 XI. The lion is the king of cats. Though there are some who think that the tiger has a better claim to the throne, in point of size and strength there is not much difference between these two animals. The lion appears larger on account of his shaggy mane, but specimens of the tiger have been taken whose measurement was equal to that of the largest lion. Otherwise the tiger is decidedly superior in courage, in address, and in beauty. In fact the royal tiger is one of the most beautiful of animals, while the lion, not withstanding the great fame he enjoys, is among the very ugliest of brutes. These two powerful creatures often meet in the jungles of India, and try their strength in single combat. It is not decided which is superior in prowess, since victory is sometimes on one side and sometimes on the other. No doubt this depends on the individuals who may engage, for lions are not all alike, nor tigers neither. Both differ in strength and courage, just as men do, and this difference is caused by a variety of circumstances, such as age, size, season of the year, nature of the country, and climate, and many like contingencies. Remember that the lion is found both in Asia and Africa, and nowhere else. He inhabits the whole of Africa, from the cape to the shores of the Mediterranean, and there are three well-marked varieties on that continent. In Asia he is only found in its southern part, that is, in the tropical and subtropical regions, and there are also two or three varieties of the Asiatic lion. With regard to the tiger he is altogether an Asiatic. There are no tigers in Europe, Africa, and America. Of course we mean in their wild state, and the stories of tiger hunts in Africa and America frequently to be met with in books and newspapers are the narratives of mere ignorant travelers who confound the royal tiger with several species of spotted cats, of which we shall presently speak. We may add that the tiger, although exclusively Asiatic, is not exclusively tropical in his hunts. Tigers are more abundant in the hot jungles of India and some of the larger islands of the Indian Ocean than elsewhere, but they have also been observed far to the north of the Himalayan chain on the great steppes that extend almost to the confines of Siberia. To continue the monarchical analogy there are four cats that may be called the princes of the family. These are the jaguar, the leopard, the panther, and the hunting leopard, or cheetah. The first of these is exclusively American, the other three African and Asiatic. They are all for what are termed spotted cats, that is, having black markings on a buff or yellowish ground. I need not add that they are all beautiful creatures. A superficial observer would easily mistake the one for the other, and in common phrase they are indifferently termed leopards, panthers, and even tigers, but the naturalist and even the furrier knows that they are four distinct species. I shall endeavor to point out, as briefly as possible, some marks that will enable you to distinguish them. In the spots we find a tolerably good criterion of the species. Those upon the body of the jaguar are not spots, but rather what may be termed rosettes. So too the black markings of the leopard and panther are rosettes, that is, irregular black rings enclosing an open space of the yellow ground. On the contrary, the spots upon the hunting leopard are real spots of a uniform black, and consequently this animal is easily distinguished from the other three. He differs from them also in shape. He is longer in the legs, stands more upright upon them, and can run more swiftly than any of the cat tribe. In fact he has a tendency towards the nature and habits of the dog, and might be appropriately termed the cat-dog or the dog-cat, whichever you please. It is on account of his canine qualities that he is sometimes trained to the chase. Hence his specific name of the hunting leopard. He inhabits both Asia and Africa. But how are the jaguar, leopard, and panther to be distinguished from one another? The jaguar easily enough from the other two. His rosettes have a black point in the center, which is haunting in the rings of the panther and leopard. Besides the jaguar is a larger and more powerful animal. Humboldt and others have observed specimens of the jaguar nearly equal in dimensions to that of the royal tiger himself, and his feats of fierce prowess in the forests of Spanish America are scarce eclipsed by those of his congener in the jungles of India. Human beings are frequently his victims, and settlements have been abandoned on account of the dangerous proximity of the jaguars. His range in America is pretty nearly coterminal with the Spanish territories, including of course Brazil and Guiana, and excluding the country of Patagonia where a smaller species takes his place. In all these countries he is misnamed Tiger, Tigre. Hence the anomalous stories to which we have alluded. We may add that there is a black jaguar in tropical America, just as there is a black panther in Asia. In either case is it a different species, only a variety as regards color. In all other respects the black and yellow kinds are alike. Even on the black ones the spots are observable in a certain light, being of a deeper hue than the general ground color of the skin. Thus then it is easy to distinguish a cheetah from a jaguar, or either from a leopard or panther, but with regard to these last two the distinction is more difficult. In fact so much are they alike that the two species are confounded even by naturalists. And it is yet an undecided point which is the leopard and which is the panther. That there are two distinct species is certain. The London furrier knows that there are two kinds of skins, which he distinguishes mainly by the feel. But the learned zoologist Temmink has pointed out a difference in the anatomical structure. Both animals are natives of Africa, and both were supposed to exist in Asia, but it is doubtful whether that known as the leopard extends beyond the limits of the African continent. The panther is that one which is a little heavier in the body, more cat-like in shape and of a deeper yellow in the ground color. But perhaps the truest distinction is found in the tail which is longer in the panther than in the leopard, and consists of a greater number of vertebrae. The panther is a well-known animal in India and the Asiatic Islands, and as already stated there is a dark-skinned variety, commonly known as the black panther of Java. Taking the cat family according to size, the next that deserves mention is the cougar or puma. This is the panther of the Anglo-Americans, and the lion, Leon, of the Mexicans and South-Americans. His color is a uniform, tawny red or calf color, and he is inferior to the jaguar in size, strength, and courage. Notwithstanding he is a formidable animal, and has been known to attack and destroy the larger mammalia. When wounded or at bay he will also defend himself against a human enemy, and there have been instances of hunters, both white and Indian, having succumbed to his strength. His range extends over nearly the whole continent of America, but he more particularly affects the deep shadow of the forests, and, like the jaguar, he is a tree climber. He has no claim to the title of lion, except from some resemblance and color, and no doubt it was this that led to his misnomer among the early settlers of Spanish America. The ounce comes next. Of all the large cats, this is the least known, either to naturalists or hunters. We only know that such species exists. That it is a native of western Asia, Persia, and perhaps Arabia. That it is an animal nearly as large as a leopard or panther, but of stouter build and clumsier shape. That it is covered with long woolly hair of a pale yellow color and spotted, not so distinctly as the true leopards, from which it is easily distinguished, both by its form and color. The name ounce is from Buffon, but this specific appellation is also applied to the jaguar of America, the jaguar rundi, or lesser jaguar, of Paraguay, and even to the ocelot. The rimau dahan is one of the most beautiful species of cats. It is of a yellowish-ground color, not spotted like the leopard, but marked with broad black bands and patches. In other words, clouded. It is not so large as either of the species described. It is a tree-climber and lies in wait for its prey in the forks of the lower limbs, where it also goes to sleep. From this habit it derives its name, dalyan, which in the Sumatran language signifies the fork of a tree. Not unlike the rimau dahan, both in size and markings, is the Nepal cat, a species as its name imports found in Nepal in the mountain forests. The serval is a spotted cat, black upon a pale yellowish-ground, and considerably larger than the domestic species. It is a native of South Africa, and its skin is prized among the kafirs for making their fur cloaks or carosses. The ocelot is about equal in size to the last named and equally prized for its beautiful skin, which is clouded with an admixture of spots and stripes upon a ground of yellowish gray. It belongs to Spanish America, more especially Mexico, and it is said to have been this animal that is represented on the hieroglyphical paintings of the ancient Aztecs. Probably its nobler congener, the jaguar, which is also found in Mexico, is the animal that held this distinction in the land of Anahuac. In Central and South America there are a great many species of striped and spotted cats, known generally as tiger cats. The ocelot is one of these, but there are also the pampas cats, the chatay, the jaguar fundy, the margag, the false margag, and many others. Numerous species too exist in the forests of India, as also in the great tropical islands of Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines. There is yet a section of the cat family to be described. These are the lynxes, or cats with short tails and long ears. The latter erect and, at the tips, pointing inward or towards each other. Of the lynxes, three species are found in North America. The largest of these is the canada lynx, which, in point of size, approaches the smaller species of leopards. The color of this animal is of a reddish gray, with spots very indistinctly marked. Its fur is long, and its skins form one of the principal articles of the Hudson's Bay trade. The canada lynx is not found so far south as the United States, but its place is there occupied by the bay lynx, a smaller species, and one very similarly marked, except that the rufus tent on the back and sides of the latter is deeper and the spots more pronounced. A little further south is a third species, only made known to naturalists within the last few years. It inhabits Texas, and is hence called the Texan lynx. It is of a darker red than either