The Valley of Pussycats
Tot wasn't a bit frightened when a gentle looking pussy of uncertain
age came up to him and said:
"I am Cousin Tabby, and as you are to be my guest please follow me to
number 16."
The boy laughed at the idea of entering a cat's house, but he walked
after the softly-moving pussy, who, when she reached number 16,
sprang upon the shelf and said:
"Climb in, please."
This was hard work, for the shelf was nearly as high as his chin. But
Tot had already learned to climb the trees at home, so he managed in
some way to pull himself up, with the result that he lost his balance
and fell head foremost inside the house.
To his surprise he alighted on a soft cushion, and then he scrambled
quickly to his feet and looked around him.
The room was dimly lighted by the square doorway, but after his eyes
got accustomed to the twilight he saw that upon the floor was a soft
carpet, while big cushions lay around in every direction. At the side
of the room was a long, low table, not higher than Tot's knee, and
standing in a row upon this table were four white bowls. There was a
cupboard in one corner, a big fireplace at the end of the room, and
in a second corner two little gray kittens lay asleep upon a cushion.
While the boy looked at these things there sprang through the doorway
another gray kitten, older and larger than the others, and Mrs. Tabby
said, politely:
"This is my niece, Miss Flitter, who lives with me; and these two
little ones, who were too young to go and welcome the Queen, belong
to Mrs. Mewling. She has such a large family that I have adopted
these children, for my house is much too large for myself and
Flitter."
"Oh," returned Tot, who was rather bewildered. Then, as Cousin Tabby
seemed to expect some further reply, he added: "all right."
"Now, if you will please make yourself comfortable," continued the
pussy, in a soft, purring voice, "I will get our dinner ready."
She took a white apron from the peg near the fireplace and tied it
around her waist. Then she placed another bowl on the table for Tot,
and busied herself about the work while the boy lay on the soft
carpet and stroked the silk-like fur of the two gray kittens.
While Tot was being thus entertained, Dot was led by Uncle Palladius
to number 9, where he lived. Uncle Palladius was a great black pussy,
and was one of those who wore spectacles, giving him a comical
appearance.
Dot had harder work than Tot to climb through the square doorway of
the house, but she succeeded after a struggle and was pleased with
the cozy appearance of the room.
Uncle Palladius was the head of a large family, and as strangers were
rare in their Valley they all gathered around the girl and looked at
her curiously, while one pure white kitten came softly up and rubbed
its back against Dot's leg. She stooped down, and picking up the
pretty kitten snuggled it close in her arms and gently caressed it.
Then she sat down upon a cushion, while the other kittens gathered
around her or stretched themselves lazily upon the carpet near by.
All this delighted the girl, for she was especially fond of
pussycats, although her invalid mother did not like them and had
always declared she "would not have a cat in the house."
So the child had often longed in vain for a pet of this kind, and was
now very happy to be able to play with so many.
She leaned down and pressed her cheek against the white kitten, while
she whispered: "You sweet little darling!"
"I've got a new ribbon," said the kitten, proudly.
"So I see," replied Dot, who had noticed this. Then she asked:
"How old are you, dear?"
"It's pink," said the white kitty.
"What is pink?" enquired the child.
"My ribbon."
"Oh, yes. But tell me," she added "is Uncle Palladius your father, or
your grandfather?"
"It's got a bow-knot on it," purred the kitten softly, with half
closed eyes.
"What has a bow-knot on it?" asked Dot.
"My ribbon."
"Yes, dear; but we'll talk of something else," said the girl. "Are
all these other kitties your sisters and brothers?"
"Mamma gave it to me," sang the white kitten, contentedly.
"Gave you what, dear?"
"My ribbon."
"Don't mind her," said another of the pussys, in a rather
contemptuous voice; "it's her first ribbon, and she's so vain she can
think of nothing else. Put her down and take one of us; we can talk
to you in a sensible way."
"Well, let us talk, then," said the child, but she still held the
vain kitten cuddled in her arms--it was so soft and pretty, she
thought. "Tell me about Uncle Palladius."
"He is our grandfather," said one that had white fur with big black
spots scattered over it, and which, moreover, presented a curious
appearance, because one eye was surrounded by a black spot and the
other by pure white fur.
"Uncle Palladius is very old and wise, and is uncle to half the
pussys in our Valley. Our mother, who is named Snowball, lives with
him, as he has at present no family of his own."
"Here is mother, now!" cried another kitten, and Dot looked up and
saw a pussy entering the room that was by far the most beautiful she
had ever seen. Snowball was large and very graceful, and her fur was
the purest white, without a black mark anywhere. She sat down near
Dot and asked: "Have my children been bothering you?"
"Oh, no!" declared Dot; "they are the loveliest pussys in the world."
Snowball smiled in a gratified way.
