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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #63458 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63458)
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-The Project Gutenberg eBook, Pussy-Cat Town, by Marion Ames Taggart,
-Illustrated by Rebecca Chase
-
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions 
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at 
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-
-
-
-Title: Pussy-Cat Town
-
-
-Author: Marion Ames Taggart
-
-
-
-Release Date: October 14, 2020  [eBook #63458]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-
-***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PUSSY-CAT TOWN***
-
-
-E-text prepared by Mary Glenn Krause, Charlene Taylor, Barry Abrahamsen,
-and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from
-page images generously made available by Internet Archive
-(https://archive.org)
-
-
-
-Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
-      file which includes the original illustrations.
-      See 63458-h.htm or 63458-h.zip:
-      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/63458/63458-h/63458-h.htm)
-      or
-      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/63458/63458-h.zip)
-
-
-      Images of the original pages are available through
-      Internet Archive. See
-      https://archive.org/details/pussycattown00tagg
-
-
-Transcriber’s note:
-
-      Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
-
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-PUSSY-CAT TOWN
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-                                Roses of
-                          St. Elizabeth Series
-
-
-                                   ⚜
-
-  Each 1 vol., small quarto, illustrated and decorated in color. $1.00
-
-                                   ⚜
-
-                      The Roses of Saint Elizabeth
-                         BY JANE SCOTT WOODRUFF
-
-                       Gabriel and the Hour Book
-                            BY EVALEEN STEIN
-
-                        The Enchanted Automobile
-                     Translated from the French by
-                            MARY J. SAFFORD
-
-                             Pussy-Cat Town
-                         BY MARION AMES TAGGART
-
-                                   ⚜
-
-                          L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
-                          New England Building
-                             BOSTON, MASS.
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “They progressed comfortably, hearing without difficulty the story of
-    the founding of Purrington.”
-  (See page 190)]
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
- The Roses of St. Elizabeth Series
-
----------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-PUSSY-CAT TOWN
-
-by
-
-MARION AMES TAGGART
-
-Illustrated in Colours by Rebecca Chase
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-
-
-L. C. Page & Company
-Boston               Membi
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-Copyright, 1906, by
-L. C. Page & Company
-(Incorporated)
-
-All rights reserved
-
-First Impression, September, 1906
-
-[Illustration]
-
-[Illustration]
-
-Colonial Press
-Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co.
-Boston, U. S. A.
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-               To my comforting cats,
-               Bandersnatch-Bandarlog and Kiku-san,
-               sitting close to me now and always when I
-               write; to the memory of my wise Tommy
-               Traddles; to Bidelia Purplay W.; to
-               Wutz-Butz and Madam Laura K., all “really
-               and truly” cats, this book is dedicated by
-               their humble admirer
-
-
-                          Marion Ames Taggart
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-
-
-                                CONTENTS
-
-
-              CHAPTER                                  PAGE
-
-                 I. Ban-Ban, the Bold                   1
-
-                II. Six Small Cats Do Great Things     24
-
-               III. The Purrers of Purrington          45
-
-                IV. A Five O’clock Catnip Tea          66
-
-                 V. The Scampishness of Scamp          87
-
-                VI. Mrs. Brindle Brings Startling     107
-                      News
-
-               VII. They Fought Like Cats and         126
-                      Dogs!
-
-              VIII. Ban-Ban and Kiku-san form an      146
-                      Embassy
-
-                IX. Visitors to Purrington            164
-
-                 X. The Purrers Bestow the Freedom    184
-                      of Purrington
-
-                XI. An Election and a Defection       204
-
-               XII. Wedding-bells and Brief           224
-                      Farewells
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                         LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
-
-
-                                                     PAGE
-
-               “They progressed comfortably,       Frontispiece
-                 hearing without difficulty the
-                 story of the founding of
-                 Purrington” (see page 190)
-
-               Nugget                                   8
-
-               Puttel                                   9
-
-               Dolly Varden                            17
-
-               “‘I have had a Great Idea’”             18
-
-               Singing the Song                        23
-
-               One of the Stranger Cats                27
-
-               “Little Dolly Varden fell asleep”       31
-
-               “S. Katz  Fresh Mice Daily”             49
-
-               “The shout of welcome which all the     59
-                 Purrers of Purring to raised”
-
-               “A long, creamy, blessed drink”         61
-
-               “One came to town with five             68
-                 kittens!”
-
-               “A small, gray cat called Posty”        68
-
-               The Dance                               82
-
-               “Scamp looked him over scornfully”     100
-
-               “Licking him frantically”              109
-
-               “Ready to pounce”                      133
-
-               “Each with a cat on his back”          136
-
-               “The cats watched the retreat”         142
-
-               “They sat for a time resting”          144
-
-               “Kiku-san came and rubbed his cheek    160
-                 against Tommy’s”
-
-               “Their speed increased”                165
-
-               “She gathered, the happy, purring      170
-                 white creature into her arms”
-
-               “A black cat played the violin”        201
-
-               “Bidelia sobbed”                       220
-
-               “Had often sat on a big volume of      226
-                 Shakespeare”
-
-               “It was a most beautiful sight”        238
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-[Illustration]
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER I
-                           BAN-BAN, THE BOLD
-
-
-He was really very beautiful. High-born, too,—a pure Maltese! He had a
-short, saucy face; a square little nose, with which he was apt to pry
-into other people’s business; and he saw everything with his bright
-eyes, and understood most things with his quick wit. But he had almost
-no patience at all, and he was as full of pranks as a monkey—indeed,
-that’s what gave him his name.
-
-A boy? Mercy, no! Whoever heard of a pure Maltese boy? A cat, of course,
-but such a beauty! He was as quick as he could be, and ran very fast,
-and jumped like a flash—flashes do jump, so that’s all right. Did you
-never see a flash of lightning jump from one cloud to another? Well,
-this Maltese kitten was so quick that his little master called him
-Bandersnatch—out of “Through the Looking-Glass”, you know, where the
-White King says: “You might as well try to catch a Bandersnatch,” or, in
-another place: “You might as well try to stop a Bandersnatch.” So that
-is where quick little Ban-Ban got his first name. And the second Ban was
-short for Bandarlog, the name of the monkey people in the Jungle Book,
-because he was so much more like a monkey than a quiet, purry, furry,
-mild-mannered kitten.
-
-Ban-Ban had the very best home a cat could have; indeed, he was a good
-deal spoiled. In this home he grew up to be three years old, but it was
-only his body that grew bigger. Inside that Maltese body he wore a
-kitten’s heart, getting younger every minute, loving play better, and
-cutting up more didoes all the time, instead of settling down into a
-staid cat, as any one would have expected him to do who saw the purple
-shades in his dark gray suit!
-
-Now Ban-Ban loved his little master very much—not that he ever thought
-of him as his “master;” no cat ever would admit having a master. Ban-Ban
-considered the little boy as a friend whom he, a prince of the Maltese
-Royal Family, allowed to play with him. He was more useful than kitten
-friends because he could open doors, drag strings around, hide sticks
-under the edges of rugs, get milk from the refrigerator, cut up meat,
-play hide-and-go-seek better than cats, and shake up soft knitted things
-into fine beds on cold days, besides scratching a person under the chin
-and on the side of the cheek in a way that made a person stick out his
-little red tongue and purr, no matter how much he felt like playing. But
-that is not having a master; that is really keeping a very useful and
-devoted servant. Ban-Ban hated of all things to show that he loved
-little Rob; he liked to pretend that he was only polite to him, and
-often, when he meant to get up in Rob’s lap for a little talk, if Rob
-saw him coming, Ban-Ban would sit down and wash his face, trying to look
-as if he had never once thought of being loving. You see he was
-independent.
-
-Because he was independent, and so very impatient, it all came about.
-
-One day Ban-Ban had an idea dart into his brain. Ban-Ban’s ideas always
-darted, they never came slowly; they were just like everything else
-about him, “as fast as a Bandersnatch.” “If two-legged people can build
-towns and live in them without asking the help of us cats, why can’t we
-cats have a town of our own, and not ask the help of the two-legged
-people? They are more clumsy and stupid than we are—except Rob; he isn’t
-clumsy or stupid.”
-
-It was such a wonderful thought that it half-stunned even Ban-Ban. For
-as much as five minutes he sat perfectly still, with only the tippest
-tip of his tail moving. Then he started up with a leap, as if he were
-jumping after those lost five minutes just as he jumped for butterflies,
-and away he ran down the garden to find some of his friends.
-
-Bidelia was one of these friends. She was a little creature, very young,
-a tortoise-shell cat, not pretty, but so clever that no one who didn’t
-know her could believe how clever she was. Her cat acquaintances
-suspected that she wrote stories on the sly, for her sides were always
-spattered with big black spots on a yellow ground, and her friends
-believed she got ink on her yellow clothes writing stories for the
-magazines, because she was so very clever, and people who are very
-clever and write books are apt to be untidy with their ink.
-
-Though she was younger than Ban-Ban by nearly two years she had three
-children, and they were already two months old: Nugget, all yellow,
-Puttel, black with a white thumb-mark under her chin, and Dolly Varden,
-with a tortoise-shell dress like her mother’s. Bidelia had good reason
-to be as proud of her children as she was!
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  Nugget.]
-
-Another of Ban-Ban’s friends was Mr. Thomas Traddles, a tiger cat, who
-was so wise and had such remarkable judgment that every one came to him
-for advice. He was older than Ban-Ban, and he was one of that queer sort
-of friends which we all have: people whom we do not really like, but
-whom we respect heaps and heaps, and without whom we cannot get along.
-Not that there was any reason why Ban-Ban should not like Tommy
-Traddles; his disposition was perfect, and his manners of the best.
-Perhaps it was because Tom was so sensible and grave, and Ban-Ban was
-such a little firebrand, for we none of us really like people who make
-us feel that we are in the wrong, not unless we are far more
-humble-minded folk than was proud little Ban-Ban.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  Puttel.]
-
-There, too, was Wutz-Butz, whose name didn’t mean much, but that the
-little girl who owned him liked to mix up letters and call him by queer
-sounds. He was a gray and white cat who would let the little girl whom
-he thought he owned, but who thought that she owned him, do anything
-under the sun to him, and he would stand it with a perfect mush of
-patience, but out among the cats he was a warrior. He fought every one
-that he happened to dislike, and Ban-Ban was always thankful Wutz-Butz
-liked him—and Ban-Ban was not a coward, either. Wutz-Butz had a big,
-round head, and a short, thick-set body, and his complexion was apt to
-get rumpled up—can complexions get rumpled? Well, at any rate this cat’s
-complexion looked rumpled—because of the many strong arguments he had
-with Ruth’s grandmother’s big white cat with the gray ears. Ruth was the
-little girl who owned Wutz-Butz, or whom he owned, according to whether
-you believe from her or his side of the question.
-
-Ban-Ban had another friend to whom he was bound by ties of the highest
-respect and gratitude. This was Madam Laura, a sweet, kindly middle-aged
-lady,—perhaps a trifle past middle age,—to whom all the cats went for
-comfort and teaching. She was a widow lady, so she wore a great deal of
-black over her white sides and back, laid on in big spots. She had had a
-great many sons and daughters, but they had all gone to make their own
-way in the world, and Madam Laura was said to be quite wealthy, with no
-one dependent upon her for mice. She was a cat with a mother’s heart for
-all the mewing world, and no cat could be so scratchy as not to love
-this gentle lady.
-
-The last and dearest of Ban-Ban’s friends was Kiku, the snow-white cat,
-whose name was a Japanese word that means chrysanthemum, and whose
-nature was as flower-like as his name. He lived next door to Ban-Ban,
-and played with him most of the time. His little mistress was Rob’s
-dearest friend, his cousin, and her name was Lois. She was a year
-younger than Rob, which made her only seven years old, but she was not
-the least bit careless or rough with her pets, as some children are, and
-Kiku was a very lucky “kitteny-wink, little white lambkin,” as Lois
-called him.
-
-Kiku was always called “Kiku-san,” because “san” is a mark of honour
-among the Japanese, and white Kiku was so gentle and lovely-mannered
-that no one could deny him the respectful title that his Japanese name
-suggested. Kiku-san wore white garments with pink trimmings, and he kept
-them snowy white, for he only went out to play in the grass in fine
-weather, and slept at night cuddled close in Lois’s arms. He puckered
-his mouth when he was spoken to, and brought his lids down over his
-amber eyes as if he knew he was most sweet and lovable, fully deserving
-all the praise which he received—and so he did, for nothing would tempt
-him to scratch; he never lost his temper, unless he had lost it for good
-and all when he was born, and had never found it again, which seemed to
-be the case, for no one had ever seen him cross.