of the preceding, but in other respects, size, shape, and habits, it is almost identical with the bay lynx. Both range to the Pacific. Of the lynxes of the Old World, there is the common or European lynx, which is still found in several European countries. The Karakal, a native of Africa and part of Asia, the booted lynx, also indigenous to both continents. The Shaos, belonging to the country of the Marathas. The Catalo, a large species of northern Europe, the Nubian lynx of North Africa, and the southern lynx, a native of Spain. It may be added that there is scarce one of these species of which there are not two or more varieties, known only to those who have made a study of the kingdom of nature. End of Section 1. The kittens were playing a sort of follow-the-leader in and out of their comfortable box of straw, while Mrs. Tabbycat sat patiently by, only occasionally glancing at them to make sure that all three were safe. Things were very comfortably arranged for the little family of pussies out in the barn, and the only possible danger to the cat-babies was the St. Bernard's dog's drinking-dish, which was set down into the barn floor very near the wall, and kept filled with water. One of the grooms had arranged it, one idle afternoon, more for his own amusement than for any real need, so to place it. Trilled Mother Cat, as Frisker, wobbled over toward her greatest dread, that dreadful water. Do stay near me, kittens, then you won't tumble in and get drowned. Answered the three kittens and three different keys. Don't worry about us, we're all right. Folly, the white-nosed kitty, rose gaily on her tottery hind legs for an instant and cuffed playfully at her mother's ear, then started across the barn floor as fast as a fat three weeks old kitten can tumble, followed at once by Frisker. Calico saw them go, and, anticipating a frolic, it once made up her mind to be in it. She lifted her heavy little head and started eagerly toward her stronger sisters, but the progress was slow, for Calico was feeble, and the weak little legs would slide apart, while her tail waved wildly from side to side in the effort to keep her balance. She was a strong-minded small pussy, the weak in body, and she kept steadily on. As she drew near her goal, she felt very strong and proud. One or two surprising sit-downs and a very hard bump on the pink nose in no way dampened her enthusiasm, but alas the fall that always follows pride dampened both enthusiasm and her whole wee self for a time. Just as she was becoming quite reckless, almost prancing, with feet stepping at least half an inch from the floor, they suddenly yawned directly in front of the astounded kitten, the six-inch chasm of the drinking-dish. She toppled, her tail gave a single, wowed twirl, and she splashed heels overhead in two inches of water. Mrs. Tappy, who had been anxiously watching the unsteady promenade, sprang to the basin at once and, leaning down, tried to pull Calico out by the nape of the neck, to the frightened and shivering kitten that had, upon touching bottom, at once gained its feet. This would have been quite as unpleasant as the cold water that was now chilling her through and through, so she protested in thrill wails. Though she was too heavy for the little mother to lift, still Mrs. Tappy would not give up and tried to claw her kitten out with sudden dabs as she took the fish from the brook. This was more than any kitten could stand, and Calico rebelled openly. She spat at her worried mama. Of course she did not know any better, for she was only a kitty. The water might be cold, but at least it did not hurt, while her nose and ears smarted sharply from her mother's well-meant scratches. Then mother Cat grew desperate and lost her head completely, circling round and round her baby, now coaxing Calico to jump out, as if I wouldn't, if I could, thought the kitten, now crying piteously. After what seemed to Tappy and age, but was really less than five minutes, the groom, who had really been the innocent cause of all this trouble, sauntered in and put an end to it by lifting Calico tenderly out. Gently he dried the little trembling thing and sat her down in her comfortable box once more, where Mrs. Cat at once cuddled down close beside her, suddenly spying her sisters again. She made a fresh start, only to be stopped by a well-directed slap from her mother's swift paw. Mew, meow! snapped Mrs. Cat. You just sit still for a while. I've had worry enough for one day, and I will not help you out again. I don't want you to, sniffed Calico, rubbing her still, smarting nose thoughtfully. Tappy sighed, as the kitten made yet another start for her sisters, but wisely let her go. Did you ever, she groaned. But then kittens will be kittens. Topsie, without meaning to, brushed against Pan, properly named Great Pandrandrum, because of his superior manner, who promptly spat at her. As he returned compliment, Topsie boxed his ears, then scuttled off to the living-room. Topsie stalked into the library, and choosing, cat-like, the one spot he should have kept away from, curled up on a handsome book that was lying open on the table, and forgot his troubles in sleep. For some time Topsie wandered aimlessly from room to room, then preferring pan-society to no-society at all. She did not feel kindly towards human beings since her late whipping. She leapt lightly onto the table and curled up near him. For fully half an hour she sat idly, with half-closed eyes, while Pan slept on, a perfect picture of innocent slumber. Then his paws began to jerk excitedly, his mouth twitched, and the tip of his tail waved, like a pennant and a stiff breeze. Topsie eyed him coldly. Meow! he gasped. His paws slipped from the book to the table, and he awoke with a start. Pretty faces you've been making, snapped Topsie, and such talk. Pan seemed surprised. Then he remembered that Topsie had had the worst of the punishment, and suddenly felt very forbearing. He'd had a delightful cat-nap, and we all know how refreshing those are. I dreamed, he began, then paused impassibly for questions. Guess you did, sniff Topsie, you acted like it. Pan looked grieved, but remembered. It was such a good nap he had, that when cats have trouble they are apt to be catty. I dreamed, he went on calmly, that I had that yellow squalling thing on the floor, and I was just going to put my paw on its soft feathers when I awoke. He licked his chops dreamily at the thought. My sympathized Topsie at last interested. Come to think of it, Tops, I'm hungry. And well, you know, Mistress doesn't always feed us heartily after, well, after, you know. Topsie bobbed the end of her tail, understandingly, and Pan grew confidential. I know where's a dish of cream, it's down. The rest of the sentence was whispered so low that I really couldn't tell you what it was. But Topsie understood, and the two hurried away, as noiselessly and gracefully, yes, and as dignifiedly, as only cats can hurry. The desired cream they found on a high shelf in the shed. They were supposed never to enter this place, so Cook had thought at a safe spot in which to set the cream. A strong jump was needed to reach the shelf, but after several attempts they managed it, and lapped, lapped, lapped, to their full content. As they sat blissfully purring after this unusual treat they heard a plaintive mew from the ground close by, and peering down saw a strange cat that had evidently entered through the open window as they had done. They looked hungry and wistful, while they had just had a delicious meal, and were correspondingly pleasant. Meow! Come on up, it's good, called Pan. Possibly hunger made the leap easier for this newcomer than for the well-fed cats. Possibly he was more agile than they, for with one spring he landed by the saucer, and dipping his head eagerly, lapped long and fast, before he once raised his eyes. When he finished, the pink tongue was run out over his lips and whiskers, so that no delicious drop showed escape, and he heaved a satisfied sigh. "'Do you, uh, always have such dinners as this?' asked he. Pan turned his head away, and pretended to be interested in a black ant that was crawling rapidly up the wall below him. He was a truthful pussy, and preferred to change the subject. The stranger was comfortable, and sat lazily waiting for the answer. At that moment Cook went for the cream, and seeing the cats started angrily forward, showing and scatting with great vigor. When after a wild exit the cats at last seated themselves up on a high fence they paused a moment to get their breath again. Then the stranger smiled. He actually, rend. "'I should judge you. Don't always have such a dinner as that,' he spoke pleasantly, but Pan looked sheepish. "'By whiskers,' he muttered, his mind's eyes still seeing Cook's vulgar, flapping, apron-strings. I should think not. "'Thanks just the same, more,' said the visitor, jumping down. "'Don't mention it,' politely answered the host and hostess. "'Come again!' "'End of Section Three. Section Four of Cattails. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Bologna Times. The Kitten Who Lost Herself by Clara Dillingham Pearson. "'I think,' said the blind horse, that something is the matter with my ears. He and the dappled gray had been doing fieldwork all the morning, and were now eating a hearty dinner and their stalls. They were the only people on the first floor of the barn. Even the stray doves, who had wandered in the open door, were out in the sunshine once more. Once in a while the whir of wings told that some swallow darted through the window into the loft above and flew to her nest under the roof. There was a deep and rustful quiet in the sun-warmed air, and yet the blind horse had seemed to be listening to something which the other did not hear. The dappled gray stopped eating at once. Your ears, said he, what is wrong with them? I thought your hearing was very good. It always has been, was the answer, and finer than ever since I lost my sight. You know, it is always so with us blind people. We learned to hear better than we could before losing our sight. But ever since we came in from the field I have had a queer sound in my ears, and I think there is something the matter with them. The dappled gray stopped eating and stood perfectly still to listen. He did not even switch his tail, although at that minute there were three flies on his left side, and one on his neck. He was trying as hard as he could to hear the queer sound also, for if he did it would prove that the noise was real and that the blind horse's hearing was all right. He could not hear a thing. What is it like? he asked. Like the loud purring of a cat, was the answer. But everyone knows that the cat is not purring anywhere around here. She might be, said the dappled gray, where does the sound seem to be? Above my head, said the blind horse, and she certainly would not be purring up there at this time. She would either be sound asleep or off hunting, or else out in the sunshine, where she loves to sit. The dappled gray felt that this was so, and he could not say a word. He was very sorry for his friend. He thought how dreadful it would seem to be both blind and deaf, and he choked on the oats he was swallowing. Now, don't worry, said the blind horse, if I should be deaf I could still feel the soft touch of the breeze on my skin, and could taste my good food, and rub noses with my friends. I wouldn't have spoken of it, only I hoped that you could hear the noise also, and then I would know that it was real. That was just like him. He was always patient and sweet-tempered, and all the years he had been blind he had never once complained of it, and many times when the other horses were about to say, or do some ill-natured thing, they thought of him, and stopped. They were ashamed to be impatient when they were so much better off than he. The horses kept on eating their oats and resting from their hard work. In the hayloft above their heads the cat lay, and purred, and purred, and purred, never dreaming that her doing so made trouble for her friends downstairs. She had been hunting all the night before, creeping softly through the barn, and hiding behind bags and boxes to watch for careless mice and young rats. They were night-runners as well as she, and many things happened in the barn and farm-yard, while the larger four-legged people were sound asleep, and the fowls were dreaming with their heads tucked under their wings. Sometimes there were not so many mice in the morning as there had been the evening before, and when this was so the cat would walk slowly through the barn and look for a comfortable resting place. When she found it she would turn around three times as her great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother used to do, to trample a bed in the jungle and then lie down for a long nap. She said she always slept better when her stomach was full, and that was the habit of all cats. Sometimes she hunted in the fields, and many a morning at sunrise the cows had seen her walking toward the barn on the top of the fences. She did not like to wet her feet on the dewy grass when it could be helped, so as soon as she was through hunting she jumped onto the nearest fence and went home in that way. Yes, last night she had been hunting, yet she was not thinking of it now. Neither was she asleep. A rat nod at the boards near her, and she hardly turned her head. A mouse ran across the floor in plain sight, and she watched him without moving. What did she care about them now? Her first kittens lay on the hay beside her, and she would not leave them on this first day of their lives unless she really had to. Of course she had seen little kittens before, kittens that belonged to other cats, but she was certain that none of them had looked at all like her three charming babies. She could not decide which one of them was the most beautiful. She was a tortoise shell-cat herself, and her fur was spotted with white, black, and yellow. The babies had the same colors on their soft coats, but not in just the same way as hers. At first she thought her largest daughter was the beauty of the family. She was such a clear yellow, with not a hair of any other color on her. I always did like yellow cats, said the young mother, and they are said to be very strong. Then she looked at her smaller daughter, who was white with tiny yellow and black spots on neck and head. Such a clean-looking baby, she exclaimed, and I am sure that when her eyes are open I shall find them blue like my own. Just at this moment the warm, dark little bunch of fur between her forepaws moved, and she looked lovingly down upon him, her only son. He is certainly a very remarkable one, she said. I never before saw such a fine mixture of yellow and black, first a hair of one, and then a hair of the other, so that, unless one is very close to him, it looks like a rich brown. And then his feet. She gave him a loving little poke with one forefoot, and turned him onto his back. This made him wave his tiny paws in the air. The thick cushions of skin on each, where as black as black could be, and that is very uncommon. They are usually pink like those of his sisters. The little fellow lay there, wriggling very feebly, until his mother gave him another poke that turned him over. Then he stretched and crawled toward her, reaching his head first one way, then another. He was so weak that he could not raise his body from the hay, but dragged it along by taking short and uncertain steps with his fore shaking legs. It was only a short time since he had found that he had legs, and he hadn't any idea how to use them. He just moved whichever one seemed most in his way. He didn't know where he was going, or what he was going for, but his little stomach was empty, and he was cold. Something he didn't know what made him drag himself toward the big warm creature nearby. When his black nose touched the fur of her body, he stopped pushing ahead and began to feel from side to side. He did not know now for what he was feeling, yet when he found something his tiny mouth closed round it, and a stream of sweet warm milk began to flow down his throat and into his empty stomach. He did not know that it was milk. He did not know anything except that it was good, and then he fell asleep. His sisters did in the same way, and soon the happy mother could look down and see her three babies in a row beside her, all sound asleep. Their pointed little tails lay straight out behind them, and their soft ears were bent forward close to their heads. "'I wonder,' said she, "'if I was ever as small as they are, and if my mother loved me as much as I loved them.' She stretched out one of her four paws and looked at it. It was so much larger, so very much larger, than the paws of the kittens, such a soft and dainty paw as it was, and so perfectly clean. She stretched it even more, and saw five long, curved, sharp claws slide out of their sheaths or cases. She quickly slid them back into their sheaths, for fear that in some way they might happen to touch and hurt her babies. A swallow flew down from his nest, and passed over her head, then out of the open window. "'Kittens,' said he, "'Kittens!' He flew over the fields, and saw two horses standing by the fence, while the farmer was oiling his machine. "'We have new neighbors in the barn,' said he, and the cat is purring louder than ever.' "'Who are the neighbors?' asked the devil-grey. "'Kittens!' sang the swallow. "'Oh, tittle, ittle, ittle-ee!' The blind horse drew a long breath. "'Then I did hear her purr,' said he. "'I am so glad!' He never made a fuss about his troubles, for he was brave and unselfish, yet the dappled grey knew, without being told, how much lighter his heart was since he heard that the cat had really been purring above his head. The days passed, and the kittens grew finally. They got their eyes open, first in narrow cracks, and then wider and wider, until they were round and staring. The white kitten had blue eyes, the others brown. In the daytime they had long, narrow spots in the middle of their eyes, and as the bright light faded these black spots spread out sideways until they were quite round. When it was very dark these spots glowed like great fireflies in the night. Then the mice, who often scampered through the loft, when the cat was away, would see three pairs of eyes glowing in the hay, and they would squeak to each other. "'See! The kittens are watching us!' And the kittens, who were not yet old enough to go hunting, and who were afraid of everything that stirred, would crowd up against each other, arch their little backs, raise their pointed tails, win their fur on end, and say, Psst! Sometimes they did this when there was not a person in sight, and what frightened them was nothing but a wisp of hay blown down by the wind. Afterward, when anything moved, they sprang at it, held it down with their sharp little claws, and chewed on it with their pointed white teeth. When they were tired of this game they played hide-and-seek, and when they were tired of that they chased their tails. It was so nice always to have play-things with them. Sometimes, too, they chased each other's tails, and caught them, and bit them hard, until the kitten, who owned the tail, cried meow, and tumbled the biter over. They were allowed to play all through the loft, except over the manger's. Their mother was afraid that if they went there they would fall through the holes which had been left in the floor during the winter the farmer used to throw hay down through these to the hungry horses. When the cat saw her children going toward these places she called them back and scolded them. Sometimes she struck them lightly on the ears with her forepaw. I don't like to, said she, but they must learn to keep away. It is not safe for them to go there. One morning, when she was away, they were playing hide-and-seek, and the white kitten was hunting for a good hiding place. I'll hide near one of these holes, she said, and they won't dare come there to look. Then after they have hunted a long, long time I'll get another place and let them find me. She did hide there, and after a long, long time when her brother and sister were on the farther end of the loft she tried to run over to another dark corner. Instead of that the hay began to slip and slide under her, and she went down, down, down through a long dark box and hit with a hard thud at the bottom. She was so scared that she couldn't have told how many toes she had on her forefeet. Of course she had five on each, like all kittens, and four on each hind foot, but if anybody had asked her then she would have been quite likely to say three. She was sore too, and when she felt a warm breath on her and opened her eyes she saw that some great creature had thrust his nose through a hole in the side of the dark box. It must be a horse, she thought, and my mother says that they are kind to cats. I think I'd better tell him who I am, I don't want him to take me for a pig, because he may not like pigs. You see, she forgot that horses had been living in the great world, and could tell to what family a person belonged the very first time they saw him. The only people she had ever seen were swallows and mice. If you please, sir," she said, I am the white kitten, and I just tumbled down from the hayloft, but I didn't mean to. I am the blind horse," answered a strong and gentle voice outside, and I hope you are not hurt. Not very much, answered the kitten, I'd just feel achy in my back and scared all over. Come out into the manger, white kitten, said the blind horse, and perhaps you won't be so scared. I won't touch you, although I should like to. You know I am blind, and so, unless I can touch people, I don't know how they look. The white kitten crawled out and saw him, and then she wasn't afraid at all. She was so sorry for him that she couldn't be afraid. She remembered the time before her eyes opened when she had to feel for everything she wanted. It was not so hard then, because she did not know anything different, but now she could not bear to think of not being able to see all that was around her. "'If you will put your nose down in the other end of the manger,' she said, I will rub up against it, and he will know more how I look.'" The blind horse did this, and who can tell how happy it made him when her warm and furry back rubbed up against his nose. "'Thank you,' he winnied, "'you are very good.' "'Would you know I was a kitten if I hadn't told you?' she said. "'Indeed I would,' he answered. "'And you wouldn't have thought me a pig?' she asked. "'Never!' said he. "'I wouldn't even have believed you if you had told me that you were one.'" The blind horse and the white kitten became firm friends, and when she tried to wash off the dirt that got into her fur, she sat in the very middle of the manger and told him all about it. "'My mother always has washed me,' she said, but my tongue is getting big enough to wash with now. It is getting rougher, too, and that is a good thing. My mother says that the reason why all the prickles on cat's tongues point backward is because then we can lick all the meat off from bones with them. I'm most old enough to eat meat now. I can't wash the top of my head, though. You have to wet your paw and scrub it with that. Can you wash the top of your head?' Then the blind horse told her how the men kept him clean, and while he was telling this, the cat came into his stall, crying and looking for her child. "'Oh, mother!' cried the white kitten. I tumbled down, but I didn't mean to, and I'm sorry I didn't mind you. And the blind horse can't wash the top of his head, and he knew that I wasn't a pig!' The cat was so glad to find the white kitten that she didn't scold at all, but jumped into the manger and washed her clean, and then caught the loose gen of the kitten's neck between her teeth, and carried her through the stalls across the barn floor and up the stairs to their home. That made the kitten much ashamed, for she thought that she was old enough to go alone. For two whole days after this, the white kitten was so lame from her fall that she could only lie still on the hay, and she could see that her mother did not treat her as before. "'I won't ever go near those places again,' she said. I never will. "'You promised me before that you would stay away,' said her mother, and you broke your promise. She did not punish the white kitten, but she felt very sad, and she could not help showing it. There was a dreadful ache in her child's little kitten heart that was a great deal worse than the lameness in her back, or in her neck, or in her legs. At last there came a day when the whole family walked downstairs, and the cat showed her three children to the farmyard people, and spoke a few words about each. "'The yellow kitten, my big daughter,' said she, promises to be the best hunter. She is a wonderful jumper, and her claws are already nearly as long as mine. My son, the brown one, has a remarkable voice. "'And this white kitten, my little daughter, is the most obedient of all. She has never disobeyed me since the day she fell into the manger, and I can trust her perfectly.' Then the white kitten knew that she was quite forgiven, and she was the happiest person on the farm. CHAPTER V PUSSYCAT, PUSSYCAT, WHERE DO YOU GO? TO LONDON, TO VISIT THE PALACE, YOU KNOW. PUSSYCAT, MEW, WILL YOU COME BACK AGAIN? OH, YES, I'LL SCAMPER, WITH MIGHT, AND WITH MAIN. PUSSYCAT, MEW, SET OFF ON HER WAY. Stepping quite softly, and feeling quite gay. Smooth was the road, so she travelled at ease, warmed by the sunshine and fan by the breeze. Over the hills to the valleys below, through the deep woods where the soft mosses grow, skirting the fields with butter-cups dotted, swiftly our venturesome PUSSYCAT trotted. Sharp watch she kept when a village she neared, for boys and their mischief, our PUSSYCAT veered. Often she crept through the grasses so deep to pass by a dog that was lying asleep. Once as she walked through a sweet clover field, something beside her, a frightedly squealed, and swift from her path there darted away a tiny field-mouse with a coat of soft grey. Nowhere thought our PUSSY is chance for a dinner the one that runs fastest must surely be winner. So quickly she started the mouse to give chase, and over the clover they ran a great race. But just when it seemed that PUSSY would win, the mouse spied a hole and quickly popped in, and so he escaped, for the hole was so small that PUSSYCAT couldn't squeeze in it at all. So softly she crouched, and with eyes big and round, quite steadily watched that small hole in the ground. This mouse really thinks he's escaped me, she said, but I'll catch him sure if he sticks out his head. But while she was watching the poor mouse's plight, a deep growl behind made her jump with a fright. She gave a great cry, and then started to run, as swift as a bullet that's shot from a gun. Meow! Oh, meow! Our poor PUSSY did say, Bow wow! cried the dog, who was not far away. Or meadows and ditches they scampered apace, or fences and hedges they kept up the race. Then PUSSYCAT mew, sobbed before her a tree, and knew that a safe place of refuge could be. So far up the tree, with a bound she did go, and left the big dog to growl down below. But now, by good fortune, a man came that way, and called to the dog, who was forced to obey. But PUSSYCAT did not come down the tree till she knew that the man and the dog were far out of view, pursuing her way at nightfall she came, to London, a town you know well by name, and wandering round in Byway and Street, a strange pussycat she happened to meet. Good evening, said PUSSYCAT mew, can you tell in which of these houses the queen may now dwell? I'm a stranger in town, and I'm anxious to see what sort of a person a real queen may be. My friend, said the other, you really must know it isn't permitted that strangers should go inside of the palace unless they're invited, and stray pussycats are apt to be slighted. By good luck, however, I'm quite well aware of a way to the palace by means of a stair that never is guarded, so just come with me, and a glimpse of the queen you shall certainly see. PUSSYCAT thanked her new friend, and together they stole, to the back of the palace, and crept through a hole, in the fence and quietly came to the stair which the stranger PUSSYCAT promised was there. Now here I must leave you, the strange pussy said, so don't be afraid, cat, but go straight ahead, and don't be alarmed if by chance you are seen, for people will think you belong to the queen. So PUSSYCAT mew did as she had been told, and walked through the palace with manners so bold. She soon reached the room where the queen sat in state, surrounded by lords and by ladies so great. And there in the corner our PUSSYCAT sat down, and gazed at the scepter and blinked at the crown, and eyed the queen's dress all purple and gold, which was surely a beautiful sight to behold. But all of a sudden she started, for there was a little gray mouse right under the chair, where her majesty sat, and PUSSY well knew she'd scream with alarm if the mouse met her view. So up toward the chair our PUSSYCAT stole. But the mouse saw her coming and ran for its hole, but PUSSY ran after, and during the race a wonderful, terrible panic took place. The ladies all jumped on their chairs in alarm, the lords drew their swords to protect them from harm, and the queen gave a scream and fainted away a very undignified act, I must say. And someone cried burglars, and someone cried treason, and someone cried murder, but none knew the reason. And someone cried fire, they are burning the house. And someone cried silence, it's only a mouse. But PUSSYCAT Mew was so awfully scared by the shouting and screaming no longer she dared to stay in the room so without more delay she rushed from the palace and scampered away. So bristling her fur, and with hearty beating fast, she came to the road leading homeward at last. What business, she thought, has a poor country cat to visit a city of madmen like that. Straight homeward I'll go where I am well fed, where mistress is kind and soft is my bed. Let other cats travel if they wish to roam. But as for myself I shall now stay at home. And now over hills and valleys she ran, and journeyed as fast as a pussycat can, till just as the day of the dawn did begin, she safely at home still quietly in. And there was the fire with the pot boiling on it, and there was the maid in the blue checkered bonnet, and there was the corner where pussy off-basked, and there was the mistress who eagerly asked. Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been? I've been to London to visit the queen. Pussycat, pussycat, what did you there? I frightened a little mouse under her chair. CHAPTER VI. Cats are diminished examples of the feline race, but their fur is longer than that of others, and they bear a greater resemblance to leopards than to lions. The idea of majesty is not connected with them, but they are celebrated for grace, elegance, suppleness, and insidiousness. There is yet a wild species in existence, which inhabits the mountainous and wooded districts of the northern part of England, and also Scotland, where it is used formally to be very abundant. It is scarcely necessary to give a description, even of the untamed species, so well known are the general characters of these animals. It will be quite sufficient to say that the head of the latter is triangular, the soles of the feet of the male are always black, their tails are bushy, they spring furiously upon whoever approaches, and utter unearthly cries. Mr. St. John, when walking up to his knees in Heather, over broken ground came suddenly upon a wild cat. She rushed out between his legs, every hair standing up. He cut a good-sized stick, and three sky terriers gave chase till she took refuge in a corner, spitting and growling. On trying to dislodge her she flew at Mr. St. John's face over the dog's heads, but he struck her while in the air and she fell among the dogs who soon dispatched her, even though they say that a wild cat has twelve instead of nine lives. If one be taken, those in the neighborhood are sure to be also secured, as they will all in the manner of foxes assemble round the body of their relation. Domestic cats often run away to the woods and subsist on their own hunting, but these are not to be taken for the real wild cat. The