"I think, myself," she said, "that no house has a prettier or lazier
lot of kittens than number 9. We can outsleep any other family I know
of, and when it comes to our midnight concerts Uncle Palladius' voice
is so strong it can be heard above all the rest."
"What are these midnight concerts like?" asked the girl.
"Oh, they are wonderfully entertaining," answered Snowball, "and I
wish you could hear one of them. Perhaps you have noticed the
railings around the roofs of our houses. Well, in the middle of the
night we all sit upon these railings and have a grand concert. There
are no people to throw stones or bootjacks at us, so we enjoy
ourselves immensely. The house that can produce the loudest chorus,
with the most varied sound, is considered the most aristocratic in
the Valley, and I am proud to say that Uncle Palladius and I have the
reputation of fully holding our own."
"Yes, yes!" spoke up Uncle Palladius, in a deep, bass voice; "I
flatter myself I can be heard throughout the whole Valley."
"But the kittens cannot jump to the roofs of the houses, can they?"
asked Dot.
"No, indeed," replied Snowball; "only those who are old enough and
strong enough to jump to the roofs are considered worthy to take part
in the concerts. But the little ones have the pleasure of lying
inside before the fire and listening to us."
"Do you have fires?" enquired the child.
"Yes; we consider nothing more cozy and comfortable than lying before
a glowing grate fire. When the evenings are chilly there is a fire in
every house, and we pussys lie before it upon our cushions and enjoy
its warmth. Usually we sleep all day long, and most of the night,
except during the concert, which lasts from midnight until dawn."
"You must enjoy yourselves very much," said Dot, earnestly.
"Oh, we do, indeed!" replied the white pussycat; "but I see that
dinner is now ready, so please come to the table."
The girl walked toward the low table with some curiosity to know how
these pussys ate, and what they had for food. She found a row of
white bowls sitting upon a white cloth, and each bowl was filled with
fresh milk. At the ends of the table were plates of light bread with
deep brown crusts.
The kittens all brought cushions to the sides of the table and sat
upon them, their heads being then just high enough to reach the
bowls. Dot was placed at one end of the table, with Snowball at her
right hand, and Uncle Palladius sat at the other end.
"Where do you get such nice milk?" asked the girl.
"We have several springs in the Valley," answered Snowball, "where it
bubbles up constantly."
"And where do you get the bread?" Dot next enquired.
"That grows upon the tall trees you see scattered about. We climb the
bread-trees every day and gather fresh loaves."
"Don't you catch mice?" asked Dot.
"Mercy, no!" replied Snowball, in a horrified voice. "Do you suppose
mice would be foolish enough to come into a Valley of Pussycats?"
"No, I suppose not," replied the girl; "but I always thought pussys
liked mice."
"I have never seen the horrid animals," returned the white cat; "but
there is a tradition in the Valley that some of our forefathers found
mice here at one time and quickly destroyed them. They may have eaten
them, for all I know; no one can be certain what his forefathers did.
But none of us now living here has ever eaten anything but bread and
milk, of that I am positive."
"It's such nice bread and milk," said Dot, "that I should think you
would prefer it to anything else."
"We do, for there's nothing else to prefer," was the answer.
After dinner the kittens washed their faces carefully and then all of
them, accompanied by Dot, left the room and walked to King Felis'
house where they found Tot and the Queen surrounded by a crowd of
pussys.
"Oh, Dot!" cried Tot, when he saw the girl. "I held the gray kittens
after dinner, an' never dropped 'em once!"
"Was he good?" Dot asked Cousin Tabby. "Yes, he behaved very nicely,"
answered Cousin Tabby. "We must now bid our friends farewell," said
the Queen, "for it is time to proceed upon our journey."
So they returned to the boat, and all the pussys, headed by King
Felis and Uncle Palladius, went with them and politely bade them
good-bye.
When they were floating in the river again the Queen asked Dot, "How
did you like the pussycats?"
"They're lovely!" exclaimed the girl. "I should have liked to stay
all night with them."
"Well, I wouldn't," rejoined the Queen. "The last time I passed the
night in this Valley the pussys screamed so loudly at their midnight
concert that the noise cracked my wax. They are much nicer to visit
in the daytime."
"Why is the King named Felis?" enquired Dot, after a moment's
thought.
"Because that is the name of his race. All our names have some
meaning in Merryland," answered the Queen.
"I suppose your own name has a meaning, if only we knew what it was,"
said Dot, slyly.
"Good gracious!" cried the Queen; "haven't I told you my name yet?"
"No," said Dot.
"Then I must have forgotten that you asked it. It was very stupid of
me, and I assure you I didn't mean to be rude." Then her Majesty
turned to Tot and asked:
"How did you like the Valley of Pussys?"
"Fine!" said the boy. "The kitties were soft an' fuzzy, an' the bread
and milk was good. But the doors," he added, solemnly, "are built too
high up to be 'zactly comf'table."