FOR many days Puss, Junior, traveled in his boat down the river and
towards evening he heard a voice on the shore singing:
"Rock-a-by baby, thy cradle is green,
Dad's a policeman, the finest yet seen;
And mother's a lady and goes to a ball,
And Johnny's a member of Tammany Hall."
Of course this made our little traveler laugh, for he didn't know there
was a Tammany Hall in New Mother Goose Country and neither did I until
Puss told me.
Well, he pulled his boat up on the bank and got out, and after that he
listened again for the song, but there wasn't a sound, so he thought the
baby must be asleep. Then he tiptoed over to a little cottage nearby and
looked in the window. There sat a pretty little woman with a baby in her
arms. And when she saw Puss she lifted her finger very gently to let him
know that her baby was in the Land of Nod, and after that she placed him
gently in the cradle.
"Come in," she whispered to our little pussy cat traveler and when they
were in the nice bright kitchen, for the fire in the stove made bright
streaks of light over the clean floor, she said:
[Illustration]
"Sir Cat, you are a traveler, I see. Tell me one of your adventures
while I get the supper. My good man will soon be home, hungry and tired
from his day's work."
Now Puss, Junior, was tired, too, and he didn't feel a bit like sitting
down and telling a story. But he was an obliging little pussy and he
knew, like Little Tommy Tucker, he must pay for his supper.
"Once upon a time," he began, "there was a famous cat, and the reason he
was so famous was because he had done a great favor for his master. You
see, his master was the youngest of three sons, who, when his father
died, got nothing but the cat, while the others got the farm and the
money. But he never complained, which so pleased the cat that he made up
his mind to help his young master. And what do you think he did? One day
his master's clothes were stolen while in bathing, and the king, who was
passing by at that moment in his coach, felt so sorry that he gave the
young man a beautiful suit and asked him to drive with him. Of course
the cat went, too, and as they passed along he waved his paw and said,
'All these lands belong to my master.' By and by they came to a castle
where lived a giant. So the cat ran ahead, and said to the giant, who
was sitting in his big room; 'I hear you can change yourself into
anything. Let me see if you can turn into a mouse!' 'That's easy!'
laughed the foolish giant. Whereupon this wise cat ate him up. And when
the king arrived, he said, 'Here is my master's castle;' which so
pleased the king that he gave his daughter to wed and the young man
never forgot how his cat helped him to fame and fortune. And this cat is
my father," concluded little Puss, Junior, with a bow.