female of the latter is the smaller of the two, and retires into the fissures of rocks, or takes possession of some large bird's nest when she is about to have young ones. They are found all through Germany, Russia, Hungary, and the north of Asia, where their fur is much more valued than it is here, probably on account of the length and quality of the hair. Our house cats are, by most naturalists, supposed not to have descended from the above wild species. Mr. Temmick ascribes their origin to the Nubian cat found in that country by Mr. Rapelle, but Mr. Bell differs from him. Cats were numerous in Egypt, where they were much prized and honored with being embalmed. In Abyssinia they form part of a marriage dowry, for fear the mice should eat up the other portions. Nevertheless it will be, perhaps, more like the truth if we give our cats an Asiatic origin. When they run wild, Mr. St. John says, they are often irreclaimable and do incredible mischief. There are instances, however, of their returning to their homes bringing game with them. One known to the above gentleman used every winter evening to bring in a woodcock, another brought back rabbits and hares. The latter was constantly caught in traps, which accident did not cure him of his wanderings, and he never struggled, but sat quietly till someone came and affected his release. All cats sleep slightly, raise their back, bristle up their hair, and swell up their tail, when angry. Those which have been domesticated are very inquisitive concerning things rather than persons. And inspect a new piece of furniture several times are attached to houses and are extremely fond of scents, especially certain kinds emanating from plants. They seldom eat the rats which they kill, although they devour mice. If they should swallow a shrew, which is very rare, they almost immediately reject it. They will sit hour after hour watching at the mouth of a hole, and after seizing their prey bring it to their favourites in the house to show their prowess, and strut about with a great air of self-satisfaction. They generally have a great dislike to water, but they have been known to surmount this when they could catch a fish, for which species of food they have a great preference. The accusation that they play with you one minute and scratch you the next is too true. The change is not an act of treachery, but arises from excitement. I know not whence it is derived, but for centuries cats have been connected with superstition and sorcery. They have always been regarded as attendance upon witches, and witches themselves have been said to borrow their shapes when on their mysterious expeditions. I was once told that Lord Cochrane was accompanied by a favourite black cat and a cruise through the northern seas. The weather had been most unpropitious. No day had passed without some untoward circumstance, and the sailors were not slow in attributing the whole to the influence of the black cat on board. This came to Lord Cochrane's ears, and knowing that any attempt to reason his men out of so absurd a notion was perfectly useless, he offered to sacrifice this object of his regard and have her thrown overboard. This however, far from creating any satisfaction, only alarmed the men still more. They were sure that the tempests she would then raise would be much worse than any they had yet encountered, and they implored his lordship to let her remain unmolested. There was no help, and they could only hope, if she were not affronted they might, at the end of their time, reach England in safety. Black cats were always more especially connected with superstitious feelings, and I was once accosted by a peasant's wife, who, with a file in her hand to contain it, requested I would give her a few drops of blood from the tail of my black kitten, not only to bring luck to her hearth, but to keep pestilence from her doors. Even lately a working woman told me not to turn a gray black cat from my house, for, if I did, I should never have any prosperity afterwards. Captain Brown tells us that on Halloween it was usual in Scotland for families to tie up their cat in order to preserve it from being used as a pony by the witches that night. Those who neglected this precaution ran the risk of seeing their cat scampering through the fields with a witch on its back, on the high road to Norway. A black cat was commonly sacrificed by the ancients to Hecate, or among the Scandinavians to Fria, the northern Hecate. A black cat, sent with a prayer-book and a bag of sand into a new house so as to proceed the proprietor in possession, was formerly deemed as central to ensure prosperity to the person changing his abode. To steal a black cat and bury it alive is in the Irish Highlands considered as a specific for a disorder and cattle termed black legs which otherwise proves fatal. There is yet another peculiar feeling respecting cats, namely the strange antipathy which some persons entertain towards them, and is equally unassailable with that of superstition. Of course, in many instances, illness and weak indulgence have greatly increased it, but in some cases it has been unconsciously harbored and in others unconquerable. A friend of mine told me that through life this feeling had accompanied him, in spite of every endeavor made to eradicate it, when a little boy he awoke one night with that trembling and cold perspiration which always assailed him when a cat was in his vicinity, and, screaming for help, he entreated the servant who entered to take away the cat which was in the room. The man searched but found no traces of pus. His young master still persisted she was there, but a renewed search proved equally unavailing, nor can he compose himself to rest unless the servant remained in the room till he was asleep. This accomplished the man left him, and a second time my friend awoke in the same manner with the same appeals for assistance. They were obeyed. He himself joined in the search, and he dragged out a cat from the close stove, for it was in Germany, which had taken refuge there, and been wholly unperceived by the man's servant. This gentleman's daughter inherited the same antipathy, and neither the tenderness feelings towards other dumb creatures, or the strongest efforts of a mind of unusual strength, could subdue the uncomfortable and distressing sensation which thrilled through her when a cat was in her presence. Where every house has a cat, many too, where every female cat at least twice in each year brings forth a litter of from three to five kittens which are not all drowned, some idea may be formed of the untellable number of cats in London, but it is only the dwellers in what is called a quiet out-of-the-way street in the metropolis who can form any notion of the noise and catar-wallings of this part of the population. All cats, on first taking possession with their owners, of a house, are obliged to enter into an alliance, offensive and defensive, with the older inhabitants of the neighborhood. In some instances the amicable arrangements, though less noisy, are the most troublesome, of which I was convinced in one of my dwellings. The back overlooked a number of gardens, some of which were large, and to enjoy these sufficiently a small, leaded terrace was thrown out from the back-drawing room window. There all the cats of all the gardens, the street and the opposite square, used to hold their conversation, and I presume that my cats were particularly amiable. For often, if the drawing-room window had been left open during our absence, we found a select few, perhaps five or six, sitting within its precincts, as if in friendly talk. Every cat that comes to a new area in London appears to me to be obliged to fight till he gains undisturbed possession of it, at least so it has been the case with my cats. A very fine, bold, powerful tabby did this twice with perfect success, but after repeated combats, although victorious, the struggle made him fierce and occasionally sullen. Another who was a very beautiful creature, but much weaker, used to come in with his handsome ears slit, his cheeks swollen, his fur torn off, his frolic and vivacity gone, and he sat crouching by the fire all day. At night he was roused by the fierce defiance of his enemies, and the contest continued till he died from his exertions. One cat belonging to me had a curious manner of showing her disappointment or anger, whichever it might be, for the instant she was affronted. She walked away and seated herself with her back to the offending parties. A child of hers was an instance of the effect of judicious education, for fair and gentle treatment transformed her from a violent, outrageous kitten to a well-behaved cat, and it was curious to see the instantaneous effect which the voice of his perceptress produced. Cats will learn all sorts of antics, and form all sorts of contradictory attachments, young birds, puppies, rats, and mice frequently being the objects. My mother-in-law had both a favorite canary and an equally beloved cat. The former lived in her bedroom, and when alone she suffered him to fly about the room, for she could there exclude the latter. Chants, however, discovered that Puss was as fond of the canary as she was, and to her surprise on raising her head from her work one morning she saw the bird perched upon the cat's body, without fear, and the cat evidently delighted. After that there was no further restraint, and the two pets were daily companions. Their mistress, however, received another fright, for Puss gave a slight growl, and, seizing the bird in her mouth, leaped on to the bed. Her tail swelled out, her hair erect, and her eyes as big as four. The bird was, of course, given up for lost, but the door being accidentally left open. A strange cat had come in, and it was for the preservation of the bird that the cat had seized him, and as soon as the intruder was driven away she set the prisoner at liberty. Cats have often been trained to act as game-finders without offering the slightest damage to their capture. They have given the alarm when thieves have been breaking in, and manifested great proofs of reflection and thought, which may be called reason, without degrading the act of the intellect. One belonging to my sister invariably goes to her room when she rings her bell, but does not offer to stir when any other bell in the house is sounded. Another, in the service of a friend, was in the habit of going into the garden, catching a bird, and bringing it to the cook, appearing to ask her to dress it, and yet it was perfectly her own suggestion. A brother of mine had a favorite tortoise-shell cat named Monkey, who always sat on his shoulder when he was shaving, and eventced every sign of deep attachment. He left her under the care of some friends when he went abroad, and two years