-
-These were Ban-Ban’s friends, and it was to find them, or all of them
-that he could find, that he ran so fast down the garden after his
-wonderful idea struck him.
-
-He came upon Bidelia, who was sitting in the sunshine letting the
-children play with her tail.
-
-“Oh, Bidelia!” cried Ban-Ban, “have you seen any of the others?”
-
-“How out of breath you are!” said Bidelia, reproachfully. She was so
-little that she could jump about all day and never lose her breath.
-“Tommy Traddles is sunning himself on the fence. Madam Laura is singing
-a few Felines on the garden bench.” A Feline is a kind of cat hymn.
-
-“Do you think you could trust one of the kittens to hunt up Wutz-Butz,
-and Kiku-san, and ask them to join us here? I have something
-catelovelant to tell them,” said Ban-Ban. “Catelovelant” means “lovely
-for cats.”
-
-“I think Nugget could go; he is getting very plump and reliable,”
-returned Bidelia. “Puttel, go and ask Madam Laura if she would kindly
-come over here when she has finished her Felines. And, Dolly Varden, go
-waken Mr. Traddles and ask him to come. If he is very sound asleep you
-may stand up on your hind legs and pull his tail—very gently,” she
-added, as Dolly spun around three times rapidly, “and with the greatest
-respect.”
-
-The three kittens scampered off, and Ban-Ban with much effort kept
-himself from pouring out to Bidelia the Great Idea. Fortunately the
-kittens so quickly got together the cats for whom they were sent that
-Ban-Ban was saved from choosing between telling or having a fit.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  Dolly Varden.]
-
-“You had something to say to us, my dear?” hinted Madam Laura after they
-were all seated. Her voice sounded like rolls of butter rolling, it was
-so soft and smooth.
-
-“Yes,” said Ban-Ban, his fur beginning to stick up all over and his tail
-to swell, as it always did when he was excited. “I have had a Great
-Idea.”
-
-“You were clever from your kittenhood, Bannie,” said Madam Laura, who
-had known his grandmother.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “‘I have had a Great Idea.’”]
-
-“Human beings,” Ban-Ban continued, trying to keep back the little
-puffing spits which he often gave when he was stirred, “Human beings
-build towns and live in them. They never ask our help; they feel that
-they own the towns. Very likely they do; but as their cats always own
-the human beings, it doesn’t matter. What I have to suggest is that
-there is no reason why cats should not build and own a city just as the
-human beings do. I think that we should be the ones to do this. Let us,
-all of us here, go away to some lovely spot and build a city. Let us ask
-all the poor, homeless cats, who don’t own any human beings, and so have
-very little food and no warm places to live, to join us. Let us have a
-city of cats, and let us hand our names down in all future categories
-and catalogues and histories as the Fathers—and Mothers”—he added,
-bowing to Madam Laura and Bidelia—“of Our Country, Glory of Our Race.”
-
-“Hear, hear!” cried Wutz-Butz. He pronounced it: “He-ar, He-ar!” It
-sounded like a mew.
-
-“Bandersnatch-Bandarlog, you are indeed A Great Mind,” said Tommy
-Traddles, gravely.
-
-“It will be lovely!” cried Bidelia, joyously. “I want a more extended
-field.”
-
-“And more field-mice,” added Laura, who was not clever, only good, which
-is better than mere cleverness, as all properly taught cats know.
-
-“Then you agree?” asked Ban-Ban, not able, this time, to keep from
-ending in a “P-pst!” of pure excitement.
-
-“Yes, yes,” cried all the cats together.
-
-“Yes,” added Kiku-san alone, “but I am afraid that Lois will need me.”
-
-“Our human beings will soon get other cats,” said Ban-Ban, wisely. “I
-have always noticed they soon get another cat to wait upon, when they
-lose the one they have had. Not that I shall leave Rob long without me,”
-he added. “Rob and I are friends. But the founding of this city is a
-duty; it will be a haven for oppressed cats. When shall we go?”
-
-“On the third day from this one,” said Tommy Traddles, promptly. “In the
-meantime we will eat all that we can, and get together as many
-provisions as we can carry.”
-
-“Before we part,” said Bidelia, “let us sing a song. Wait; I will make
-one for this occasion.”
-
-It was the custom of these cats to sing each night before separating, so
-the others all willingly sat down to wait while Bidelia wrote the words
-which were to commemorate their newly taken and important resolution.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  Singing the song.]
-
-Soon that clever little cat announced the song ready, and they sang the
-following words to the air of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic:”
-
-   “We’ll put our fur in order and brave Pilgrim-cats we’ll be;
-   With whiskers out and tails erect we’ll march courageously.
-   We’ll found a town for other cats, less fortunate than we:
-           Each cat shall have his day!
-
-   “We love the friends that love us, and our hearts to them are true;
-   We’ll ne’er forget the kindly folk beside whose hearths we grew,
-   But though our friends are good to us, mankind is cruel, too:
-           Each cat must have his day!
-
-   “Then, onward, Pilgrim-cats, nor pause to cast a look behind,
-   For duty calls our velvet paws our kindred’s wounds to bind;
-   In Pussy-Town all homeless cats a home and peace may find:
-           Each cat shall have his day.”
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER II
-
-                     SIX SMALL CATS DO GREAT THINGS
-
-
-Three days later the moon looked down on a more wonderful sight than she
-had seen since the cow had jumped over her,—more wonderful even than she
-had seen then, for this sight was much more than one cat with a fiddle.
-
-Six cats and three kittens led a procession of at least a dozen more
-cats out of the town and along the wooded country roads. Ban-Ban was
-ahead. He had a big red bow on his collar, which poor Rob had tied on,
-intending the Maltese cat to look his best when expected company should
-come that evening. He little thought that he was adorning Ban-Ban for a
-journey, and a parting that was going to cost himself keen grief!
-
-But Ban-Ban had no room in his mind for Rob’s anxiety; he trotted
-proudly along, with his short, velvety ears pricked up, his nose alert
-for dangers. Close behind him marched Wutz-Butz, in case he was needed
-for a fight. Tommy Traddles came next, in case he was needed for advice.
-Kiku-san—he wore a beautiful pink ribbon, because Lois loved to see him
-well dressed—Kiku walked between Bidelia and Madam Laura, the only one
-of the party with a regret. His thoughts dwelt on Lois, and how troubled
-she would be when he did not come to bed that night, and she could not
-find him in the morning. Behind Bidelia came the three kittens, driving
-their young mother half crazy with their antics. They would not walk
-soberly, but frisked and played, and ran out of sight into the shadow,
-and sometimes half-way up a tree, until little Bidelia was sure that she
-would be quite as gray as Ban-Ban, but with another sort of grayness,
-from her worry, by the time she got to wherever they were going.
-
-The stranger cats walked behind their leaders. They were all thin and
-sad-looking, for they had had no homes, and life had been most hard to
-them. They were glad enough to think that they were on their way to make
-their fortunes in a city of cats, where there would be no stones thrown,
-no dogs to chase them, no cruel boys to frighten and hurt them.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  One of the stranger cats.]
-
-The six cat leaders all carried something. Ban-Ban had a big piece of
-beef. He had not stolen it, because it had been bought for him, but he
-had whisked it out of the refrigerator when the cook left the door open
-for a moment.
-
-Wutz-Butz had dragged along a piece of red flannel. He was inclined to
-be stiff in his legs from rheumatism and his frequent battles, and he
-had no mind to sleep on the cold ground, though many a soldier before
-him has had no better bed.
-
-Tommy Traddles had a pail of milk fastened over his shoulders,—Laura had
-tied it on for him,—and in his paws he carried an umbrella, because he
-knew that if it rained they would all hate to be out in the wet.
-
-Bidelia, like the gay young thing that she was, brought only
-neck-ribbons for her children, and some worsted balls with which
-they—and she, too, if she would own it—loved to play. But Madam Laura,
-like an older and wiser mother, brought catnip roots, as well as some
-dried catnip to start on, in case the kittens were ill. She also had a
-little bottle of castor-oil, because she knew how good that was for
-kittens when they overate themselves.
-
-Kiku-san carried his crocheted shawl. It was one that had been dyed red,
-and which Lois kept in a rocking-chair for Kiku’s daytime naps. Kiku
-wore it now around his shoulders, and wondered doubtfully if he could
-get another crocheted shawl in Pussy-Cat Town when this one was worn
-out.
-
-They walked and they walked for what seemed a long, long distance even
-to the cats. As to the kittens, they had long ceased frisking, and
-crawled along slowly, mewing pathetically, and taking hold of Bidelia’s
-tail to help themselves as they went.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “Little Dolly Varden fell asleep.”]
-
-Tommy Traddles looked around and saw how tired they were. “If some of
-you gentlemen in the back there, who have no food or beds to carry,
-would lay your forepaws on one another’s shoulders, and take turns in
-letting the children sit on them, you would be able to get the poor
-little kitlets over the ground, saving them suffering, and not hurting
-yourselves,” he said.
-
-The stranger cats were glad to do this, though they would never have
-been wise enough to have invented this way of carrying the babies.
-Little Dolly Varden fell asleep the instant she was put up on the paws
-of a big black cat and a black and white one, who offered to carry her.
-“She was that done out,” said the black and white cat. He had a kind
-heart, but his English was not very good, because he had learned it in
-the streets.
-
-It was about twenty minutes past ten when the cat pilgrims reached a
-lovely spot. It was a clearing in a wood, almost an acre wide. It stood
-right on the bank of a tiny stream, which Bidelia called a river, but
-which was really rather a small and quiet brook. All around this cleared
-spot were beautiful woods, and only a grass-grown road ran through it,
-such as is made by broad wagon wheels when men go to cut down trees in
-the woods.
-
-“This is the very place for us,” declared Ban-Ban, looking around him
-with great content.
-
-“It isn’t far from the town,” objected the black cat, who was helping
-carry Dolly Varden. His name was ’Clipsy, short for Eclipse. He had not
-always been poor; he was born in a very nice home, where he had been
-given his name, but he had got lost when he was very young, and had had
-a hard time ever since. He was a gentleman always, though; the cat
-leaders all saw that he was the best of all the stranger cats who had
-joined them.
-
-“I know it is not far from town,” said Tommy Traddles, planting his
-umbrella in the ground, and setting down his pail of milk beside it,
-with a wink at Wutz-Butz to keep his eye on it—no one could tell what
-some thirsty stranger cat might be tempted to do. “It is not far from
-town, ’Clipsy, but it is rather better for that. Did you never notice
-that when human beings have lost something they always look everywhere
-else for it before they look near home? I suppose you haven’t noticed
-that, because you have not lived with human beings since you were so
-little, but it is quite true that when anything is lost and can’t be
-found, it always turns out that it is because no one looked just at
-hand, where the lost thing always hides. So it is better for us to
-settle nearer our old human town than to go away off—to another State,
-for instance.”
-
-There was no disputing with a cat that could allude so carelessly to
-“another State.” ’Clipsy at once gave up arguing; he didn’t know what
-“another State” meant, and he wondered greatly how Tommy could be so
-wise.
-
-“Oh, it’s all right as to that,” said Ban-Ban, speaking in his quick
-way. He understood about states, because he had so often sat by Rob when
-he was learning his lessons. “I don’t think any one would find us in
-this place; but I wonder if there is a good market here.”
-
-“There ought to be fish in that river,” said Madam Laura, who liked fish
-even better than most cats. “I know how to catch fish with my paw.”
-
-“There _are_ fish in that stream,” said Tommy Traddles, decidedly. “And
-field-mice in the woods; the market here will be excellent. I am
-convinced that the guardian fairies of good cats have led us here. It is
-well to be near town, because our city must be easily reached by
-homeless cats who may wish to join us. I advise you, my friends, to
-decide upon this spot at once as the site of the city. Do you agree to
-stay here?”
-
-“Yes, yes, yes!” cried all the cats together, their voices making a
-chorus of soprano, alto, bass, baritone, and tenor. Even the kittens
-joined with their thin little pipes, though they may have been crying
-from sleepiness.
-
-“We’ll make a camp!” cried Ban-Ban, putting up his back and dancing
-around on his toes the way he had always done when Rob offered to play
-with him. “We will camp out for the night, and in the morning we will
-ask the carpenter cats to begin to build our houses.”
-
-“It won’t take us long,” cried the carpenter cats, five of the strangers
-who had joined the party.
-
-“I told a friend of mine I would write at once after we settled on a
-site to let him know where he could join us. What are you going to call
-the town?” asked one of these cats.
-
-“Purrington!” cried Bidelia, triumphantly, looking around for the praise
-she felt sure that this happy name would win from all her companions.
-She had been thinking up a name during the three days that she was
-getting together her kittens’ neck-ribbons, mending their clothes, and
-packing for the journey.
-
-All the cats raised such a yowl of delight that if there had been any
-human being within hearing he would certainly have thought that some
-awful thing had happened to all the cats in the world at once. But it
-was merely keen pleasure that such a fashionable-sounding, yet happy,
-homelike, catified name had been hit upon by Bidelia, whom they now felt
-surer than ever must secretly be a successful author.
-
-“Purrington by all means,” said Tommy Traddles, with the grave approval
-of a great scholar. “I should suggest that we also give this stream a
-name, and call it the Meuse. Purrington-on-the-Meuse will be a
-delightful heading for our note-paper.”
-
-“Mews! Yes, that is a nice name for our river,” said Madam Laura. “Yet I
-don’t like, don’t _quite_ like, calling the river after mews only. We
-are often so unhappy when we mew!”
-
-“My dear lady,” said Doctor Traddles,—Tommy Traddles had been honoured
-with the title of Doctor of Claws by a feline college,—“we are not
-calling it after our own mews; we do not spell it that way. This is
-M-E-U-S-E, not M-E-W-S, and there is a river with that name in France. I
-confess I had the double sound of the word in my mind when I suggested
-the name, however.”
-
-“How did you become so learned, Tommy?” sighed Madam Laura, much
-impressed.
-
-“I used to sit on a dictionary a great deal of the time while I was
-growing,” said Thomas Traddles. “I then lived with a student of law, and
-I absorbed learning, and especially a knowledge of words, by sitting,
-and even napping, on his dictionary.”
-
-“We are going to live in Purrington-on-the-Meuse!” cried Ban-Ban, with a
-flirt of his tail. “Wutz-Butz, bring your red flannel over here. Those
-kittens must be put to bed. Kiku-san, will you let Dolly Varden and
-Puttel sleep with you in your crocheted shawl, while Nugget curls up
-with Wutz-Butz in this red flannel?”
-
-Before Kiku-san could reply, Bidelia started to say that she must keep
-her children with her, and Wutz-Butz to say that he intended to watch
-all that night with ’Clipsy and some others of the stranger cats; but
-nobody could hear a word that either of them said, for all three kittens
-set up a perfectly deafening trio of miaous:
-
-“We want mamma, we want mamma; we won’t sleep with Y-O-U-U-U!” they
-shrieked.
-
-“Oh, dear,” sighed Bidelia, “they are so tired you must pardon them! My
-darlings, you are going to sleep with mamma; please, please be quiet.”
-And she gave three hasty but tender licks down the noses of each of
-them, which quieted the kittens and comforted them.
-
-“I was about to say that Bidelia may use my blanket to-night,” said
-Wutz-Butz. “I shall stay awake and watch. By to-morrow night she will
-have her own house all furnished.”
-
-“You are most kind, Wutz-Butz,” said Bidelia, feeling rather ashamed
-that she had looked down on Wutz-Butz, thinking him only a stupid
-soldier. She curled herself down at once on his red flannel and drew the
-three kittens to her, one under her forepaw, one close to her head, and
-one tucked away under her chin—this was Dolly Varden, the smallest and
-sweetest of the three.
-
-Kiku-san and Ban-Ban laid down close together in Kiku’s crocheted shawl.
-Kiku was very silent, and even Ban-Ban had nothing to say, but drew the
-white cat’s gentle face close to his saucy one. They remembered Rob and
-Lois, and it is more difficult to be brave at night, than it is in the
-broad daylight, when the sun is shining.
-
-“We will sing you to sleep,” said Madam Laura and Tommy Traddles,
-kindly, guessing that these petted cats might be lonely. And they sang
-to the tune of “Santa Lucia:”
-
-          “Little cats, dearest cats, sleep on your pillows,
-          Under the stars and ’neath green pussy-willows.
-          Sweet should your rest be and peaceful your slumber,
-          Dreaming of cream-pans and mice without number;
-          Rich your reward for your courage and pity,
-          Giving the homeless a home and a city.
-          Ban-Ban and Kiku-san, all cats shall bless you,
-          Lois and Robin again will caress you;
-          Bravest cats, dearest cats, sleep on your pillows,
-          Kissed by the winds and the soft pussy-willows.”
-
-Sung to a low, sweet tune, this song proved soothing, and Kiku-san and
-Ban-Ban fell asleep as soon as it ceased, borne away to dreamland by the
-rise and fall of many purrs mingling with the murmur of their rippling
-river Meuse.
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
-
-                              CHAPTER III
-                       THE PURRERS OF PURRINGTON
-
-
-No one can imagine how fast cat carpenters work, for very few indeed
-have ever seen them work. And so it would be hard to make any one
-believe how fast Purrington-on-the-Meuse grew. Why, in a week those five
-cat carpenters had built all the houses which were needed to start with!
-Of course the other cats helped in all ways that they could, such as
-bringing boards, laying up bricks, and puttying in windows, but even
-with this help it was wonderful the way the town grew.
-
-There did not have to be many houses to begin with. There was one big
-house, rather like a city apartment-house for single gentlemen, in which
-the stranger cats, all of them unmarried, were to live. Madam Laura
-offered to keep house for them, because they never could take care of
-themselves without a lady at the head of their domestic affairs, and
-there never could be another more fitted in every way to keep house for
-them than was kind Madam Laura. It was most good of her to do it,
-however, for being a lady of means, she could have gone off and lived
-selfishly by herself, without a care in the world.
-
-Ban-Ban and Kiku-san lived with Bidelia and the children; Thomas
-Traddles and his new friend ’Clipsy had another house to themselves; and
-there was a fourth house put up for a widow lady who came with her son
-to Purrington from the human city. She was a white and yellow lady named
-Alloy, because she was not all gold, and her son, who was about a month
-older than Bidelia’s children, was named Scamp, and if ever a name just
-suited its bearer it was this kitten’s, for he was such a scamp that all
-the cats were worried for fear his example would lead Nugget into bad
-ways.
-
-So they built a schoolhouse at once, and opened a school for the
-children, with Doctor Traddles for teacher, and some others to come in
-during the week to teach extra branches. Madam Laura, for instance,
-taught Fishing and Deportment; Bidelia taught Dancing; Kiku-san taught
-French, which he had learned from Lois’s French nurse; Wutz-Butz taught
-Boxing; and ’Clipsy was to give a course in Business Methods, which he
-had learned during his life in the streets.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  S. KATZ
-  FRESH
-  MICE
-  DAILY.]
-
-Then there were the shops. One where you could buy ribbons, collars,
-bells, catnip, balls, cushions, and all such elegant trifles; and
-another which was the market. Here you could buy asparagus tips, string
-beans, peas, fish, and meat. This was kept by a gentleman named Schwartz
-Katz, one of the stranger cats who had joined the party. He was very
-round and stout, and was of German descent, having been born in a
-delicatessen shop in the human city. He had the nicest, cleanest market
-you ever saw, and over his door was his tempting sign: “S. Katz,
-Butcher. Fresh Mice Daily.” He had many customers among the citizens of
-Purrington who were too busy or too lazy to hunt their own game. He was
-a black cat, as his name showed, but he wore a white front and had white
-forelegs, so that he looked precisely like a human market-man—at least
-in his clothes—who had put on a white apron and drawn white linen
-sleeves over his coat sleeves. He often sat in his doorway, watching for
-customers, looking big and fat and prosperous, just like a nice German
-butcher.
-
-Dr. Thomas Traddles had said that all the citizens of Purrington should
-be spoken of as Purrers, both because they were so very happy in their
-beautiful new city, and because it was the best way he knew of
-shortening the word Purrington. So Purrers they were called, and they
-lived up to it beautifully.
-
-One day a most wonderful thing happened, and one that made the cats of
-Purrington even more Purrers than they were before. Everything had been
-made comfortable, and there was no lack of anything a cat could want in
-Purrington, save one thing, but that was a sad lack. This was milk.
-There was no milk to be had in Purrington, and no prospect of a way to
-get any. The Purrers were feeling very grave about it when, one day, a
-cow came walking along the grass-grown road that led through the woods
-beside the city, and stopped to look at the houses, as well she might,
-for there was not one higher than three feet, and even the
-apartment-house was not more than ten feet square.
-
-Ban-Ban saw the cow considering, and he guessed in a moment that she
-must be the cow of whom he had heard Rob read in Mother Goose, who
-belonged to a piper who bade the cow consider. He knew this, because
-that was the only cow of whom he had ever heard who considered. So he
-ran straightway out to the edge of the woods to speak to her.
-
-“Dear Madam,” Ban-Ban began most politely, for he had always moved in
-the best society and had heard no end of books read aloud, “you can’t
-imagine how glad I am to meet you. Did you like ‘Corn Rigs Are Bonny’
-better than the first tune after you had bade the piper play it to you?”
-
-The cow stared. “Yes, I always liked that tune best of all,” she said.
-“But how did you know?”
-
-“That you were that piper’s cow?” asked Ban-Ban, twirling his moustache
-with, it must be confessed, considerable self-satisfaction. “Oh, I
-recognized you at once, because I saw you considering. May I ask whither
-you are going and whence you came?”
-
-You will see that Ban-Ban was trying to express himself elegantly,
-because he wanted to impress the cow, and hoped to get her to see things
-his way.
-
-“I came from the piper,” said the cow, “but I have no idea where I am
-going. I have left him for good and all. He had nought to give me—”
-
-“Yes; I know,” interrupted Ban-Ban.
-
-“Well, of course I am fond of music and all that,” the cow went on, “but
-a person cannot live on piping, and corn is better than the tune, ‘Corn
-Rigs Are Bonny.’ So I had to leave the piper, and now I am looking for a
-home. When I see a comfortable farm, and a farmer that looks
-good-tempered, and as if he would be kind to animals, I shall turn in at
-his gate and chew my cud until he takes me to keep.”
-
-Ban-Ban fairly quivered with eagerness. “We are not farmers,” he began,
-and as the cow stared more than ever at the cat who made such an
-unnecessary statement, he stopped and went back to the beginning of his
-story.
-
-“We are cats,” he said, “who have built this city of Purrington on this
-river Meuse for a place where all poor, abused cats can come and live
-happily all their nine lives. We have everything we want, except milk.
-Don’t you think you could be happy if you joined us? There would not be
-any one to bother you all day long; you could wander where you might
-choose—and wherever a cow chews—with no one to drive you, or turn you
-into a poor pasture, or out of a good one. We would be honoured by your
-presence, and would build you a house all to yourself, and all we would
-ask would be that every morning and night you would let down your milk
-to us.”
-
-“That would be like my friend Cusha-Cow Bonny. Her master asked her to
-let down her milk to him, and he promised her in return a gown of silk
-and a silver tee,” remarked the cow, thoughtfully.
-
-“I don’t know what a silver tee is,” said Ban-Ban, “but it doesn’t sound
-like anything that a cow would care for, and I’m sure you would rather
-have a nice house and your freedom all the long summer days than a gown
-of silk. Any sensible person would, especially we who already have such
-beautiful gowns of fine fur and glossy brown hair,—yours is a lovely
-colour, if you will pardon a personal remark,” added artful Ban-Ban.
-
-The cow smiled. “Not as beautiful as yours,” she said, not to be outdone
-in politeness. “Yours is silver on the high line of your back, and
-almost purple in the shadow; I never saw a more beautiful coat.”
-
-“Thank you,” said Ban-Ban. He did not pay as much attention to
-compliments as the cow did, because he had been praised ever since he
-had had his eyes open, and he could not help knowing how beautiful he
-was. “Don’t you think that you would rather stay with us, in Purrington,
-than to go farther, only to be again the slave of some man?”
-
-The cow seemed to be struck by this way of putting the case; she no
-longer hesitated. Shifting her cud to the left cheek, the cheek on which
-a cow always chews when her mind is fully made up, Mrs. Brindle said,
-decidedly: “I am quite sure that I should. And I will!”
-
-“Good!” cried Ban-Ban. “Follow me, then!”
-
-Making his tail very stiffly erect to do honour to such an important
-occasion as was this one, when he was to lead into Purrington its supply
-of much needed milk, Ban-Ban wheeled around and trotted rapidly down
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “The shout of welcome which all the Purrers of Purrington raised.”]
-
-the main street, followed by Mrs. Brindle, who looked more round-eyed
-than ever, as if she could not quite understand being adopted by a cat.
-
-The shout of welcome which all the Purrers of Purrington raised as they
-espied Ban-Ban and his companion nearly lifted little Dolly Varden off
-her feet. But when she ran to the window and saw what was coming she
-raised her piping voice and cried: “Mamma, Mamma Bidelia! Come quick!
-Ban-Ban’s bringing home something awful, with horns! It’s bigger than
-men and looks crosser!”
-
-Bidelia ran to the window.
-
-“Why, that’s milk, my Furry-Softness!” she cried, joyfully.
-
-“Milk!” cried Nugget, scornfully. He was not nearly as respectful in his
-manner since he had played with Scamp. “Milk comes in cans, mamma; not
-in big, hair-covered horny things, with legs!”
-
-“That is a cow, Nugget; you will see to-night whether you know more than
-your mother. Cows give milk, just as pumps give water,” said Bidelia,
-severely.
-
-“Then I’m glad Ban-Ban brought her,” said Puttel, licking her lips
-thirstily. “I’m so tired not having milk I ’most want to go back to our
-old place.”
-
-“Poor Puttel!” said Bidelia, feeling of the kitten’s nose. “You are
-feverish. Never mind, my babies; to-night you shall have a long, creamy,
-blessed drink, and I’m going to cook a fish for Ban-Ban’s supper for
-bringing the cow here. What a genius Ban-Ban is! Nugget, run around to
-Mr. Schwartz Katz’s and ask him to let you have his best fish. Tell him
-Ban-Ban has brought the cow to Purrington, and that the fish is for
-him.”
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “A long, creamy, blessed drink.”]
-
-“He knows it,” growled Nugget, flattening his ears sulkily, for he did
-not like to go on errands since Scamp had told him his mother took too
-much of his play-time for her service. It was far from true, for Bidelia
-was a most indulgent little mother.
-
-“Nugget, go at once, and lift your ears. I will not allow you to flatten
-your ears when I ask you to do something for me. Oh, dear,” sighed
-Bidelia. “How dreadful it is to have kittens fall in with bad comrades!
-Nugget has always been such a good boy! And now that Scamp is changing
-him for the worse every day!”
-
-“Don’t worry, mamma,” purred dear little Dolly, putting her forelegs
-around Bidelia’s neck. “Nugget isn’t bad, like Scamp; he only thinks
-it’s smart to spit and flatten his ears. He thinks that makes him catly,
-and a soldier like Wutz-Butz.”
-
-Bidelia licked Dolly tenderly. “I only wish he were not so weak as to
-want to copy bad kittens. As though it were not much more grown-up to be
-strong, and good, and obedient! If he wants to be catly why doesn’t he
-imitate Doctor Traddles, or sweet Kiku-san, our gentle white friend, or
-clever Ban-Ban, or even Wutz-Butz, if he does fight sometimes? It is so
-silly to swagger!” And Bidelia sighed again, feeling that she was too
-young to manage such a great yellow kitten as Nugget was growing to be.
-
-Just then there arose in the street a great chorus. To human ears it
-would have sounded like a chorus of mews, but it was not.
-
-All the cats were shouting, just as they had heard human beings shout at
-election time, and this was what they were saying:
-
-“What’s the matter with Ban-Ban?” “He’s all right!” “Who founded
-Purrington?” “Ban-Ban!” “Who brought the cow to Purrington?” “Ban-Ban!”
-
-And then they sang, to the tune of Yankee Doodle:
-
-                  “Bannie-Ban, with coat of silk,
-                  Got poor thirsty cats their milk!
-                  Bannie-Ban, he knows how
-                  Best to argue with a cow.
-                  Purrers, we, of Purrington,
-                  Without milk could not get on.
-                  Who went out, the cow to catch?
-                  Our noble Bandersnatch!
-                  Who brought Brindle, jogging-jog?
-                  Our noble Bandarlog!
-                  Cheer, then, cheer, all cats who can,
-                  Cheer your best for great Ban-Ban!”
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER IV
-                       A FIVE O’CLOCK CATNIP TEA
-
-
-When Purrington was started there were a great many who thought that it
-must fail. Cats who would not join the pilgrims to the new city sat on
-back fences and mewed over the certain disappointment awaiting those who
-went, sometimes spitting in their wrath that any cat should be so
-foolish as to go on such a wild-goose chase after happiness, just as
-human folk croak over other people’s experiments. It is too much to
-expect that cats can always be better than human beings, at least that
-all cats can.
-
-But Purrington was not a failure; on the contrary it was a great
-success; and, when it had been built in two weeks, and everything was in
-running order, and the Purrers were quite sure that their plan was
-working well, Bidelia and Madam Laura resolved to give a tea to
-celebrate the founding of the city.
-
-A great many ladies had come to the town by this time, so there was no
-trouble about getting together plenty of guests for the tea. Doctor
-Thomas Traddles’s school was by this time grown to thirty scholars, for
-most of the ladies who had moved to Purrington, like Bidelia, brought
-with them two or three children—and one came to town with five kittens!
-
-The cards to the tea were issued three days in advance, and were
-delivered at each house—there were more houses built by this time to
-shelter all the new arrivals—by a small, gray cat called Posty, whose
-duty it was to deliver the mails and to keep the post-office.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “One came to town with five kittens.”]
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “A small, gray cat called Posty.”]
-
-The cards ran thus: “Mrs. Bidelia Purplay requests the pleasure of your
-company to tea on June 10th, from four to six. Music.”
-
-There was not a cat omitted in these invitations, because the founders
-of Purrington had talked the matter over in private and had agreed that
-it would never do to allow any division and jealousy in the town such as
-is caused by social sets, and one person looking down upon another, and
-snubbing him. It was not easy for Ban-Ban, Kiku-san, Bidelia, and Tommy
-Traddles to bring themselves to treat everybody exactly alike, for there
-is nothing on earth so lofty by nature as a cat, and these four had been
-used only to fashionable society. However, they made up their minds that
-they must do whatever was for the general good, and treat all the
-Purrers of Purrington with the same neighbourly kindness.
-
-Bidelia hoped that by having her tea continue from four to six she would
-escape crowding her parlour, in which there was not any too much room;
-but, by five minutes to four, there was a stirring in the streets, heads
-poking out of windows and doors to see if any one were starting, and
-before the French clock on Bidelia’s parlour cabinet had struck
-half-past four, all her guests had arrived.
-
-Of course nobody would have missed this first social event in Purrington
-for their whiskers, but there had been a good deal said from one to
-another about Bidelia’s giving a tea. Nobody seemed to think that tea
-would be very enjoyable.
-
-“It’s all very well to be fashionable,” said the mother of the five
-kittens—Daisy Bell was her name—“but tea! Whoever heard of a cat that
-would so much as smell of tea? I should have thought that Mrs. Bidelia
-Purplay could have found something better to have asked us to than tea!
-I told my eldest daughter not to be surprised if I came home down sick.
-Tea! Of all things!”
-
-This was said as Daisy Bell came to the tea—one of the very earliest to
-arrive she was, too, in spite of her dislike for tea—and her neighbour,
-Mrs. Blotch, to whom she was talking, fully agreed with her.
-
-Judge, then, the pleasure of these ladies when, on entering Bidelia’s
-house, a strong odour of catnip met their twitching noses. Here is where
-breeding tells; Daisy Bell’s manners were not proof against this
-surprise and the tempting odour.
-
-“Dear me!” she cried, as she came in,—before she had so much as inquired
-after her hostess’s children, mind you,—“Dear me! How strong that catnip
-smells! Are you giving a catnip tea? I wouldn’t have dreaded coming if
-I’d have known that!”
-
-“Did you dread coming?” inquired Bidelia, pleasantly. “I am very sorry.
-Of course it is a catnip tea. I never thought of stating it on my cards,
-because I thought everybody would understand. A Five O’Clock Catnip Tea.
-Why, of course it is. What other kind of a tea would I care to give, or
-you care to come to?”
-
-“No other kind,” said Daisy Bell, promptly. “What do we do?”
-
-“If you will go into my bedroom you will find Puttel there to take your
-things, and help you in any little way that you may need help; she acts
-as my maid to-day. Then, when your fur is arranged and you are quite
-ready, if you will be so kind as to come back to me I will take you to
-the dining-room. Madam Laura is good enough to pour for me to-day.”
-
-Daisy Bell did not know what Bidelia meant by pouring for her, but she
-kept silent, for there was something in little Bidelia’s easy and
-gracious manner that made Daisy Bell, and Mrs. Blotch, too, conscious
-that they had not her advantages of education and social experience.
-
-They had not got their things off and their fur smoothed down, and their
-ribbons retied, before other ladies came, and still others, until
-Bidelia’s small bedroom was crowded, and Puttel had to give the first
-comers a hint to go out to her mother, for everybody seemed to dread to
-make the first move to go back to the parlour.
-
-In the meantime the gentlemen had been arriving, hardly less prompt than
-the ladies, which is not strange, because it was curiosity that brought
-them all so early, and cats are the most curious of creatures, the
-gentlemen just as curious as the ladies among them—wherein they are very
-different, you know, from human creatures.
-
-Bidelia was busy receiving her guests, and ushering them out to the
-dining-room, where Madam Laura was pouring catnip tea at the table out
-of a very big urn indeed. The table was beautifully set with charming
-saucers and plates of glass and silver, and decorated with bunches of
-catnip in the centre and at each corner, connected by long loops of
-sky-blue ribbon. There were thin slices of cold meat, little cakes of
-puppy biscuits, cut into fancy shapes, crackers, cheese, cream in a
-large bowl, like a punch-bowl on a side-table, and ice-cream—melted
-ice-cream, of course, as all sensible people with good, catlike tastes
-prefer it.
-
-Bidelia had cups for the catnip tea which had come down to her from her
-greatest of grandmothers, nobody knows how many generations ago, for the
-cups were nearly a hundred years old, and in a hundred years cats lay by
-a great length of grandmothers. These cups were small at the bottom and
-flaring at the top, like little bowls, and they had no handles. They
-were a grayish china, with dark blue border and little sprigs of dark
-blue flowers in the bottoms, which the guests could not see until they
-had lapped up their tea to the last drop.
-
-Dolly Varden handed around tea and the other refreshments. The crowd
-grew so great that there was not room after awhile to set the cups on
-the floor. Ever so many were waiting to be served, and one could see
-from their rising fur that this was annoying them dreadfully.
-
-Tommy Traddles saw this, too, and he whispered to Bidelia.
-
-“Certainly,” she said aloud, and Tommy Traddles turned to the guests.
-
-“Our hostess has provided us with an entertainment, in which I have the
-honour to be of some assistance, as the master of the Purrington
-school,” he said. “When you have enjoyed sufficiently the hospitality of
-this room will you please go out upon the lawn, where the music
-announced on the cards of invitation will be given.”
-
-The instant Doctor Traddles had finished speaking more than half the
-guests hastened out on the lawn, anxious to secure the best places to
-see and hear, for cats do not always behave unselfishly; perhaps they
-have followed the bad example of human beings, of whom a few are always
-trying to get the best of everything for themselves.
-
-Here the fond and proud parents found all the kittens of Purrington,
-little girls and little boys, drawn up in a row, their eyes as bright as
-they could be, their noses quivering with nervous impatience, and their
-little tails all straight up in the air above their backs like so many
-fur-covered slate-pencils. The kittens all wore ribbons crossed under
-the left foreleg and tied in a bow on the right shoulder. The boys wore
-pink, the girls blue ribbons, and the scholars who had done well in
-school had each a little silvered bell tied around the throat by a
-narrow ribbon, matching in colour the wider one around the shoulder.
-
-The murmurs that arose from the guests on the lawn reached the ears of
-those remaining in the dining-room, who hastily finished their catnip
-tea and swallowed their last bites of cold meat and puppy biscuit cakes,
-lapped the final drops of their ice-cream, and hurried after the ladies
-and gentlemen on the lawn.
-
-“Dear friends,” said Bidelia in a faint little voice, for she was
-frightened to speak to so many cats, all with their eyes fixed on her
-and with their tails slightly waving. “Dear friends, with Doctor
-Traddles’s help I have got together our blessed kittens to help me
-entertain you, and to prove what great progress they are making in
-school. First, my dancing class will show you a figure, a new figure, in
-the cotillion. It is called: The Chase of the Tails.”
-
-’Clipsy, who, being black, had a natural talent for music, and
-particularly for playing the violin, took his place with his fiddle over
-his shoulder, precisely as you see the cat in “High, Diddle, Diddle.”
-Nearly all the kittens stepped out into the middle of the lawn, stuck
-their tails out straight, and waited. ’Clipsy played a few bars softly
-and then dashed into a lively air, that made every eye in the place
-spread its pupil ’way to the beginning of its white line, so exciting
-was this music.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  The Dance.]
-
-Instantly every kitten made a rapid, low bow, and then danced a few
-steps to the right, a few to the left, leaped into the air, turned its
-soft body half-way around as it came down, and slapped at its own tail
-with its right forepaw. The music changed into other time, and with it
-the dancing steps of the kittens changed also. Swinging and swaying, the
-kittens began to spin around after their tails, keeping perfect time to
-the exciting music, whirling faster and faster, until all one could see
-were so many soft, varied-coloured balls of graceful kits, spinning,
-dashing, running, skipping, snatching after the tails that they never
-quite caught, never losing the swing of the dance, never losing the fun
-of the thing, until all the cats looking on were quite wild themselves
-with the delight of it and pride in their children. Fancy, if one kitten
-running after its tail is funny and charming, what it must have been to
-have seen twenty-two kittens, in a circle, trying to catch their tails
-in a mazy dance, perfectly performed!
-
-“We’ve had the time of our lives!” cried Posty, jumping up in the air
-himself, and giving a wild mew, because he could not help doing it.
-
-“Let us give Mrs. Bidelia a vote of thanks,” proposed Ban-Ban,
-remembering how he had been publicly thanked for bringing the cow into
-Purrington.
-
-“Three cheers instead!” cried Wutz-Butz, who wanted to let off steam in
-some way.
-
-The three cheers were instantly given, for all the cats felt precisely
-as Wutz-Butz did, that they must give vent to their feelings, so wrought
-up by the dance, or fly into small pieces on the spot.
-
-Bidelia dropped a beautiful curtsey. “Thank you, dear friends,” she
-said. “I am glad that you consider our first social event in Purrington
-a success. Before you go will you join in a song? The kittens will lead
-us, because they know it best.”
-
-A large kitten, whose voice was already changing from soprano to tenor,
-started the air of “Old Kentucky Home,” in which all the kittens, and
-most of the cats, joined at once, singing the following words:
-
-                “We are cosy ev’ry night,
-                 And we’re happy ev’ry day,
-          In this Pussy-town we call Purrington;
-                 We have just enough of work,
-                 And we’ve just enough of play
-          To keep us ever purring on.
-
-          _Chorus_: “Then hasten, all ye pussies,
-                 Oh, come, our joy to see.
-                 For we’re happy little kits,
-                 And we’ve danced ourselves to bits,
-                 In honour of Bidelia’s Catnip Tea.
-
-                “In the world we’ve left behind
-                 Where the houses grow in blocks,
-          We were often far from safe and warm,
-                And the hands that ought to stroke,
-                Sometimes gave us cruel knocks;
-          But in Purrington we’re out of reach of harm.
-
-          _Chorus_: “Then sing aloud, dear pussies,
-                  And purr your joy and glee!
-                  For here we’ve made a home,
-                  Whence we never more will roam,
-                  And we’re grateful for Bidelia’s Catnip Tea.”
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER V
-                       THE SCAMPISHNESS OF SCAMP
-
-
-It is hard to imagine a cloud crossing the sky of Pussy-Cat Town; but
-Purrington was growing larger, and, among a good many people, even cat
-people, there must be some who are not quite happy, and some who are not
-quite good.
-
-Kiku-san was the only one of all the citizens of Purrington who was
-really unhappy, though Ban-Ban had many moments when his shining gray
-fur covered homesickness and longing for Robin. But Ban-Ban had a
-certain brightness about him, a snap-and-go which made it impossible for
-him to give up to downright unhappiness. Kiku-san, however, had a
-different nature. Gentle, clinging, and most affectionate, he could not
-shake off trouble when it found him, and Kiku-san was so homesick, so
-lonely for gentle little Lois, in whose arms he had slept all his life,
-and against whose cheek it had been his daily custom to rub his own
-cheek again and again, the while that he cooed softly to her, telling
-her of his love for her, that not all the charms of Purrington, nor the
-thought that it was making so many friendless cats rich and happy, could
-cheer his little heart.
-
-Bidelia, too, had a growing anxiety that might prove to be a grief.
-Nugget was getting more and more under the influence of Scamp, and that
-influence was not for good. Nugget had always been as obedient as Puttel
-and Dolly Varden, and very proud of his young little mother, perfectly
-happy to trot beside her, and glad to have other kittens see how much he
-loved her. But now Nugget thought it was catly to pretend not to love
-Bidelia very much, and even to dare to spit—softly, under his breath, to
-be sure,—but still to spit,—when she told him to do something for her,
-or when she forbade him to go out.
-
-So far Nugget had not done anything wrong, or outright wrong; but
-Bidelia was not a silly mother, and, even though she had not had
-experience in bringing up kittens until these three were born, she knew
-quite well that nobody goes wrong all at once, but that from small
-beginnings comes great harm, and she worried over Nugget’s impertinent
-manner.
-
-She felt certain that he was only foolish, like some human children whom
-she had known, who thought it proved them quite grown up if only they
-were saucy and unmannerly, and she knew that the change in Nugget came
-from the bad example of Scamp, whose naughtiness was of a much more
-serious sort than Nugget’s had yet become.
-
-She could not take Nugget out of school, away from Scamp altogether, as
-she would have liked to do, because she was too busy to teach him
-herself, and he was getting on beyond anything. Tommy Traddles said that
-Nugget was one of his best scholars, that he could subtract three tails
-from seven mice, and seven mice from eleven rats, all in his head as
-quick as a cat could wink. And that he knew the tables of jumps and
-pounces better than any one else in the school, and could tell in a
-twinkling how many jumps made one good pounce. In grammar he led his
-class, being able to tell in what case every mew noun was the moment he
-heard it, and he could decline purring verbs in the passive voice, or
-spitting verbs in the active voice in a way that delighted his teacher’s
-heart, for Doctor Traddles was particularly fond of grammar.
-
-So Nugget went to school every day, and thus saw Scamp constantly. Scamp
-sought Nugget’s society more than any other kitten there; he seemed to
-take a fancy to the quick-witted little yellow fellow, and perhaps liked
-to lead a good kitten into paths of naughtiness—there are many with that
-sort of taste.
-
-One day Scamp spoke to Nugget as they met in the schoolroom doorway,
-after recess.
-
-“Come with me to-night,” he said. “I’m going fishing in the Meuse, and
-we’ll have fun. Bring some bait; I scratched up worms in our garden.”
-
-“I don’t have to have worms for bait,” said Nugget, proudly. “I learned
-how to fish with just my paw. I guess I can’t go, though.”
-
-Now Scamp knew that Nugget had been taught to fish with his paw, and
-that was why he particularly wanted him to go fishing that evening. But
-this he would not own, so he said: “Why can’t you? There won’t be any
-one but just us two. We’ll have fun, I tell you.”
-
-“My mother won’t let me——” began Nugget, but stopped himself, ashamed to
-say that he could not go for that reason, though there could hardly have
-been a better one.
-
-“Before I’d be tied to my mammy’s tail! Cry-kitten, ’fraid-cat!” sneered
-Scamp.
-
-“My mother says the river is dangerous at night,” said Nugget.
-
-“How does she know? A little cat like her!” said Scamp. “Did she ever go
-there, then? You’re no good, Nugget. I don’t care; I’ll get some one
-else. I only wanted to give you first chance! ’Fore I’d stay home for my
-mother! If you was any good you’d get up and go, and tell her afterward!
-You could hide, and I’d bring you supper, and then we’d go. I don’t
-care, though! There’s plenty ain’t ’fraid-cats, if _you_ are. Stay home,
-and let your mother lick your eyes open, if you want to!”
-
-This was an unbearable taunt. No kitten can endure to have another say
-this to him. It means, among kittens, that you are a baby, not yet nine
-days old, and not bright enough to get your own eyes open.
-
-Foolish little Nugget had not enough strength of character to treat
-these taunts with the contempt they deserved. He had not time to think,
-because they were standing in the schoolroom doorway, and were likely to
-be called to their places at any moment. So Nugget answered quickly,
-under the spur of this stinging taunt: “Who’s afraid? I didn’t want to
-go, but I will go, just to show you!”
-
-He didn’t see the smirk which curled Scamp’s whiskers, and which he put
-up his paw to hide; but Nugget went to his seat a very sober kitten, and
-it was with a heavy heart that, after school was dismissed, instead of
-going home to Bidelia, as usual, he followed Scamp to the place where he
-was to await his coming to go fishing.
-
-It was not at all exciting, either, to eat his supper, which Scamp
-brought him, under the trees, and then to follow his unfriendly friend
-along the line of the woods to the river, when it had grown too dark for
-them to be seen. Nugget had hoped that at least it would be thrilling to
-steal along this way, keeping out of sight, but the thrills were the
-wrong sort, for it was chilly, and dreadfully dark. If he had told the
-truth, Nugget would have said that he was afraid, and that the heart
-under his golden fur ached for the mother whom he was treating so badly.
-
-Scamp had said that the fish would bite better at night than by
-daylight. Nugget had listened to this statement with the awe that a
-small kitten feels for the wisdom of a larger one. It did not prove to
-be such very wise wisdom after all. The fishes did not bite Scamp’s
-bait, not once, nor would they swim where Nugget could scoop them up in
-his little yellow paw, a trick at which he had become very skilful,
-thanks to Madam Laura’s teaching. It was too dark to see them plainly
-when they did swim up to the surface and near to the shore; even a
-kitten’s eyes were misled by the ripples of the water under the stars,
-and Nugget often dipped for the fish too soon, or too late, or when
-there was no fish there.
-
-Nugget was so miserable that he had hard work to keep from mewing. Scamp
-was entirely changed in his manner to the poor little naughty thing that
-he had led astray. Now that he had got Nugget to do what he wanted him
-to, he seemed not to care for him in the least; he snubbed him, paid no
-attention to the younger kitten’s remarks, and often walked off to fish
-at some distance from Nugget, leaving the kitten to struggle with a fear
-that every moment was growing more unbearable—it was the first time in
-his short life that Nugget had ever been out after dark without a grown
-cat to look after him.
-
-Scamp came back just in time to catch a whine which, in spite of
-himself, escaped Nugget, a sort of mew with his lips shut; but, so far
-from being sorry for Nugget, he fell into a great rage as he heard the
-kitten’s moan, and he walked up to him sidewise, with his fur bristling
-and his claws sticking out, ready for a scratch.
-
-“What’s the matter with you, you cry-kitten?” he demanded, growlingly.
-“’fraid your mother’ll spank you when you get home?”
-
-He spoke so roughly, so angrily, that Nugget lost heart altogether, and
-burst forth into open mewing. “I wouldn’t care if she did,” he wailed.
-“I wouldn’t care what she did, if only I was home again where she could
-do it.”
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “Scamp looked over him scornfully.”]
-
-Scamp looked him over scornfully, but Nugget’s spirit was gone; not a
-hair on his body rose the higher for the look.
-
-“Next time I ask a cry-kitten to go fishin’ you’ll know it,” said Scamp,
-spitting.
-
-“I wouldn’t go with you if you did,” said Nugget, not resenting being
-called “cry-kitten,” or pretending not to know for whom the name was
-intended. “I’ll never go anywhere with you again, Scamp Alloy, not
-anywhere, day or night. You make me bad; mamma says so, and it’s true,
-and now you make me frightened, and cold, and tired, and everything
-besides.”
-
-Nugget put both paws before his face and mewed fast and furiously. He
-did not see Scamp nor the way he walked up close to him, still sidewise,
-with his ears back and his fur bristling. Nugget was sitting close to
-the river’s edge, too busy with his trouble to think of anything else.
-So, when Scamp got up to him, he was not ready for the hard blow that
-bad kitten gave him on the side of his bowed yellow head, and it sent
-him flying out almost into the middle of the stream.
-
-Scamp was so frightened by what he had done that, after an instant, in
-which he stood staring at the circles in the water eddying around the
-spot where Nugget had sunk, he took to his heels and ran away for his
-life, leaving Nugget to get out or die as best he could.
