they liked best; and
as they had brought a big covered basket with them I rather surmised
what they had come for. In fact I have learned to heartily dislike
people who go around carrying covered baskets. But I knew that I
could not keep my babies much longer, so I just tried to be brave, and
resigned to my fate. Teddy said he liked the black one, but Dorothy
preferred the Maltese.
“What are you going to call them, Teddy?” said mistress.
“I shall call them Punch and Judy, or some names that fit together like
that,” answered Teddy.
“But how will it be next summer, when you go to the Lake Shore?”
“We will have some one take care of them while we are gone,” said
Dorothy.
This satisfied mistress, and she told them they could have the kittens.
Then I went out to see if I couldn’t find another mousie for them,
and after long waiting at a neighboring ash pile I finally captured
one, and I hastened to bring my babies this last offering. But when I
reached the garden I found my basket empty, and the old comfortable
that had been our rallying place, deserted. The dreaded hour had come;
I was a broken-hearted mother, bereft of all my little ones. I cared
nothing more for the mousie so I let it go. Of course, I cried, and
searched every nook and corner on the premises before giving up my
last hope. When at last I entered the house, mistress took me up very
tenderly and spoke comforting words to me, and that night for the first
time in many weeks I slept again at the foot of her bed.
XXVI
A FRIENDLY CHAT
Budge has a habit of sitting on all fours with his paws curled under,
his tail drawn tightly around his body, and his eyes half closed; and
whenever Guy sees him in that position he says “behold the Sphinx.”
One summer evening when we three were out on the piazza, I asked Budge
what his thoughts were on such occasions. “Generally about dogs,” said
he. “I have been trying for a long time to think what dogs are good
for anyhow, and as I can’t think of a single thing, I wonder why there
should be any dogs in the world at all.”
I told Budge he must not judge all dogs by these saucy curs that come
into our yard to eat up our dinner and bark at us. Said I: “Have you
never heard of Owney, the Postal dog, that has traveled all over this
country, bringing joy and good cheer to the hearts of the poor toiling
men that work on the cars? Or of Mose, that lived for many years in an
engine-house, and attended every fire, cheering on the horses and the
men, and no doubt helping to save many lives? Or of Barri, the noble
St. Bernard, that saved the lives of more than forty travelers who were
buried beneath the snow? Or, have you forgotten our dear friend Dennis,
that used to protect us from the attacks of fierce dogs when we were
small kittens on Poplar Avenue?”
“I never heard of Mose or Owney or Barri,” said Budge. “I wish you
would tell us more about them.”
“Well,” said I, “those were high-minded and noble animals, and useful
in their day and generation.”
“That’s just what I want to be too,” said Budge.
“And so do I,” said Toddy. “But aren’t there any noble and useful cats
in the world?”
“Yes,” said I: “I can mention the names of cats as well as dogs for
your example: Toots Willard, for instance, who contributed over $20.00
towards the temperance cause from the sale of his photographs, and who
writes letters to the Union Signal, urging and encouraging his comrades
to support the good work; Meow, my namesake, who was such a joy and
comfort to grandpa for seven years; and Blackie and Jack, the famous
rat-catchers.”
“Now that you mention it,” said Budge, “I am reminded that there are
many useful and valuable cats who have not even a name to be remembered
by. Only a few days ago a lady who works in a commission house, told
our mistress that they have fourteen cats in their place, and that
indeed without them they could not carry on their business, for the
rats and mice would ruin everything if the cats didn’t drive them
away.” Here Toddy took the word: