Pussycat

“ Puss-cat, like the ancient Greeks, was never sick or sorry; never sick, because of her robust and stalwart health; never sorry, because she never did anything to be sorry for. From living with Jill, and never seeing a cat, except for those short and painful interviews which preceded expulsion from the garden, she grew to have something of the selfless affection of a dog, and when I came home after an absence she would run out into the street to meet me, stiff-tailed, and really not attending to the debarkation of luggage, but intent only on welcoming me home. ”

“ Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, don't be too late.
DING, dong, bell,
Pussy's in the well!
Who put her in?—
Little Tommy Lin.
Who pulled her out?—
Dog with long snout.
What a naughty boy was that
To drown poor pussy-cat,
Who never did any harm,
But kill'd the mice in his father's barn.
DIDDLEDY, diddledy, dumpty;
The cat ran up the plum-tree.
I'll lay you a crown
I'll fetch you down;
So diddledy, diddledy, dumpty.
[195]
FIDDLE-DE-DEE, fiddle-de-dee,
The fly shall marry the humble-bee.
They went to the church, and married was she:
The fly has married the humble-bee. ”

“ I might, by a hasty judgment, be considered to have stolen her who soon became Puss-cat's mamma, but anyone who has any real knowledge of cats will be aware that I did nothing of the kind. Puss-cat's mamma was clearly dissatisfied with her last household and had, without the least doubt, made up her mind to leave them all and take on a fresh lot of servants; and if a cat makes up her mind about anything, no power on earth except death, or permanent confinement in a room where neither doors nor windows are ever opened, will stop her taking the contemplated step. ”

“ The pussy-cat did not answer for a few minutes. Then she said: "What you say is very true. I suppose I ought to be thankful that I have such nice strong claws. It's not hard work climbing trees, and, as far as running goes, my legs carry me very well. Perhaps I don't need wings, after all."
"Well, I never saw a flying cat," admitted Puss, Jr., "although I've seen some remarkable things since I started out to find my father, Puss in Boots."
"So you are a traveler," said the pussy-cat [62] , jumping down from the wall and walking up to Puss. "How long have you been seeking your father?" ”

“ Up went Pussy-cat, and down went he;
Down came Pussy-cat, and away Robin ran;
Says little Robin Redbreast, "Catch me if you can."
Little Robin Redbreast flew upon a wall,
Pussy-cat jumped after him, and almost got a fall;
Little Robin chirp'd and sang, and what did Pussy say?
Pussy-cat said "Mew," and Robin flew away.
A little cock-sparrow sat on a tree,
Looking as happy as happy could be,
Till a boy came by, with his bow and arrow,
Says he, I will shoot the little cock-sparrow.
His body will make me a nice stew,
And his giblets will make me a little pie, too. ”

“ She had plenty of work, for there were many rats at the farm house. While pursuing a large rat one day, she set her foot into a [10] trap which had been set to catch them, and though she was taken out very carefully by the farmer's daughters who were swinging in an old tree at the bottom of the orchard, it hurt her very much and she was lame for many weeks after.
Puss was now become a fine, healthy, good looking cat, and a smart looking Tom Cat in the neighbourhood paid his court to Miss Puss, and asked her by kind looks and gentle actions if she would become his wife. ”

“ But though Puss-cat resembled her mother in the matter of the high sense of duty and moral qualities, she had what Martha lacked: that indefinable attraction which we call charm, and a great heart. She was always pleased and affectionate, and went about her duties with as near an approach to a smile as is possible for the gravest species of animal. Martha, for instance, played with Jill as a part of her duty, Puss-cat made a pleasure out of it and played with the ecstatic abandon of a child. ”

“ We smell a rat close by,
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow!"
cried Mrs. Cat.
When Puss heard this he ran around the house. I guess he expected to find the "rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built." But Mrs. Cat had made a mistake, for there was no rat to be seen. Instead, there stood the little mouse who two or three stories ago had told the black kitty where to find their mittens. [53]
"What do you want?" asked Puss, Junior, kindly.
"I think the three little kittens have forgotten their promise to give me three pieces of pie. I've been waiting in the barn all this time." ”

“ It ill became the possessor of an Amazonian cat, distinguished by Sir Walter’s regard, to speak with such patronizing kindness of the race.
We can make no more stupid blunder than to look upon our pets from the standpoint of utility. Puss, as a rule, is another Nimrod, eager for the chase, and unwearyingly patient in pursuit of her prey. But she hunts for her own pleasure, not for our convenience; and when a life of luxury has relaxed her zeal, she often declines to hunt at all. I knew intimately two Maryland cats, well born and of great personal attractions. ”

“ He did not know that the Lady and her husband feared that Cats would eat the many birds who nested in the trees on the lawn. He thought it very hard luck for a tiny Kitten to be left out in the cold rain while the Lady was reading by a blazing grate fire. He did not know that as she sat by the fire she thought about him instead of her book, for she loved little Kittens, and found it hard to leave any out in the street alone.
While he was thinking and crying, a tall Gentleman with a black beard and twinkling brown eyes came striding up to the brightly lighted porch. “Well, Pussy-cat!” ”

“ We don't care whether your pussy-cat friends get their fur rubbed the wrong way or not. The only thing we care about is putting this show across. Well, if you feel the way we do about it, if you can make it the one thing you do care about, too—why, come along. Let the pussy-cats go ..." He finished with a snap of his fingers.
"The only one that really matters isn't a pussy-cat," said Rose, with a reluctant wide smile, "and—he'd agree with you altogether, if he didn't know you were talking to me. ”

“ 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! ”

“ Puss was so sadly terrified at the sight of a lion so near him that he immediately got into the gutter, not without abundance of trouble and danger, because of his boots, which were of no use at all to him in walking upon the tiles. A little while after, when Puss saw that the ogre had resumed his natural form, he came down, and owned he had been very much frightened.
‘I have been moreover informed,’ said the Cat, ‘but I know not how to believe it, that you have also the power to take on you the shape of the smallest animals; for example, to change yourself into a rat or a mouse ”

“ For, to tell the truth, the bobcat had only been interested in its little family all the while, and not in the boys at all, and so now with no thought but to follow its mate, whose appealing call had come to it from below, and anxious to get away as far as possible from the bewildering, hateful glare of the flames, which it hated, the wild creature soon caught the welcome, wild scent of the mother cat, and loped off into the dark silence of the night, leaving the two boys alone in safe, undisturbed possession of the bobcat’s den. ”

“ The name of the wild cat (Fig. 2) , however, embodied a root common to many of the European languages. It becomes in Persian, pushak; in Afghan, pishik; in Kurdish, psiq; in Lithuanian, pnijé; in Irish, pus and feisag; and in Erse, pusag and piseag; whence the English "puss." It is derived by Pictet from a Sanskrit root puchha or pitchha, that means "tail" and therefore points to one of the most striking external features of the animal. The name by which the cat was known to the later Greeks—αἾλονρος—and which was originally applied to the weasel, refers to the same feature. ”

“ They were so excited over finding the pie that they lost their heads."
"It's a good thing they are tied on," said Mrs. Cat, with a laugh; "they might not be found as easily as the mittens."
The three little kittens looked very much ashamed. Then the little black kitten ran over to the washtubs and, jumping on a stool, turned the hot-water faucet. His mother handed him a big cake of soap, and in another minute the other two little kittens climbed up beside him.
"What are you going to do?" asked Mrs. Cat, with a sly wink at Puss, Junior. ”

“ A poor, poor creature, but half a man, more like a pussy-cat, a well-fed old pussy-cat that basks before the fire and lets itself be stroked, too lazy to catch mice or mingle in affrays at midnight. An old house-cat, truly and properly contemptible! ”

“ IN the winter season pussy becomes peculiarly the hearthstone guest, constant companion of the fireside, sharing with us, before the flickering flames, vague melancholies and endless reveries of the long twilights.
Since the first frost Pussy Gray had lost all roughness of her mottled coat, and Pussy White had donned a most imposing cravat, a boa of snowy whiteness that framed her face like a Medici ruff. It is well known that in winter the cat attains its fullest perfection of flesh and fur. Their attachment grew as they warmed [59] themselves together by the fireside ”

“ Puss, Pussy, poor Puss!” and he wrenched open the pantry door, setting the animal free.
If ever mortal cat purred in its life, or endeavoured to express its pleasure and satisfaction by walking round and rubbing itself against a person, raising and putting down its fore-feet alternately, with the toes extended, as if practising the goose step or working on some feline treadmill, why that cat did then. The poor animal could not speak, of course, but it really seemed to utter some inarticulate sounds that must have been in cat language a paean of joy and praise and thanks at its deliverance ”

“ At night he slept in the basement of the store. He kept the store free from mice, as he was a good mouser. He was well cared for, too, as he had plenty to eat of everything that he liked which the store furnished.
Because of kind treatment and plenty to eat the kitten grew very [38] rapidly and made a large cat when fully grown. Many months before his death he weighed thirteen or fourteen pounds and was always fat and sleek. So many poor, wretched cats that have no home could be more like Thomas if people would give them a home and treat them kindly. ”

“ But Pussy’s fortunes are again rising. He is no longer a stale divinity, but he is becoming—what is far better in this age of progress—a social power! Even in his worst estate he had [174] always warm friends and admirers; now, he has a party. For, “you either love cats, or you do not love them,” says a witty author; and statistics go to prove that those who love cats are the majority to-day.
CAT-HEADED EGYPTIAN
GODDESS, BAST OR
BUBASTIS.
(From a bronze in the
British Museum. )
Pussy has also been fortunate in having two strings to his bow—personal beauty and utility. ”

“ Swiftly our venturesome Pussy-cat trotted.
Sharp watch she kept when a village she neared,
For boys and their mischief our Pussy-cat feared.
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 affrightedly squealed,
And swift from her path there darted away
[176] A tiny field-mouse, with a coat of soft gray.
"Now here," thought our Pussy, "is chance for a dinner;
The one that runs fastest must surely be winner!" ”

“ Licking her paw as often as she drew it out, she soon emptied the jug, so that when the family came down they had no cream for breakfast. A few drops on the table-cloth, however, showed how it had been stolen—Pussy, like human beings who commit dishonest actions, not being quite so clever as she probably thought herself.
The revengeful Cat.
Cats often show that they possess some of the vices as well as some of the virtues of human beings. The tom-cat is frequently fierce, treacherous, and vindictive, and at no time can his humour be crossed with impunity. ”

“ This he greatly enjoys, but little does he realize that many poor kittens which have no homes have to sleep out in the cold. Many times they go to bed on the cold ground and their little ears freeze because they cannot keep warm.
One of the greatest delights of this kitten is to play with a little rubber ball which was bought for him. He will chase it from room to room, like playing with a mouse. He makes it roll by striking it with his feet or jumping at it. One day the ball rolled under the pantry door and the mistress heard Snooks meowing but did not go to see what he wanted. ”

“ These remarks were overheard by Puss, who pretended not to have been listening, and said very soberly and seriously:
'There is not the least need for you to worry, Master. All you have to do is to give me a pouch, and get a pair of boots made for me so that I can walk in the woods. You will find then that your share is not so bad after all.' Now this cat had often shown himself capable of performing cunning tricks. When catching rats and mice, for example, he would hide himself amongst the meal and hang downwards by the feet as though he were dead. ”