-
-While these dreadful things were happening by the river, the cats at
-home were having hours of misery over Nugget’s disappearance. When he
-did not come home to supper, and Dolly and Puttel reported that they had
-not seen him since school was dismissed, Bidelia’s heart misgave her.
-Ban-Ban and Kiku-san looked at Nugget’s delay from the brighter side,
-and comforted her by telling her it was caused by the kitten’s stopping
-to play, or getting into some comparatively harmless mischief, as
-kittens will. But after the supper, which Bidelia pushed away untasted,
-was over, even Ban-Ban and Kiku-san began to look serious, as Nugget did
-not turn up, and they each went out to inquire among their friends if
-any one had seen little Nugget.
-
-When they came back without tidings of the lost kitten Bidelia sat down
-half-fainting, mewing piteously. Then she sprang up, took her little
-girls each by a paw, hurried them over to Madam Laura’s, and then rushed
-from house to house, calling upon all the Purrers of Purrington to turn
-out and search for her child.
-
-It did not take long to learn from Alloy, his mother, that Scamp was
-missing, too. Alloy laughed at Bidelia for her fears, being quite
-accustomed to Scamp’s doing precisely what he pleased, coming home
-exactly when he was ready to come. But Bidelia was made only the more
-anxious at the thought that her little kitten should be missing in such
-bad company as Scamp’s.
-
-Twenty cats joined in the search for Nugget. Ban-Ban darted hither and
-thither; Tommy Traddles beat every bush and scanned every hole in his
-thorough way; and Kiku-san walked beside Bidelia, one paw around the
-afflicted little cat, talking to her in his gentle, cooing way, and
-keeping up her courage as none of the others could do. As they walked,
-searching sorrowfully, the cats sang these words to the air of “Long,
-Long Ago:”
-
-            “When our loved kittens wander away,
-              Sad are our hearts, bitter our pain;
-            Sobbing, we mew through the long empty day,
-              Hoping they’ll answer again.
-            Oh, little Nugget, had’st thou been wise,
-            Thy mother’s counsel thou would’st not despise!
-              But through our errors life’s lessons we learn;
-              All is forgiven; oh, return!”
-
-The last two lines of the music they repeated, singing, over and over
-again: “Nugget, oh, come! Nugget, oh, come!” hoping that the kitten
-would hear and call to them. After some time they were rewarded by
-hearing afar a faint, a very faint and feeble mew.
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER VI
-                   MRS. BRINDLE BRINGS STARTLING NEWS
-
-
-The twenty cats broke into a run at the sound of that weak mew. Although
-it was not repeated, with their keen eyes, made to see in the dark, and
-their keen noses, made to smell out all kinds of the micest secrets,
-they had no trouble in finding poor little Nugget. There he lay on the
-bank, hardly beyond the reach of the water, wet, cold, too exhausted to
-mew again, although he could hear with his failing senses the voices of
-the Purrers come to secure him.
-
-Kiku-san saw him first, and gently pointed him out to Bidelia, afraid as
-he did so that they had come too late, that Nugget was already dead. The
-delicate legs hung limp, the head had fallen forward, the eyes, still
-half-blue in colour, were glazed, and the mouth that had called them was
-open.
-
-Bidelia stiffened with dread as she saw her kitten, but instantly darted
-forward, calling: “M-m-m-mmmmm!” That coaxing mother-note in which all
-cats call their kittens so lovingly. As she cooed to Nugget, she bent
-over him, nosing him, licking him frantically, yet with the wisest,
-strongest strokes, for, young as she was, and without having taken a
-course of First Aids to the Injured, her mother-love taught her how best
-to bring Nugget back.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “Licking him frantically.”]
-
-Her friends stood by watching the little mother, herself scarcely more
-than a kitten, anxiously hoping that she would warm Nugget into life.
-And she did. Though a few minutes longer delay and the rescuers would
-have come too late, Nugget was still on the right side of the line
-between life and death when he was found, and he rewarded his mother’s
-rapid work on his limp little body by moving a paw and uttering another
-plaintive little mew.
-
-“Let us help you,” cried Daisy Bell and Mrs. Blotch, while the other
-cats heaved a sigh of relief, well knowing that if Nugget turned to come
-back to them the battle was as good as won. Daisy Bell and Mrs. Blotch,
-experienced in the care of kittens, fell to licking with Bidelia, and
-did it with so much good-will that the soft, wet little form rocked back
-and forth on the grass, and the kitten soon opened both eyes as the
-grateful warmth of the busy tongues dried his yellow fur and set his
-chilled blood in motion.
-
-Bidelia licked around the kitten’s face, and Nugget put both paws around
-her neck.
-
-“I’m dreadful sorry, mamma,” he whispered, so sincerely that he forgot
-to speak like Tommy Traddles’s best grammar scholar.
-
-“Yes, dear, but I’m only glad just now that you are safe,” Bidelia
-whispered back.
-
-“Scamp coaxed me to go fishing with him; I didn’t want to, but he said I
-was ’fraid-cat, so I went,” Nugget continued. “He was ugly after he got
-me here, and I mewed, so he pushed me into the water, and ran away. I
-kept up, and kept swimming—I don’t see how I swam; nobody taught me.”
-
-“Oh, everybody knows how to swim without teaching, everybody except
-human beings,” said Bidelia. “Go on, dearest.”
-
-“I swam, but I could not get to shore,” sobbed Nugget. “Not for the
-longest, longest time! And I felt so weak, and I was so frightened, and
-it was so dark, and there were you and Dolly and Puttel all safe at
-home, and I thought I was never going to see you—” Nugget broke off,
-sobbing with all his might.
-
-“There, there, dear, darling little Nugget, don’t talk about it, don’t
-tell me any more now!” said Bidelia, soothing him by the softest kisses
-and pats. “I know all about it. At last you did get to the bank, and
-crawled up, and lay there dying, when you heard the good Purrers singing
-to you, and gathered strength for just one tiny mew; just enough, dear,
-to save you. And now you’re going to get well fast, and we are going to
-take you home where Mrs. Brindle has warm milk for you, and never, never
-again are you going to be a naughty kitten, and disobey your little
-mother. Isn’t that it, my poor little Nugget?”
-
-Nugget cuddled down close into Bidelia’s soft neck. “That’s right,
-mamma,” he said.
-
-Bidelia gave a few quick purrs of happiness. It really was worth
-Nugget’s suffering and her own misery to have her kitten freed for ever
-from the bad influence of Scamp. She turned to her friends with a bright
-smile. “How shall we get this poor, naughty kitten home, dear Purrers?
-He is far too weak to walk.”
-
-“We’ll make a cat’s-cradle,” said Ban-Ban, promptly.
-
-Now a cat’s-cradle is not what most of us understand it to be. The real
-cat’s-cradle, from which the one we make with strings got its name, is
-made in this manner: an equal number of cats form themselves into two
-lines, walking abreast, one line behind the other. The rear line gently
-takes into its mouths the tips of the tails in the front line, which
-thus form, as one can easily see, a sort of hammock upon which a kitten,
-or any not too great weight, may be carried.
-
-In this case ten cats made a line abreast, and ten more, in another line
-abreast, took the tips of the ten preceding tails into their mouths, and
-Nugget was laid on the cradle thus made, whereon he swung as easily as a
-Baltimore oriole in its nest, and slept peacefully while his kind
-protectors bore him home.
-
-Madam Laura, with Dolly Varden and Puttel, were at the door of the
-apartment-house, eagerly watching for the return of the search-party. It
-was the shriek of glad mews which they raised that woke Nugget from his
-sleep of exhaustion, and told him that he was once more with his
-sisters, whose qualities as “mere girl kittens” he no longer despised,
-since they had been good, while he had been both foolish and naughty.
-
-Bidelia, Laura, Ban-Ban, and Wutz-Butz took Nugget at once to Mrs.
-Brindle’s house to get her to give the poor kitten some warm milk.
-
-As soon as she saw them the cow uttered a long moo of welcome. “I
-thought you would never get here to-night,” she said when they were
-within hearing. “I have news for you that I could hardly wait to tell
-you.”
-
-“Nugget has been lost and nearly drowned,” said Ban-Ban. “We were out
-hunting for him. Will you please let down some milk for him while you
-are telling us your news?”
-
-“I was out walking to-day over at the other side of the woods,” Brindle
-began at once, as she obligingly let down her foaming milk into the pan
-Ban-Ban offered her. Cows never waste time beating around the bush when
-they have anything to say. “I came upon something there that shocked me.
-Purrington is in danger.”
-
-“In danger from what?” demanded Ban-Ban, who was always the one with
-whom Brindle preferred to talk, as he was her first friend among the
-Purrers.
-
-“There is a settlement of dogs over there,” said Brindle, gravely. “The
-place is called Dog Corners. I heard the dogs talking. They were saying
-that they had just learned of the existence of Purrington, and that they
-meant to attack the city, destroy it, and capture or kill all the cats
-in it.
-
-“They never dreamed that I, a cow, was one of the people of Purrington,”
-she added, nodding her head up and down as a low growl of indignant
-horror arose from her hearers; even Nugget stopped drinking to join in
-it. “The dogs talked freely, although they saw me standing there. I
-half-shut my eyes, and pretended to be interested in nothing but my cud.
-But you may be sure I listened to every word, and I have been nervous
-ever since because no one came near me to be warned of the danger.”
-
-Wutz-Butz stood with his feet braced, and every separate hair bristling
-with fury. “It may come to-night,” he growled very low, and Ban-Ban,
-Laura, and Bidelia understood that he meant the dogs’ attack on
-Purrington, and thrilled at his words.
-
-“There isn’t a moment to lose. We must consult the others, and arrange
-for meeting this attack,” cried Ban-Ban. “Bidelia and Madam Laura,
-Wutz-Butz and I must leave you to bring Nugget home when you are ready.
-Mrs. Brindle, you are a cow in a thousand. You are full of the milk of
-human kindness and fidelity to your friends. We will do something to
-prove how we appreciate you when this danger is past. Wutz-Butz, come
-on!” And Ban-Ban flew like a streak of quick-silver—he was about the
-same colour—down the street, and Wutz-Butz flew after him as fast as his
-greater weight allowed.
-
-The big bell in the town hall had never been rung. When it was hung
-Doctor Traddles had given a lecture in the hall on an incident in
-Scottish history, when one of the lords had asked in council who would
-bell the cat. Doctor Traddles pointed out that they, being cats, would
-reverse the order of the question, and ask: Who will bell the
-council-room? It was considered a most happy allusion, and Tommy
-Traddles’s wit was still quoted. But the bell had never, till this day,
-been rung. Now it pealed forth, calling together all the Purrers of
-Purrington for a council of war.
-
-Wutz-Butz, as the most experienced soldier, was in the chair, presiding
-over the meeting. The cats looked very serious. An attack on their city
-by dogs was not a thing to be regarded lightly.
-
-“Gentlemen,” said Wutz-Butz, after a hasty whispered consultation with
-Tommy Traddles as to the proper way to proceed with the meeting, “I
-should be glad to hear from you what you consider the best way to meet
-the attack which Mrs. Brindle has warned us that the dogs of Dog Corners
-intend to make upon us.”
-
-There were a great many good fighters in Purrington now, thanks to the
-number of cats who had joined the first settlers, and who had spent
-their days fighting for their lives in the human city’s streets; but
-they were better fighters than talkers, and no one responded to
-Wutz-Butz’s request for advice as to the best method of meeting the
-danger threatening them.
-
-Finally Ban-Ban arose, looking around at the council. “I am not a
-fighting cat,” he said, “but since those who are seem shy about
-addressing us, let me state my opinion and offer my advice on the matter
-before us. We all know that those who attack are better placed than
-those who are attacked. They have but themselves to take care of, while
-the attacked have to consider their wives and children, and suffer the
-loss of their homes if the attack is at all successful. Hence I propose
-that, instead of waiting in Purrington for the dogs to attack us, we
-march on Dog Corners and wipe it off the map. We will send Brindle to
-find out when the dogs will be away, because, if they are free dogs,
-they must go off on long runs—even pet dogs do that. When we find out
-that most of the fighting dogs are absent, we will fall on their
-settlement and put to flight every puppy in it. It is right for us to do
-this, because as long as there is a dog village so near Purrington we
-shall never be safe.”
-
-This speech, plain and to the point, was received with great applause.
-It was moved, seconded, and carried that the Purrers of Purrington
-should make war upon Dog Corners on the first day possible. Wutz-Butz
-was appointed Commander of the Cats, with ’Clipsy second in command, and
-Tommy Traddles and Ban-Ban staff-officers, for consultation.