after these ladies were surprised the evening he was expected home at the extreme restlessness of the animal. She heard the arrival of the carriage at the garden gate before they did, and ere the bell was rung she was furious to be let out to meet him. Her joy was indescribable, and the next morning she took her place on his shoulder, as usual, when she saw him prepare his razor. Such attachments have been known to continue after death, and cats have died of grief on their master's grave. I have already noticed a great friendship between a pup-dog and a cat, and the following proof of a similar strength of love is taken from the pages of M. Winsall in his Observations on the Language of Brutes. I had a cat and a dog which became so attached to each other that they would never willingly be asunder. Whenever the dog got any choice, morsel, or food, he was sure to divide it with his whiskered friend. They always ate socially out of one plate, slept in the same bed, and daily walked out together. Wishing to put this apparently sincere friendship to the proof, I one day took the cat by herself into my room while I had the dog kept in another apartment. I entertained the cat in a most sumptuous manner, being desirous to see what sort of meals she would make without her friend, who had been hither to her constant table-companion. The cat enjoyed the treat, and seemed entirely to have forgotten the dog. I had had a partridge for dinner, half of which I intended to keep for supper. My wife covered it with a plate, and put it into a cupboard, the door of which she did not lock. The cat left the room, and I walked out on business. My wife, meanwhile, sat at work in an adjoining apartment. When I returned home, she related to me the following circumstances. The cat, having hastily left the dining-room, went to the dog and mewed unusually loudly, and in different tones, which the dog, from time to time, answered with a short bark. They went together to the door of the room where the cat had dined, and waited till it was opened. The two friends then immediately entered the apartment. My wife rose from her seat, went softly to the door, which stood a jar, to observe what was going on. The cat led the dog to the cupboard, which contained the partridge, pushed off the plate which covered it, and, taking out my intended supper, laid it before her canine friend, who devoured it quickly. The following anecdote almost places the cat on a level with the dog. A physician of Leon was requested to inquire into a murder that had been committed on a woman of that city. In consequence of this request he went to the habitation of the deceased, where he found her extended lifeless on the floor, weltering in her blood. A large white cat was mounted on the cornice of a cupboard at the far end of the apartment, where he seemed to have taken refuge. He sat motionless with his eyes fixed on the corpse, and his attitude and looks expressing horror and affright. The following morning he was found in the same situation and attitude, and when the room was filled with officers of justice neither the clattering of the soldier's arms nor the loud conversation of the company could, in the least degree, divert his attention. As soon, however, as the suspected persons were brought in, his eyes glared with increased fury, his hair bristled, he darted into the middle of the apartment, where he stopped for a moment to gaze at them, and then precipitantly retreated under the bed. The countenances of the assassins were disconcerted, and they were now, for the first time, abandoned by their audacious atrocity. There are several instances on record of cats finding their way back to their former abodes under circumstances of great difficulty, and the following appears to me to be one of the most striking of them, and quoted from a letter. While driving at four paths, Clarendon, Jamaica, I wanted to cat and had one given to me which was nearly full grown. It was brought from Morgan's Valley estate, where it was bred, and had never been removed from that place before. The distance was five miles. It was put into a canvas bag, and carried by a man on horseback. Between the two places there are two rivers, one of them about eighty feet broad and two feet and a half deep, running strong. The other is wider and more rapid, but less deep. Over these rivers are no bridges. The cat was shut up at four paths for some days, and when considered to be reconciled to her new dwelling, she was allowed to go about the house. The day after obtaining her liberty she was missing, and upon my next visiting the estate she was brought from, I was quite amazed to learn that the cat had come back again. Did she swim over the rivers at the fords where the horse came through with her, or did she ascend the banks for considerable distance in search of a more shallow place, and where the stream was less powerful? At all events she must have crossed the rivers in opposition to her natural habits. A singular malformation in the cat has been perpetuated till a race of tailless cats is now in existence, and which is certainly no improvement on the original stock, for nothing can be more graceful than the attitudes of the cat's tail, or more expressive of its feelings of joy or anger. Section 7 There was a miller who had three sons, and when he died he divided what he possessed among them in the following manner. He gave his mill to the eldest, his ass to the second, and his cat to the youngest. Each of the brothers accordingly took what belonged to him without the help of an attorney, who would soon have brought their little fortune to nothing in law expenses. The poor young fellow who had nothing but the cat complained that he was hardly used. My brothers said he, by joining their stocks together, may do very well in the world. As for me, when I have eaten my cat, and made it for a cap of his skin, I may soon die of hunger. The cat, which all this time sat listening, just inside the door of a cupboard, now ventured to come out, and addressed him as follows, "'Do not thus afflict yourself, my good master. You have only to give me a bag, and get a pair of boots made for me, so that I may scamper through the dirt and the brambles, and you shall see that you are not so ill-provided for as you imagine.' Though the cat's master did not much depend upon these promises, yet as he had often observed the cunning tricks Puss used to catch rats and mice, such as hanging by the hind legs and hiding in the mill to make them believe that he was dead, he did not entirely despair of his being of some use-dam in his unhappy condition. When the cat had obtained what he asked for, he gaily began to equip himself. He drew on the boots, and, putting the bag about his neck, he took hold of the strings with his forepaws, and, bidding his master take courage, immediately sallied forth. The first attempt Puss made was to go into a warren, in which there was a great number of rabbits. He put some bran and parsley into his bag, and then, stretching himself out at full length, as if he was dead, he waited for some young rabbits, which as yet knew nothing of the cunning tricks of the world, to come and get into the bag, the better to feast upon the dainties he had put into it. Scarcely had he laid down before he succeeded as well as could be wished. A giddy young rabbit crept into the bag, and the cat immediately drew the strings, and killed him without mercy. Puss, proud of his prey, hastened directly to the palace, where he asked to speak to the king. On being shown into the apartment of his majesty, he made a low bow and said, I have brought you, sire, this rabbit, from the warren of my lord, the Marquis of Carabas, who commanded me to present it to your majesty with the assurance of his respect. This was the title the cat thought proper to bestow upon his master. Tell my lord, Marquis of Carabas, replied the king, that I accept of his present with pleasure, and that I am gratefully obliged to him. Soon after the cat laid himself down in the same manner in a field of corn, and had as much good fortune as before, for two fine partridges got into his bag, which he immediately killed and carried to the palace. The king received them, as he had done the rabbit, and ordered his servants to give the messenger something to drink. In this manner he continued to carry presents of game to the king, from my lord, Marquis of Carabas, once at least every week. One day the cat, having heard that the king intended to take a ride that morning by the riverside with his daughter, who was the most beautiful princess in the world, he said to his master, if you will but follow my advice, your fortune is made. Take off your clothes, and bathe yourself in the river, just in the place I shall show you, and lead the rest to me. The Marquis of Carabas did exactly as he was desired, without being able to guess what the cat intended. While he was bathing, the king passed by, and Pus directly called out as loud as he could bawl, Help, help! My lord, Marquis of Carabas, is in danger of being drowned! The king, hearing the cries, put his head out at the window of his carriage to see what was the matter, when, perceiving the very cat, which had brought him so many presents, he ordered his attendance to go directly to the assistance of my lord, Marquis of Carabas. While they were employed in taking the Marquis out of the river, the cat ran to the king's carriage, and told his majesty that, while his master was bathing, some thieves had run off with his clothes as they lay by the riverside, the cunning cat all the time having hid them under a large stone. The king, hearing this, commanded the officers of his wardrobe to fetch one of the handsomest suits it contained, and presented to my lord Marquis of Carabas, at the same time loading him with eight thousand attentions. As the fine clothes they brought him made him look like a gentleman, and set off his person, which was very comely, to the greatest advantage. The king's daughter was mightily taken with his appearance, and the Marquis of Carabas had no sooner cast upon her two or three respectful glances than she became violently in love with him. The king insisted on his getting into the carriage and taking a ride with them. The cat, enchanted to see how well his scheme was likely to succeed, ran before to a meadow that was reaping, and said to the reapers, Good people, if you do not tell the king, who will soon pass this way, that the meadow you are reaping belongs to my lord Marquis of Carabas. You shall be chopped as small as minced meat. The king did not fail to ask the reapers to whom the meadow belonged. To my lord Marquis of Carabas, said they all at once, for the threats of the cat had terribly frightened them. You have here a very fine piece of land, my lord