Pussy

“ Consider that Pussy has ridden your house of mice and rats, and continues, day by day, to perform her duty of keeping the thieves from your dwelling—that if you profit by her prognostications, she tells you, far better than a barometer, the truth about the weather, long before there comes a change—that she even guards your home from intruders—that she is the first, if permitted to do so, to welcome your home-coming—that she is ever ready, with her gentle purr, to express her love for you and with her soothing song—the gentlest ever heard—to calm your troubled mind. ”

“ You would not want Pussy to live, if she were very uncomfortable all the time."
"She isn't uncomfortable," I cried; "she is only sleepy. If people would let her alone, she would sleep all day. It would be awful to kill her. You might as well kill me!"
After that, I kept a very close eye on Pussy; and I carried her up to bed with me every night for a long time. ”

“ Pussy permitted Jessie to play all sorts of pranks with her tail, and the laughter of the entire household has often been provoked by the seeming cunning little ways of both. Jessie would hide behind the door, and as Pussy came gingerly along in search of her playfellow suddenly dash out upon Kittie, to her palpable consternation, and the two would roll over and over each other, on the kitchen floor, in each other's arms. Neither dog ever interfered with the food set apart for Kittie, nor was there ever a wistful glance at the dainties upon her plate. ”

“ The swelling buds were rocking to and fro on the branches, the grass blades were peeping above the ground, and a few brave flowers were opening their sleepy eyes.
“Dear me!” cried Pussy, “the wind is sharp and cold, if it is a bright day.”
“Why, whom have we here?” asked the brook in great surprise. “True as I live, it is Miss Pussy Willow! Good morning, Pussy, you are out bright and early; but why do you wear that fur hood? Summer is coming and the days grow warmer.” ”

“ THE PIE AND THE PATTY-PAN Pussy-cat sits by the fire—how should she be fair? In walks the little dog—says "Pussy are you there? How do you do Mistress Pussy? Mistress Pussy, how do you do?" "I thank you kindly, little dog, I fare as well as you!" [Old Rhyme] Once upon a time there was a Pussy-cat called Ribby, who invited a little dog called Duchess to tea. "Come in good time, my dear Duchess," said Ribby's letter, "and we will have something so very nice. I am baking it in a pie-dish—a pie-dish with a pink rim. You never tasted anything so good! ”

“ Oh yes, you don’t need to tell me you have a secret, my young gentlewoman. I know as well as if I had seen it. O Pussy, have you come too? Do you know what it is, Pussy? Does she come up here to read her love-letters—does she? Oh, how charming! Wouldn’t I like to see them! How does she get them, Pussy? She has been rather fond of going to see Elspie this past week or two; is that it, Pussy? ”

“ But they were all very curious to know why she wore her fur hood.
Poor Pussy! she was tempted more than once to take it off, so much was said about it. But she didn’t; she thought best to mind Mother Nature. Now, it grieves me to say Mr. Robin was very bold and saucy. He whispered some unkind things to Pussy’s friends one day. The next morning, when Pussy opened her eyes, the birds, the buds, the brook, the grass, and the flowers began to whisper to themselves: “Do you suppose Pussy Willow has to wear her hood because she has no hair? ”

“ The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are! ”

“ When the little thing is gentle and good, then I call her 'Pussy.' That is not always the case, however, and 'Puss' does for some of her moods; but when she is angry, and looks like a regular cross-patch, then I call her 'Old Cat.'"
"Yes, yes, Otto," answered his sister; and when you are angry, you look like a—like a"—
"Like a man," said Otto; and as Pussy had no better comparison ready, she went on busily eating her pudding.
Uncle Max laughed heartily. "Pussy is right," he said. "She does far better in pursuing her present occupation than in answering back such slanders. ”

“ Pussy's favorite game was to race back and forth from one end of the rugs to the other; sometimes he would poke his nose under the edge of a rug and wriggle in between the rug and the floor until he was simply a hump in the middle of it, like a dumpling. ”