-
-A city guard was appointed for that night to patrol the streets and
-alarm the Purrers should the attack be made at once. Then the meeting
-broke up, but not until the cats had sung, to the air of “Hail
-Columbia:”
-
-              “Let the wild dogs now beware,
-              We are bristling up our hair;
-              We have now unsheathed our claws,
-              We have made our martial laws,
-              And, when dogs shall dare attack,
-              With growls and spits we’ll drive them back!
-              For Purrington we’ll make a fight,
-              Strong, because our cause is right.
-              Liberty! our countersign;
-              You for yours, but I for mine!
-
-              _Chorus:_ “Like one cat we’ll meet the foe;
-                      Like one paw we’ll lay him low.
-                      Courage, then, Cat Heroes! Draw
-                      Claws, and strike with heart in paw!”
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
-
-                              CHAPTER VII
-                    THEY FOUGHT LIKE CATS AND DOGS!
-
-
-“There is only one way to catch anything, and that is: Pounce on it!”
-
-Wutz-Butz was the speaker; he was addressing his soldiers, drawn up
-before him, ready for the fray. Brindle had early made her way to Dog
-Corners, and returned with the report that on this day the majority of
-the dogs were to be away from their village on a hunting trip. If the
-Purrers wished to attack there could not be a better time than the
-present to do so.
-
-There had been a discussion as to the best way of attacking the enemy,
-and Wutz-Butz, as General of the Cats, was giving his opinion.
-
-“There is only one way,” he said, “to catch anything, and that is:
-Pounce on it! How do you catch a mouse? Crouch low, keep the tip of your
-tail wagging, whiskers forward, eyes fixed front, muscles taut—then:
-Jump! Isn’t that the way? Well, then; there is no other way to capture
-anything. A village is precisely like a mouse, only bigger—”
-
-A murmur of dissent arose at this statement, and Wutz-Butz hastily
-explained.
-
-“I mean,” he said, quickly, “in principle. In principle there is no
-difference between a mouse and a village, except in size. That
-difference is evened up by there being so many of us. One cat catches
-the little mouse; many cats catch the large village. And there you are!
-The only way for us to do is to march softly to Dog Corners, and when we
-get there to form a circle all around it. Then we must crouch down, fix
-our eyes on the village—it will be awful! A lot of big, staring eyes all
-around the walls! Then we must prick our ears forward, moving them a
-little at the tips, to catch every sound, and keep our whiskers stiff,
-and the tips of our tails moving, moving ever so little. We must hold
-our muscles taut, ready! And then I will give a tiny, tiny spit, and
-then—Like one cat we must pounce together, up in the air and down on the
-village, claws out and backs stiff! And then Dog Corners will be taken!”
-
-All the soldiers purred together, like the roll of a drum. The programme
-as laid out by their general sounded so attractive!
-
-“Are you ready?” cried ’Clipsy, facing the troops.
-
-“Yes!” shouted the army, as one cat.
-
-“Will you follow us to danger and—if need be—to death?” demanded
-’Clipsy.
-
-“Yes, yes, miauw, miauw!” shrieked the soldiers, deeply stirred.
-
-“Then forward! March!” cried Wutz-Butz, wheeling about and taking a few
-steps in the direction of Dog Corners.
-
-Instantly the column was in motion, and soon the women and children cats
-left behind in Purrington could see only tips of tails proudly waving in
-the air, which, an instant later, were lost to sight in a cloud of dust.
-
-The army marched at double-quick through the woods, the padded feet of
-the soldiers making no sound on the dry leaves and pine-needle carpet
-over which they marched.
-
-Dog Corners lay, as they thought, at some distance from Purrington. Mrs.
-Brindle had said that it took her three hours to reach it. The Purrers
-did not realize the difference that there was between the awkward gait
-of the big cow and the swift trot of their own lithe bodies until they
-came within hailing distance of Dog Corners most unexpectedly, and at
-the expiration of a little less than two hours’ time.
-
-Wutz-Butz softly ordered a halt, and then detailed his sub-officers to
-lead four divisions of the army, which were to separate, march around
-the village, and then take up their positions, with an officer at the
-four points of the compass. The army would join its divisions, forming a
-cordon around the enemy, according to the announcement of his plans made
-by General Wutz-Butz before starting out.
-
-With a speed and silence most creditable to soldiers whose only
-experience in fighting heretofore had been in single combats, these
-orders were carried out.
-
-Swiftly and noiselessly the four detachments marched to surround the
-village, and took up their positions, with the ends of the detachments
-united to form a single line, encircling Dog Corners.
-
-Regarding the village as a gigantic mouse which they were to seize as a
-single cat, as their skilful leader had bidden them, the cats crouched,
-eyes forward, whiskers set, ears pointed, tails moving, muscles tense,
-ready to pounce at the word of command. Wutz-Butz led at the main gate.
-His followers listened for the spit that was to be the signal of
-onslaught.
-
-Hark! Was that it? No; it was but the heavy breathing of an old soldier,
-his asthma increased by excitement. But at last—
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “Ready to pounce.”]
-
-Ban-Ban caught the sound first, and repeated it. The four officers spit
-together. Instantly the entire army arose in the air in a great, curving
-heap, legs out, claws extended, and pounced on the village, like one
-great cat on one large mouse!
-
-Panic seized the dogs left at home, little dreaming of what was to
-befall them that beautiful morning. There were dogs of various sizes and
-colours, and, though the greatest fighters had gone hunting, there were
-quite enough in the village to have made its capture go hard with the
-cats, had it not been that their attack was so sudden and entirely
-unexpected.
-
-Just as they had sprung on the village walls, the cats sprang on the
-backs of its citizens, of course not touching the puppies, for it was
-not their part to make war on babies. The howls with which the
-appearance of the army of cats on the walls had been hailed turned into
-a chorus of yelps as each dog felt the sharp claws of a cat in his back.
-The dogs were bigger than the cats, and more used to fighting, but the
-nervous strength of the attacking party more than made up for their
-smaller size and less heavy muscles. The dogs tried to shake off their
-riders, but the claws did their work well, and the Purrers stuck like
-burrs, each soldier to his foe, scratching away and calling upon the dog
-to give up, until the citizens of Dog Corners were half-frantic.
-
-One big yellow dog took the lead. “We can’t run around here!” he cried.
-“Follow me!” So saying, he dashed for the main gate, his comrades after
-him, and made for the woods, each with a cat on his back, running for
-dear life to escape from the torment which was fastened on every back.
-
-Two miles from Dog Corners the wild ride slackened. Wutz-Butz discovered
-that the big yellow dog carrying him was the King of the Dogs, for Dog
-Corners was not a republic, like Purrington, but lived under a king, it
-being necessary for dogs to have some one to obey, while cats always
-rule themselves.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “Each with a cat on his back.”]
-
-When Wutz-Butz discovered that he was riding the king, he stopped
-clawing him, and asked him to halt for a moment. Rex—of course that was
-the king-dog’s name—was only too glad to do so; he was fearfully out of
-breath, and his tongue ached from lolling so far.
-
-“Look here, King,” said Wutz-Butz—if it had been Tommy Traddles he would
-have begun differently, for his reading would have taught him to salute
-a king, in opening his remarks, with the words: “O king, live for ever!”
-For that is the only correct way to open regal conversation. However,
-Wutz-Butz, being a soldier and not a scholar, said: “Look here, King, I
-don’t care about dog-back riding all the morning, and I guess you’ve got
-about enough of carrying me. I’m the general of this army. We came down
-upon you because we had certain proof that you were coming to take our
-town, and capture or kill all of us. We didn’t seem to care about
-waiting at home for that kind of visitors, so we hit first—it’s the best
-way, if there’s got to be a fight. We’re not scrappy over at Purrington,
-and we don’t want fusses with our neighbours, for one thing, and we
-don’t want neighbours who are liable to drop down on us, for another.
-Now we’ve got you beat, and we’ll never get off your backs till you give
-in to our terms.”
-
-“What are your terms?” panted Rex, sadly.
-
-“Easy enough. You’re to move out of this region altogether, and give up
-Dog Corners to us. We will go back there and tear it all down, and
-there’ll be no more dogs and no more corners—we’ll round them off!” And
-Wutz-Butz chuckled at his mild joke.
-
-“You keep on running—without us, you see, so it will be easier—and meet
-your friends, while we go back and tear down your village. You tell your
-friends that you’re going to move—you’re king, and what you say
-goes—_you_ seem to go pretty well, too, and I mean you to go farther. I
-don’t believe you’ll fare worse! Now, will you do it, or won’t you?”
-
-“As a conquered king I have no choice but to accept your terms,” said
-Rex, in a tone so sad that it ended in a whine.
-
-“Right you are,” said Wutz-Butz, cheerfully, not at all impressed by the
-king’s superior speech. “Call up your people, then, and I’ll tell mine
-to stop clawing while you issue your orders.”
-
-Rex called the dogs together. “We are conquered, my people,” he said.
-“The terms upon which I have agreed to yield to this gentleman upon my
-back, who is the general of the cats, is that we remove far from Dog
-Corners, and go at once.”
-
-The dogs growled at this announcement, but a claw-prick here and there
-reminded them that they were anxious to get rid, on almost any terms, of
-the soldiers clinging to them, and they changed their growl into yelps
-and howls of acclaim, submitting to the inevitable and the wisdom of
-their king.
-
-“Now, then, Purrers,” shouted Ban-Ban, “don’t you jump off these dogs to
-the ground. You jump from their backs into the trees, and stay there
-until they are out of sight. How shall we know that they are really
-gone, and won’t come back?”
-
-Rex turned on Ban-Ban a scornful face. “You look like a gentleman,” he
-said, “and if you are one you should know that no gentleman breaks his
-pledge. I give you my word that we will fulfil the terms of our
-surrender, and a dog is a person of honour.”
-
-Ban-Ban felt rebuked, but ’Clipsy murmured: “You’re all right, old chap,
-but I wouldn’t trust all your people, if you weren’t here to keep them
-straight.”
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “The cats watched the retreat.”]
-
-At a given signal all the dogs ran close to a tree, and his rider leaped
-from the back of each of them, ran up to a high bough, and from that
-point the cats watched the retreat of their conquered foes.
-
-It was made without a pause, and in half an hour the cats descended and
-marched back to Dog Corners, which was now indeed a deserted village.
-
-It did not take long for the strong claws of the army to tear down every
-building in the place. In a short time Dog Corners was no more, and only
-a pile of ruins showed where once it had stood.
-
-Upon this pile of ruins the triumphant army sat to eat the lunch which
-the forsaken larders of the dogs amply supplied.
-
-Then they sat for a time resting, washing their faces and cleaning their
-whiskers, softly rubbing their ears with the velvet paws which, but a
-short time before, the dogs had found so little like velvet.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “They sat for a time resting.”]
-
-At last Wutz-Butz gave the order to march home. The army formed once
-more in order, and returned to Purrington. They entered the town just at
-sunset, and as they drew near to it, those left within its walls knew
-that they were coming victorious, for they were marching to the tune of
-“Marching Through Georgia,” to which they sung the following words:
-
-     “Here we come victorious,
-       Our battle fought and won;
-     We made a Pounce most glorious—
-       You should have seen them run!
-     We’ve spent a day laborious,
-       But yet we tasted fun,
-     Driving the dogs from their Corners!
-
-     _Chorus:_ “Hurrah, hurrah, then give us three times three!
-             Hurrah, hurrah, we bring you liberty!
-             The Purrers of dear Purrington are safe as safe can be;
-             We’ve wiped out the dogs and their Corners!”
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
-
-                              CHAPTER VIII
-                  BAN-BAN AND KIKU-SAN FORM AN EMBASSY
-
-
-Ban-ban and Kiku-san were walking arm and arm, talking earnestly. It had
-rained, and the streets were muddy, so they had linked the right paw of
-one through the left arm of the other, and each carried his tail looped
-over his remaining elbow, to keep it perfectly dry.
-
-“There’s no use in my trying to fight it off any longer, Bannie,” Kiku
-was saying, earnestly. “I want to go home. I’m not needed here; the city
-is able to hold its own now; but, if it weren’t, I could be spared from
-it—I’m not the go-ahead kind which is useful in public affairs. I’ve got
-to see Lois. I’m sure she hasn’t any other cat to take my place, and
-worries about me still. I feel as if I couldn’t stay in my fur, I long
-so to cuddle down in her arms and be petted.” Kiku-san’s voice broke
-into the saddest mew as he ended, and Ban-Ban looked serious.