Marquis, said the king. Truly sire, replied he, it does not fail to bring me every year a plentiful harvest. The cat, which still went on before, now came to a field where some other laborers were making sheaves of the corn they had reaped, to whom he said as before, Good people, if you do not tell the king, who will presently pass this way, that the corn you have reaped in this field belongs to my lord Marquis of Carabas, you shall be chopped as small as minced meat. The king accordingly passed a moment after, and inquired to whom the corn he saw belonged. To my lord Marquis of Carabas, answered they very glibly, upon which the king again complimented the Marquis on his noble possessions. The cat still continued to go before, and gave the same charge to all the people he met with, so that the king was greatly astonished at the splendid fortune of my lord Marquis of Carabas. Pus at length arrived at a state laycastle which belonged to an ogre, the richest ever known. For all the lands the king had passed through and admired were his. The cat took care to learn every particular about the ogre and what he could do, and then asked to speak with him, saying, as he entered the room in which he was, that he could not pass so near his castle without doing himself the honor to inquire for his health. The ogre received him as civilly as an ogre could do, and desired him to be seated. I have been informed, said the cat, that you have the gift of changing yourself into all sorts of animals, into a lion or an elephant, for example. It is very true, replied the ogre, somewhat sternly, and to convince you I will directly take the form of a lion. The cat was so much terrified at finding himself so near a lion that he sprang from him and climbed to the roof of the house, but not without much difficulty as his boots were not very fit to walk upon the tiles. Some minutes after the cat, perceiving that the ogre had quitted the form of a lion, ventured to come down from the tiles, and owned that he had been a good deal frightened. I have been further informed, continued the cat, but I know not how to believe it that you have the power of taking the form of the smallest animals also, for example, of changing yourself to a rat or a mouse. I confess I should think this must be impossible. You shall see. And at the same instant he changed himself into a mouse, and began to frisk about the room. The cat no sooner set his eyes upon the ogre in this form than he sprang upon him and devoured him in an instant. In the meantime the king, admiring as he came near it, the magnificent castle of the ogre, ordered his attendant to drive up to the gates as he wished to take a nearer view of it. The cat, hearing the noise of the carriage on the drawbridge, immediately came out, saying, Your Majesty is welcome to the castle of my Lord Marquis of Carabas. And is this splendid castle yours also, my Lord Marquis of Carabas? I never saw anything more stately than the building, and more beautiful than the park and pleasure grounds around it. No doubt the castle is no less magnificent, within than without. Pray, my Lord Marquis, indulge me with a sight of it. The Marquis gave his hand to the young princess as she alighted and followed the king, who went before. They entered a spacious hall where they found a splendid collation which the ogre had prepared for some friends he had expected that day to visit him, but who, hearing that the king, with the princess, and a great gentleman of the court, were within, had not dared to enter. The king was so much charmed with the amiable qualities and noble fortune of the Marquis of Carabas, and the young princess, too, had fallen so violently in love with him, that when the king had partaken of the collation and drank a few glasses of wine, he said to the Marquis, It will be your own fault, my Lord Marquis of Carabas, if you do not soon become my son-in-law. The Marquis received the intelligence with a thousand respectful acknowledgements, accepted the honor conferred upon him, and married the princess that very day. The cat became a great lord, and never again ran after rats and mice but for his amusement. 8 Once upon a time a tiger was caught in a trap. He tried in vain to get out through the bars, and rolled in bit with rage and grief when he failed. By chance a poor brahmin came by. Let me out of this cage, O pious one! cried the tiger. Nay, my friend, replied the brahmin mildly, you would probably eat me if I did. Not at all! swore the tiger with many oaths. On the contrary, I should be forever grateful and serve you as a slave. Now when the tiger sobbed and sighed and wept and swore, the pious brahmin's heart softened, and at last he consented to open the door of the cage. Out popped the tiger, and, seizing the poor man, cried, What a fool you are! What is to prevent my eating you now, for after being cooped up so long I am just terribly hungry? In vain the brahmin pleaded for his life. The most he could gain was a promise to abide by the decision of the first three things he chose to question as to the justice of the tiger's action. So the brahmin first asked a pipiltree, what it thought of the matter? But the pipiltree replied cobbly, What have you to complain about? Don't I give shade and shelter to every one who passes by? Don't they, in return, tear down my branches to feed their cattle? Don't whipper, be a man! Then the brahmin, sad at heart, went further afield till he saw a buffalo turning a well-wheel. But he fared no better from it, for it answered, You are a fool to expect gratitude! Look at me! Whilst I gave milk they fed me on cotton-seed and oil-cake, but now I am dry, they yoke me here and give me refuse as fodder. The brahmin, still more sad, asked the road to give him its opinion. My dear sir, said the road, How foolish you are to expect anything else! Here I am, useful to everybody, yet all rich and poor, great and small, trample on me as they go past, giving me nothing but the ashes of their pipes and the husks of their grain. On this the brahmin turned back sorrowfully, and on the way he met a jackal, who called out, Why, what's the matter, Mr. Brahmin? You look as miserable as a fish out of water! The brahmin told him all that had occurred. How fairy, confusing, said the jackal, when the recital was ended. What you mind telling me, over again, for everything has got so mixed up? The brahmin told it all over again, but the jackal shook his head in a distracted sort of way, and still could not understand. It's very odd, said he, sadly, but it all seems to go in, at one ear, and out, at the other. I will go to the place where it all happened, and then perhaps I shall be able to give a judgment. So they returned to the cage, by which the tiger was waiting for the brahmin, and sharpening his teeth and claws. You've been away a long time, growled the savage beast, but now let us begin our dinner. Our dinner, thought the wretched brahmin, as his knees knocked together with fright, what a remarkably delicate way of putting it! Give me five minutes, my lord, he pleaded, in order that I may explain matters to the jackal here, who was somewhat slow in his wits. The tiger consented, and the brahmin began the whole story over again, not missing a single detail, and spending as long a yarn as possible. Oh, my poor brain, oh, my poor brain, cried the jackal, ringing its pause. Let me see, how did it all begin? You were in the cage, and the tiger came walking by. Poo! Interrupted the tiger. What a fool you are! I was in the cage! Of course! cried the jackal, pretending to tremble with fright. Yes, I was in the cage. No, I wasn't. Dear, dear, where are my wits? Let me see. The tiger was in the brahmin, and the cage came walking by. No, that's not it, either. Well, don't mind me, but begin your dinner, for I shall never understand. Yes, you shall return the tiger, and arrange at the jackal's stupidity. I'll make you understand. Look here. I am the tiger. Yes, my lord. And that is the brahmin. Yes, my lord. And that is the cage. Yes, my lord. And I was in the cage. Do you understand? Yes. No. Please, my lord. Well, cried the tiger impatiently. Please, my lord, how did you get in? How? Why, in the usual way, of course. Oh, dear me! My head is beginning to whirl again. Please don't be angry, my lord. But what is the usual way? At this the tiger lost patience, and, jumping into the cage, cried, this way, now do you understand how it was? Perfectly, Grand the Jackal, as he dexterously shut the door, and if you will permit me to say so, I think matters will remain as they were. Section 8. Section 9 of Cattails. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Bologna Times. Androcles, by Aesop. Section 9. A slave named Androcles once escaped from his master, and fled to the forest. As he was wandering about, there he came upon a lion lying down moaning and groaning. At first he turned to flee. But finding that the lion did not pursue him, he turned back and went up to him. As he came near, the lion put out his paw, which was all swollen and bleeding, and Androcles found that a huge thorn had got into it, and was causing all the pain. He pulled out the thorn and bound up the paw of the lion, who was soon able to rise and lick the hand of Androcles, like a dog. Then the lion took Androcles to his cave, and every day used to bring him meat, from which to live. But shortly afterwards both Androcles and the lion were captured, and the slave was sentenced to be thrown to the lion, after the latter had been kept without food for several days. The emperor and all his court came to see the spectacle, and Androcles was led out into the middle of the arena. Soon the lion was let loose from his den, and rushed, bounding and roaring towards his victim. But as soon as he came near to Androcles, he recognized his friend, and fond upon him and licked his hands like a friendly dog. The emperor, surprised at this, summoned Androcles to him, who told him the whole story, whereupon the slave was pardoned and freed, and the lion let loose to his native forest. Gratitude is the sign of noble souls. CHAPTER X Far away on the other side of the world there lived, long ago, a lion and his younger brother, the Wildcat, who were so fond of each other that they shared the same hut. The lion was much the bigger and stronger of the two. Indeed he was much bigger and stronger than any of the beasts that dwelt in the forest, and besides he could jump farther, and run faster than all the rest. If strength and swiftness could gain him a dinner he was sure never to be without one, but when it came to cunning both the grizzly bear and the serpent could get the better of him, and he was forced to call in the help of the Wildcat. Now the young Wildcat had a lovely golden ball, so beautiful that you could hardly look at it