There is nothing like beginning at the very commencement of a story, if
we wish it to be thoroughly understood; at least, _I_ think so; and, as
I wish _my_ story to be clear and intelligible, in order that it may
furnish a hint or a warning to others, I shall at least act up to my
opinion, and begin at the beginning,--I may say, at the very tip of my
tale.
Being now a Cat of some years' standing (I do not much like remembering
how many), I was of course a Kitten on making my entry into life,--my
first appearance being in company with a brother and three sisters.
We were all declared to be "the prettiest little darlings that ever
were seen;" but as the old Puss who made the remark had said precisely
the same thing at sight of every fresh Kitten she beheld, and she was
accustomed to see ten or twelve new ones every week, the observation is
no proof of our being very charming or very beautiful.
I cannot remember what passed during the first few days of my existence,
for my eyes were close-shut till the ninth morning. I have an indistinct
recollection however of overhearing a few words which passed between my
mother and a friend of the family who had dropped in for a little chat,
on the evening of the eighth day.
The latter had been remarking on my efforts to unclose my lids, to
obtain a little peep at what was going on, when my good parent
exclaimed,
"Ah! yes, she tries hard enough to stare at life now, because she knows
nothing of it; but when she is as old as you or I, neighbour, she will
wish more than once that she had always kept her eyes closed, or she
is no true Cat."
I could not of course, at the time, have any notion what my mother
meant, but I think, indeed I am _sure_, that I have discovered her
meaning long ago; and all those who have lived to have sorrow,--and
who has not?--will understand it too.
I had found my tongue and my legs, and so had my brother and sisters,
before we got the use of our eyes. With the first we kept up a perfect
concert of sounds; the legs we employed in dragging our bodies about our
capacious cradle, crawling over each other, and getting in everybody's
way, for we somehow managed, in the dark as we were, to climb to the
edge of our bed and roll quickly over it, much to our astonishment and
the amusement or annoyance of the family, just as they happened to be
in the humour.
Our sight was at last granted us. On that eventful morning our mother
stepped gently into our bed, which she had left an hour before; and,
taking us one by one in her maternal embrace, she held us down with her
legs and paws, and licked us with more affection and assiduity than she
had ever bestowed on our toilet before. Her tongue, which she rendered
as soft for the occasion as a Cat's tongue can be made, I felt pass and
repass over my eyes until the lids burst asunder, and I could _see_!
And what a confusion of objects I first beheld! It seemed as if
everything above was about to fall upon my head and crush me, and that
everything around was like a wall to prevent my moving; and when, after
a day or two, I began to understand better the distance that these
objects were from me, I fell into the opposite error, and hurt my nose
not a little through running it against a chair, which I fancied to
be very much further off. These difficulties however soon wore away.
Experience, bought at the price of some hard knocks, taught me better;
and, a month after my first peep at the world, it seemed almost
impossible I could ever have been so ignorant.
No doubt my brother and sisters procured their knowledge in a similar
way: it is certain that it cost them something. One incident, which
happened to my brother, I particularly remember; and it will serve to
prove that he did not get _his_ experience for nothing.
We were all playing about the room by ourselves, our mother being out
visiting or marketing, I do not know which, and the nurse, who was
charged to take care of us, preferring to chat to the handsome footman
in the tortoise-shell coat over the way, to looking after us Kittens.
A large pan full of something sticky, but I do not remember what, was in
a corner; and as the edge of it was very broad, we climbed on to it and
peeped in.
Our brother, who was very venturesome, said he could jump over it to the
opposite brim. We said it was not possible, for the pan was broad and
rather slippery; and what a thing it would be if he fell into it! But
the more we exclaimed about its difficulty, the more resolved he was to
try.
Getting his legs together, he gave a spring; but, slipping just as he
got to the other side, his claws could not catch hold of anything to
support himself, and he went splash backwards into the sticky mess.
His screams, and indeed ours, ought to have been enough to call nurse
to our assistance; but she was making such a noise herself with the
tortoise-shell footman, that my brother might have been drowned or
suffocated before _she_ would have come to his assistance. As it was, he
managed to drag himself to the edge without any help at all; and as we
feared that all of us would get punished if the adventure were known, my
sisters and myself set to work and licked him all over; and then getting
into bed, we cuddled up together to make him dry, and were soon fast
asleep.