“ Sweetie, at once putting a protecting arm round Pussy, turns and glares at them wrathfully, but Pussy, looking distinctly relieved, picks up both balls and impels her newly acquired lord over an adjacent sand-hill to a secluded spot that she knows of, where they can sit in peace till lunch-time. ”

“ I do not wonder; for it must have been a very comical sight. In a second more, somebody sprang forward and snatched Pussy up. Such a scream as she gave! and scratched his face with her claws, so that he was glad to put her down. As soon as I heard her voice I turned round, and called her in a low tone. She ran quickly to me, and I picked her up and carried her in my arms the rest of the way. But I saw even my own papa and mamma laughing a little, for just a minute. That was the only funeral Pussy ever attended. ”

“ Pussy would then hurry back to the house-door, that she might give notice of her young mistress’s return, and the moment she alighted would welcome her with happy purrings and caresses.
Endeavour to be as regular in all your ways as my friend’s cat. Never keep your friends waiting for you, but rather wait for them. Show your affection and wish to please in this as in other ways. Thank Pussy for the excellent example she has set you. ”

“ We had now, in our way, a long conversation, during which we became pretty well acquainted with each other's dispositions; and in due time we descended the stairs together in perfect amity; I gravely walked step by step, and looking up benignly at the gambols of little Pussy, who, now in high spirits, had no idea of coming down in a regular way, but must scramble up the banisters, hang by her claws from the hand-rail, recover herself instantaneously when within an inch of falling headlong into the hall, and play a hundred other wild tricks. ”

“ What a beautiful Pussy you are,
⁠You are,
⁠You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"
II.
Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!
⁠How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
⁠But what shall we do for a ring?" ”

“ No other creature so dainty, so artistically delightful; a thing of beauty, and—to the appreciative—a joy forever; no other creature so dexterous in pursuit of mice, so self-supporting, so acute! Throughout the ages, therefore, through prosperity and adversity, Pussy, like the Jews, has flourished. ”

“ Then, it's all right and proper. [To Pussy] Oh, you needn't sit over there, looking mischievous, miss! What do you know of life? You will soon learn to be ashamed of your rosy cheeks, and think it's pretty to have bad health. I'll bet a copper [Slaps his knee] that by spring, if we manage right, we can send you back as white and withered as Miss Emily was.
E. Now, Dr. Hardhack, you dreadful man! You must stop this talk. I brought Pussy down here on purpose to help me live better than I have lived. It's so interesting now in New York that Pussy is here with me. ”

“ I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again. I stroked her hair.
"Come, Pussy, you're over-tired. The housework has been too much for you." ”

“ But Pussy's days were numbered. One morning, before I was up, my mamma came into my room, and sat down on the edge of my bed.
"Helen," she said, " I have something to tell you which will make you feel very badly; but I hope you will be a good little girl, and not make mamma unhappy about it. You know your papa and mamma always do what they think is the very best thing."
"What is it, mamma?" I asked, feeling very much frightened, but never thinking of Pussy.
"You will never see your Pussy any more," she replied. "She is dead." ”

“ Times were now altered: but I need not give a detailed account of every day. The good understanding between Pussy and me continued to increase, till it ripened into the warmest friendship. Uncongenial companion as she appeared, I grew by degrees fonder of her than I had ever been of any of my own tribe; and although our habits were by nature totally dissimilar, we learned to understand, and even to take pleasure in accommodating ourselves to each other's little peculiarities. ”

“ Ah, no, Mistress Pussy, you’d bite off our heads!”
2. Says Puss: “You look so wondrous wise,
I like your whiskers and bright black eyes;
Your house is the nicest house I see,
I think there is room for you and me.”
The mice were so pleased that they opened the door.
And Pussy soon laid them all dead on the floor.
And Pussy soon laid them all dead on the floor.
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FOUR-AND-TWENTY TAILORS. [Listen] [PDF] [MusicXML]
Four-and-twenty tailors
Went to kill a snail;
The best man among them
Durst not touch her tail
She put out her horns
Like a little Kyloe cow;
Run, tailors, run! ”

“ The willow that children know and love the best is the pussy willow. It grows in damp or swampy places and before the leaves come out in the spring the “pussies” are seen on the branches. They are little, soft, silvery pussies, and it is not everybody who knows what they really are.
Each “pussy” or catkin, as we must call it, is a group of small flowers, or rather flower-buds, for after the flowers are fully out the pussies lose their soft, silky appearance and no longer deserve to be called pussies.
The older catkins are covered with stamens full of yellow pollen or else with seed pods. ”

“ She then gave May a ride, and at last got so bold as to take "Jack" down the lane alone, and had a splendid time riding up and down.
THE SPELLING LESSON.
Now, Pussy, you must be real good,
And learn to spell like me;
When I say, "Pussy, what is this?"
You must say, That is C.
Don't scratch, and twist, and turn about,
And try to get away;
But, Pussy, please to try and learn:
This is the letter A.
There now, that's nice, you're doing well ”

“ Away ran Pussy with foolish little Tip-Top in her mouth, and he squeaked dolefully when he felt her sharp teeth. Wicked Miss Pussy had no mind to eat him at once; she meant just as she said, to “play with him.” So she ran off to a private place among the currant-bushes, while all the little curly heads were scattered up and down looking for her.
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Did you ever see a cat play with a bird or a mouse? She sets it down, and seems to go off and leave it; but the moment it makes the first movement to get away,—pounce! she springs on it, and shakes it in her mouth ”

“ Everything that they had fancied possible in a human plaything fell short of what pussy realized in racketing, racing, and eternal plots against the peace of the elder nuns. No fox ever kept a hen-roost in such alarm as pussy kept the dormitory of the senior sisters; whilst the younger ladies were run off their legs by the eternal wiles, and had their chapel gravity discomposed, even in chapel, by the eternal antics of this privileged little kitten. ”

“ To say that she was missed, is idle; it could not be otherwise with so bright and loving a creature. Love wins love, the world over, and where love comes, love follows. Our poor little Pussy’s heart was all her master’s; it resulted that in his heart was a corner all her own.
Her body was sent, in the interests of science, to Prof. Ward of Rochester, N. Y., and by him the skeleton was prepared and mounted. It is now in the museum at Princeton College; so that Pussy remains as serviceable after death as it was her warm will to be in life. ”

“ She is a compassionate pussy, like her late mother, and mightily distressed at any illness that falls on any of the household. When her mistress has been suffering from a severe cough, I have seen Minnie jump up on the sofa and put her paw sympathetically on the lips of the sufferer. Sneezing seems to excite her compassion even more than coughing, and causes her to display even a greater amount of sympathy. ”

“ Doubtless of these conflicting emotions, the more simple and sincere was the poet's affection for his cat.
As we search for Pussy's records in literature, that we may better trace her half-hidden history through several centuries of fluctuating fortunes, we find that the striking of the personal note invariably heralds a growing appreciation and esteem. When she figures in folk-lore, she is unsanctified and maleficent, a candidate for "the uncharitable votes of Hell." In proverbs, she serves as an illustration of characteristics without charm, and of wisdom without distinction. ”

“ There is one ridiculous accusation brought against poor Pussy, which I have not yet referred to, namely, that she is in the habit, when the opportunity offers, of suffocating young babies by sucking their breath. ”

“ I have nothing better to do with my money, and I shall take care that Pussy is none the worse off for my death. She is worth all the rest of your children put together—an Esterworth, every inch of her! ”

“ Mary smiled. “I see you understand me. To continue, Pussy, my father is what is called a banker. He was born in Maine, but he went to California as a young man. He married there, and we lived there until a few years ago, he and I, and dear mamma. Then we came 'East' as Californians say, for I had spinal disease, and I had to be taken to New York to see some clever doctors. Then I got better, and mamma took me to Europe. Papa bought this house, and when we came home we established ourselves here. Do you think you will like me, Pussy?” ”

“ So, too, the cruel playing with the injured mouse is not mere sportiveness on Pussy's part. She disables her victim, and then lets it run, that she may leap upon it again and again, thereby keeping herself in perfect practice. ”