except through a piece of smoked glass, and he kept it hidden in the thick firm muff that went round his neck. A very large old animal, since dead, had given it to him when he was hardly more than a baby, and had told him never to part with it, for as long as he kept it no harm could ever come near him. In general the Wildcat did not need to use his ball, for the lion was fond of hunting, and could kill all the food that they needed, but now and then his life would have been in danger had it not been for the golden ball. One day the two brothers started to hunt at daybreak, but as the cat could not run nearly as fast as the lion he had quite a long start. At least he thought it was a long one, but in a very few bounds and springs the lion reached his side. There is a bear sitting on that tree, he whispered softly. He is only waiting for us to pass, to drop down on my back. Ah! you are so big that he does not see, I am behind you," answered the Wildcat, and touching the ball he just said, Bear, die, and the bear tumbled dead out of the tree and rolled over just in front of them. For some time they trodded on without any adventures, till just as they were about to cross a strip of long grass on the edge of the forest the lion's quick ears detected a faint rustling noise. "'That is a snake,' he cried, stopping short, for he was much more afraid of snakes than of bears. "'Oh, it is all right,' answered the cat. Snake die, and the snake died, and the two brothers skinned it. They then folded the skin up into a very small parcel, and the cat tucked it into his mane, for snake skins can do all sorts of wonderful things, if you are lucky enough to have one of them. All this time they had had no dinner, for the snake's flesh was not nice, and the lion did not like eating bear, perhaps because he never felt sure that the bear was really dead, and would not jump up alive when his enemy went near him. Most people are afraid of some thing, and bears and serpents were the only creatures that caused the lion's heart to tremble, so the two brothers set off again and soon reached the side of a hill where some fine deer were grazing. Still one of those deer for your own dinner, said the boy-brother, but catch me another alive. I want him.' The lion at once sprang towards them with a loud roar, but the deer bounded away, and they were all three soon lost of sight. The cat waited for a long while, but finding that the lion did not return, went back to the house where they lived. It was quite dark when the lion came home, where his brother was sitting, curled up in one corner. "'Did you catch the deer for me?' asked the boy-brother, springing up. "'Well, no,' replied the man-brother. "'The fact is that I did not get up to them till we had run half way across the world and left the wind far behind us. Think what a trouble it would have been to drag it here. So I just ate them both.' The cat said nothing, but he did not feel that he loved his big brother. He had thought a great deal about that deer, and had meant to get on his back to ride him as a horse, and go to see all the wonderful places the lion talked to him about when he was in a good temper. The more he thought of it, the more sulky he grew, and in the morning when the lion said that it was time for them to start to hunt. The cat told him that he might kill the bear and snake by himself, as he had a headache, and would rather stay at home. The little fellow knew quite well that the lion would not dare to go out without him and his ball for fear of meeting a bear or a snake. The quarrel went on, and for many days neither of the brothers spoke to each other, and what made them still more cross was that they could get very little to eat, and we know that people are often cross when they are hungry. At last it occurred to the lion that if he could only steal the magic ball he could kill bears and snakes for himself, and then the cat might be as sulky as he liked for anything that it would matter. But how was the stealing to be done? The cat had the ball hung round his neck day and night, and he was such a light sleeper that it was useless to think of taking it while he slept. No, the only thing was to get him to lend it of his own accord, and after some days the lion, who was not at all clever, hit upon a plan that he thought would do. Dear me, how dull it is here, said the lion one afternoon when the rain was pouring down in such torrents that, however sharp your eyes or your nose might be, you could not spy a single bird or beast among the bushes. Dear me, how dull, how dreadfully dull I am! Couldn't we have a game of catch with that golden ball of yours? I don't care about playing catch. It does not amuse me, answered the cat, who was as cross as ever, for no cat even to this day ever forgets an injury done to him. Well, then, lend me the ball for a little, and I will play by myself, replied the lion, stretching out a paw as he spoke. You can't play in the rain, and if you did you would only lose it in the bushes, said the cat. Oh, no I won't. I will play in here. Don't be so ill-natured. And with a very bad grace the cat untied the string and threw the golden ball into the lion's lap and composed himself to sleep again. For a long while the lion tossed it up and down gaily, feeling that, however sound asleep the boy-brother might look, he was sure to have one eye open, but gradually he began to edge closer to the opening, and at last gave such a toss that the ball went up high into the air, and he could not see what became of it. Oh, how stupid of me, he cried, as the cat sprang up angrily. Let us go at once and search for it. It can't really have fallen very far. But though they searched that day and the next, and the next after that, they never found it, because it never came down. After the loss of his ball the cat refused to live with the lion any longer, but wandered away to the north, always hoping he might meet with his ball again. But months passed, and years passed, and though he traveled over hundreds of miles, he never saw any traces of it. At length, when he was getting quite old, he came to a place unlike any that he had ever seen before, where a big river rolled right to the foot of some high mountains. The ground all about the river-bank was damp and marshy, and as no cat likes to wet its feet, this one climbed a tree that rose high above the water, and thought sadly of his lost ball, which would have helped him out of this horrible place. Suddenly he saw a beautiful ball for all the world like his own, dangling from a branch of the tree he was on. He longed to get at it, but was the branch strong enough to bear his weight? It was no use, after all he had done, getting drowned in the water. However, it could do no harm if he was to go a little way. He could always manage to get back somehow. So he stretched himself at full length upon the branch, and wriggled his body cautiously along. To his delight it seemed thick and stout. Another movement, and by stretching out his paw, he would be able to draw the string towards him, when the branch gave a loud crack, and the cat made haste to wriggle himself back the way he had come. But when cats make up their minds to do anything, they generally do it. And this cat began to look about to see if there was really no way of getting at his ball. Yes, there was, and it was much sureer than the other, though rather more difficult. Above the bow, where the ball was hung, was another bow much thicker, which he knew could not break with his weight, and by holding on tight to this with all his four paws he could just manage to touch the ball with his tail. He would thus be able to whisk the ball to and fro till, by and by, the string would become quite loose, and it would fall to the ground. It might take some time, but the lion's little brother was patient, like most cats. Well, it all happened just as the cat intended it should, and when the ball dropped on the ground the cat ran down the tree like lightning, and, picking it up, tucked it away in the snake's skin round his neck. Then he began jumping along the shore of the big water from one place to another, trying to find a boat, or even a log of wood that would take him across. But there was nothing. Only on the other side he saw two girls cooking, and though he shouted to them at the top of his voice they were too far off to hear what he said. And what was worse, the ball suddenly fell out of its snake's skin bag right into the river. Now it is not at all an uncommon thing for balls to tumble into rivers, but in that case they generally either fall to the bottom and stay there, or else bob about on the top of the water close to where they first touched it. But this ball, instead of doing either of these things, went straight across to the other side, and there one of the girls saw it when she stopped to dip some water into her pail. Oh! what a lovely ball! cried she, and tried to catch it in her pail. But the ball always kept bobbing just out of her reach. Come and help me! she called to her sister, and after a long while they had the ball safe inside the pail. They were delighted with their new toy, and one or the other held it in her hand till bedtime came, and then it was a long time before they could make up their minds where it would be safest for the night. At last they locked it in a cupboard in one corner of their room, and as there was no hole anywhere the ball could not possibly get out. After that they went to sleep. In the morning the first thing they both did was to run to the cupboard and unlock it, but when the door opened they started back, for instead of the ball there stood a handsome young man. Ladies, he said, how can I thank you for what you have done for me? Long, long ago I was enchanted by a wicked fairy, and condemned to keep the shape of a ball till I should meet with two maidens who would take me to their own home. But where was I to meet them? For hundreds of years I have lived in the depths of the forest, where nothing but wild beasts ever came, and it was only when the lion threw me into the sky that I was able to fall to earth near this river. Where there is a river sooner or later people will come. So hanging myself on a tree I watched and waited. For a moment I lost heart when I fell once more into the hands of my old master, the Wildcat, but hopes rose again as I saw he was making for the riverbank opposite where you were standing. That was my chance, and I took it. And now, ladies, I have only to say that if ever I can do anything to help you go to the top of that high mountain and knock three times at the iron door at the north side and I will come to you. So with a low bow he vanished from before them, leaving the maidens weeping at having lost in one moment both the ball and the prince. End of section 10.