Although the accident was not known at the time, we all suffered for it;
for my brother caught a dreadful cold, and myself and sisters were ill
for several days, through the quantity of the stuff we had licked off my
brother's coat, and one of us nearly died through it.
As we grew stronger and older, we were permitted, under the care of our
nurse, to go into the country for a few hours to play. It may be perhaps
thought, from what I have said, that nurse's care was not worth much,
and that we might just as well have looked after ourselves, as the
poorer Kittens of our city were accustomed to do. But this was not
precisely the case; for when nurse had nobody to chat with she was very
strict with us, I assure you, and on such occasions made up for her
inattention at other times. That unlucky fondness of hers however for
gossiping, was the cause of a great deal of mischief; and about this
time it partly occasioned a sad misfortune in our family. I said
_partly_, because the accident was also due to an act of disobedience;
and as the adventure may serve as a double warning, I will briefly
relate it.
It was a lovely morning in early summer; the sun shone gaily upon the
city, looked at his brilliant face in the river, danced about among the
leaves of the trees, and polished the coats of every Cat and Dog which
came out to enjoy the beautiful day he was making.
To our great delight we were allowed to take a long walk in the country.
Two of our cousins, and a young Pussy who was visiting at our house,
were to accompany us; and nurse had strict charge to prevent our getting
into mischief. Before we started our mother called us and said, that,
although she had desired nurse to look after us, and take care that no
harm should happen while we were out, she desired also that we should
take care of _ourselves_, and behave like Kittens of station and
good-breeding, not like the young Cats about the streets, poor things!
who had no home except the first hole they could creep into, no food but
what they could pick up or steal, and no father or mother that they knew
of to teach them what was good. Such creatures were to be pitied and
relieved, but not imitated; and she hoped we would, by our behaviour,
show that we bore her advice in mind. "Above all," she added, "do not
let me hear of your climbing and racing about in a rude and extravagant
way, for a great deal of mischief is often done by such rough modes of
amusement."
We hastily promised all and everything. If we had kept our words, we
should have been perfect angels of Cats, for we declared in a chorus
that we would do only what was good, and would carefully avoid
everything that was evil; and with these fine promises in our mouths,
we started off in pairs under the guidance of nurse.
We soon came to the wood, situated at some distance from the city; and,
walking into it, shortly arrived at an open space, where some large
trees stood round and threw broad patches of shade over the grass.
We at once commenced our gambols. We rolled over one another, we sprang
over each other's backs, and hid behind the great beech trunks for the
pleasure of springing out upon our companions when they stealthily came
to look for us.
In the midst of our fun we observed that nurse had gone. We had been
so busied with our own diversions that not one of us had observed her
departure; but now that we found it out, we set off to discover where
she had strolled to. We observed her, after a few minutes, cosily seated
on a bank of violets, near the very same tortoise-shell footman, who
lived opposite our house, although how _he_ came there we could not
imagine. Nor indeed did we much trouble ourselves to guess. Seeing she
was so engaged we returned at once to our sport, and played none the
less heartily because nurse was not there to curb us.
I remember, as if it were only yesterday, the scene which followed.
I was amusing myself with one of my pretty cousins, who was dressed in
white, and was about my own age. I had thrown her down on the grass, and
was patting her with my paws, when I heard a scream; I turned quickly
round, just in time to see one of my sisters falling from a tall tree,
to which she had climbed with our young visitor, when, all of us running
up, we discovered that, on reaching the ground, she had struck her head
against a sharp stone, and was now bleeding and without motion.
Our cries brought nurse to the spot, who, as soon as she discovered all
the mischief that had been done, without saying a word started off with
all swiftness, with her tail in the air. We thought she had gone to
fetch assistance or to inform our mother of what had occurred; but as
she did not come back, and evening was fast setting in, we thought it
best to proceed towards home, although we did not much like meeting our
parents after what had happened.
There was no help for it however; so, giving a last frightened look at
our poor little sister, who was now quite dead and cold, we walked sadly
homewards, and reached the house just as night was falling.
I pass over what ensued,--my mother's grief, and her anger against
nurse, who, by the bye, never came back to express her sorrow; I pass
over also my mother's remarks upon the occasion; but I may observe,
that they, added to the sad accident itself, made so deep an impression
upon me, that whenever I felt inclined to disobey my good mother's
admonitions, the image of my dead sister would rise up before me, and,
although it did not, alas! _always_ prevent my being wicked, it often
did so, and on every occasion made me feel repentance for my error.