-
-“I don’t mind telling you, Kiku, though I wouldn’t have any one else in
-Purrington know it for the world, but I feel pretty much the same way,”
-he said. “Of course I’m the sort who can cut up capers, no matter what
-happens, but I want to see Rob, and I want to see him badly. I’m as sure
-that he cries nights over me as if I saw him. He thinks I’ve been
-killed, or got lost where I’ll suffer for food, and be abused—I know
-Rob! There are times when I wonder if I did right to leave him, but when
-I see how happy all these poor cats are in Purrington, and how well
-everything is going, and remember that they had no home, and no kindness
-until we led them here, then I feel certain again that it was more than
-right to leave our home. But—to be honest—now the work is done, I want
-to go back again, just for a visit, anyway.”
-
-“It won’t be a visit for me,” said Kiku-san, with the decision with
-which very gentle people usually surprise their friends when they are
-once aroused. “I’m going home to Lois, and I’m going to stay there. I
-won’t be contented, though, Ban, if I have to leave you behind: come
-with me!”
-
-“Now wait a bit, Kiku-san, and we’ll try to manage it,” said Ban-Ban. “I
-don’t want to have the other Purrers feel as though I had deserted them.
-I’m not much good at patient waiting myself,—that’s more in your
-line,—but I see that there may something turn up that will let us go
-back—for a visit; I don’t dare promise to stay—without our seeming to
-run away. You see, I feel responsible for the Purrers and Purrington,
-because this city was my idea in the first place.”
-
-“I’ll wait a little longer, then,” sighed Kiku-san. “But it can’t be
-very long; I can’t stand it.”
-
-He did not have to wait long. When anything is to be, there is always a
-way made for it.
-
-It began to be whispered through Purrington that, after all, cats were
-not quite fitted to live entirely without human help. The houses that
-the cat carpenters had put up were not warm enough for winter; there
-were several matters on which the Purrers felt the need of help and
-advice. “If there were any human beings whom we could get to come here,
-straighten out these trifles, and act as our friends and advisers, who
-could be trusted to go between Purrington and the human city, looking
-after us and never betraying us, we should be better off,” they said.
-
-The question was where to find such friends, how to bring them to
-Purrington, and whom to select for such an important trust.
-
-“There are plenty of people who would do it faithfully,” said Tommy
-Traddles. “When I was a kitten I was taken in from the street by the
-kindest hands, and cared for ever after. My law student, my first
-friend, would have stood by us and helped us to the last hour of his
-life.”
-
-“When I was only four weeks old I was found by a lady in the worst,
-poorest part of the city,” said Bidelia. “She put me under her coat and
-carried me all the afternoon on several business calls which she had to
-make, although I cried dreadfully. When she got me home she cared for me
-like a baby; were it not for her I should not be here to-day. I would
-trust that friend of cats with our secrets.”
-
-“You see,” added Tommy Traddles, with his customary wisdom, “cats have
-lived so long among people that they have become dependent upon them. I
-think it would be most wise to secure for ourselves such a friend as
-Bidelia and I have known. But these two are beyond our reach. The
-question is: Whom should we select, and where should we find these
-friends?”
-
-Then up rose Kiku-san, his whiskers quivering with eagerness. “I can
-tell you,” he cried. “The little girl whom I owned, and whose love I
-miss more than I can say, is the very one for this position. She goes
-out of her way, and bears all sorts of inconvenience to help cats. She
-has such a tender heart that the sight of abuse of one of us makes her
-half-ill with grief and pity. Get Lois to help you, Purrers; she would
-die rather than betray you.”
-
-“And Rob!” added Ban-Ban, springing up as Kiku-san sat down. “He is a
-little fellow, only eight, but he is as brave as a lion when it comes to
-fighting for any abused animal. He has a good mother, who has taught him
-that we are all one big family, the human beings, and all the dumb
-creatures—as they call us, because they don’t understand our language!
-He touches any of us as gently as a paw without claws can touch, and he
-plays with us as well as a kitten could—better, because he can think of
-more things to do. He is a brave boy, the real sort of brave boy. They
-are always kind, you know, and don’t pretend to be brave by doing
-cowardly things, such as hurting a helpless creature. I’ve heard Rob
-tell other boys that it was manly to be gentle, and cowardly to be
-cruel, because a true man was a _gentle_-man! There’s his mother for you
-again; that’s what she teaches him! Rob’s the little boy I owned. You
-get Rob and Lois both on your side, Purrers, and you’ll bless the day
-Kiku-san and I told you about them.”
-
-’Clipsy arose as Ban-Ban sat down, shaking his head gravely. “This
-little Lois may be all right,” he said. “Girls are usually more or less
-good to us, but a boy! I’m doubtful of the wisdom of trusting a boy.”
-
-“There are boys and boys,” said Tommy Traddles, mildly. “The right sort
-of boy is a brave fellow, and so must be a kind one, as Ban-Ban has
-said, and that sort is trustworthy, one on whom you can depend. Of
-course, friends and Purrers, you can rely on Ban-Ban’s judgment of the
-boy he owned and lived with from his kittenhood. But if you need further
-witnesses, let me add that Madam Laura, Bidelia, and I have known both
-Lois and Rob for a long time, and they are both the very ones to help us
-carry on our city, and be our friends through the winter that lies
-before us. They are both all, and more than all, that Kiku-san and
-Ban-Ban have said they were.”
-
-Madam Laura and Bidelia purred their entire assent to this statement.
-
-“Very well, then,” said ’Clipsy, “what are we to do about it, if they
-are such good children and good friends to cats? How shall we let them
-know about us, and get them to stand by us?”
-
-Tommy Traddles and Ban-Ban had never cared much for each other, but
-Tommy Traddles proved at this moment how superior his nature was to
-personal considerations of mere fancy. That wise cat, whose thoughtful
-gaze saw through most cats with whom he was in close contact, had seen
-that Ban-Ban and Kiku-san were longing for their beloved children, and
-he arose now to answer ’Clipsy’s question.
-
-“I move that Ban-Ban and Kiku-san be appointed an embassy”—the Purrers
-gasped at this hard word—“to wait on Lois and Rob in their own homes.
-They will be able, I am sure, to get the children to follow them here,
-and when they come we shall be able to talk to them, for you know that
-when they pass the gate of Purrington they will at once understand our
-speech. Will the Purrers who are in favour of asking Ban-Ban and
-Kiku-san to return to their old homes, and to bring Lois and Rob to
-visit us here, please signify it by holding up their right paws and
-saying: ‘Mew!’”
-
-A chorus of mews filled the air, and right paws waved like a grove of
-pussy-willows.
-
-“Contrary-minded, spit!” said Doctor Traddles, and waited. Not a spit
-was heard.
-
-“It is a vote!” announced the Doctor. “Ban-Ban and Kiku-san, you are
-appointed to go to the city, the human city, as an embassy from
-Pussy-Cat Town, and bring here Lois and Rob to act as our advisers and
-friends henceforth. You will set out at your earliest convenience.”
-
-Ban-Ban ran up to Tommy Traddles and shook his paw. “I never
-sufficiently appreciated you, Tommy,” he said, “but I see that you have
-tried to give Kiku and me happiness, and you have succeeded. Count me
-your devoted friend from this day forth.”
-
-And Kiku-san came and rubbed his cheek against Tommy’s with his soft
-coo, which at once embarrassed the Doctor dreadfully, and pleased him
-beyond words.
-
-There was a great flurry of preparation in Purrington; it was exciting
-to all the Purrers to feel that two among them, and one of these their
-founder, were returning to the world they had forsaken. Many were the
-messages with which Ban-Ban and Kiku-san were charged; many the errands
-they were asked to do, should time and chance allow them.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “Kiku-san came and rubbed his cheek against Tommy’s.”]
-
-Before starting, Kiku-san had to wash his beautiful thick white suit,
-for in Purrington it was the rule that each one should do his own
-washing.
-
-Bidelia and Madam Laura put up a lunch for the travellers, although the
-distance was not great, and Wutz-Butz tried to teach them a certain
-stroke with the right paw, followed instantly by one of another sort
-with the left, which he knew, and which he said would be sufficient
-defence against any attack which might be made upon them on the way.
-
-But Kiku-san refused to entertain the idea of fighting, even in
-self-defence, and Ban-Ban said he’d risk his four slender, fast legs to
-take him out of reach of danger, and so Wutz-Butz had to give up his
-purpose of teaching them the noble art of self-defence, to his own great
-disappointment.
-
-Purrington gave its ambassadors a farewell dinner. Mr. S. Katz furnished
-it with his most delicious meats, and all the ladies in town cooked for
-it. It was such a tremendous dinner that the idea of carrying a luncheon
-on their journey seemed really funny to Ban-Ban and Kiku-san; they ate
-so much at the dinner that they could not fancy themselves ever again
-being hungry.
-
-When the banquet ended all the cats rose from their chairs, and raising
-their glasses of distilled catnip high in the air, and keeping time with
-their left paws on the table to the gliding air of “Flow Gently, Sweet
-Afton,” sang this farewell song:
-
-         “Go forth to your old friends, dear cats, from the new,
-         For Purrington sends you, an embassy true;
-         We hope that for your sakes the children may be
-         The guide and the stay of our Pussy city.
-         Then hasten, O Ban-Ban, your steps, for you know
-         How blank our days and our nights when you go,
-         For white Kiku-san and our Founder Maltese
-         Are Purrington’s glory, so hasten back—please!
-
-         “Delay not, though tempted with cushions of silk;
-         The world’s cream is rich, but we give you love’s milk,
-         And better plain fare, when it’s seasoned with love,
-         Than banquets of kings, whom a cat’s look may prove.
-         Then speed ye in going, but speed ye more fast
-         When your whiskers are pointed due homeward at last;
-         Defeated, triumphant, we’ll hail your return;
-         With love for you, dear cats, our feline hearts burn.”
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER IX
-                         VISITORS TO PURRINGTON
-
-
-Ban-Ban and Kiku-san started out from Purrington at a good pace,
-swinging along through the wood-path and out into the open road. At
-least Kiku swung; he had a very swinging gait, but Ban-Ban trotted along
-with his usual businesslike air. As they put behind them more and more
-length of road, and the way ahead shortened, their speed increased,
-driven onward by their impatience to get home. For these two petted cats
-found themselves thinking of their old home as “home,” and not
-Purrington. Nor was this strange, since they had been so short a time in
-Purrington, and had spent all the rest of their lives being made much of
-by the children to whom they were hastening.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “Their speed increased.”]
-
-They met with no particular adventures. Once a dog chased them up a
-tree, and again they had to run away from an old lady in a victoria,
-who, seeing this pair of beautiful cats hurrying along the road, side by
-side, ordered her driver to stop and let her try to catch them. She was
-a cat-lover, but to Ban-Ban and Kiku-san’s minds as much to be dreaded
-as the dog. However, they had no difficulty in getting away from her,
-since she was past the age of rapid running, and her dignity forbade her
-chasing cats a long distance down the public way.
-
-Timid Kiku-san began to be exhausted from the nervousness of his
-journey, but Ban-Ban kept up his heart and urged him on, knowing quite
-well himself that there was considerable risk in travelling alone and
-unprotected.
-
-But this only made that spirited cat hasten the faster, and, as they
-drew near the city, impatience seemed to wing each of the eight dusty
-paws, and they broke into a run, and reached the rear of their former
-homes—they stood side by side, you know—half an hour at least before
-they had calculated on being there.
-
-They sat down under the fence to get their breath and brush up their
-dusty clothes. It was hard work to do this, for they could hear plainly
-the voices of Rob and Lois shouting to each other in play, and burned to
-rush into their arms.
-
-It was a very hasty toilet that the travellers made. Ban-Ban sprang to
-his feet, shook out the places in his fur which his rapid licking had
-flattened, and cried: “Come on, Kiku; I won’t wait another minute!”
-
-Kiku-san arose, shook himself also, and said: “You don’t suppose I want
-to wait, do you? Lois is just on the other side of that fence!” Cold
-print cannot convey the happiness in white Kiku-san’s voice.
-
-They sprang together to the top of the fence. Here they paused a moment
-to look with purring hearts down on the old garden. There was the
-pink-bordered flower-bed; among its fragrant pinks Kiku-san had always
-loved to take his nap after lunch, when the shadow rested there. And
-there was the fountain, on the edge of which Ban-Ban had loved to sit
-and see his saucy short face reflected in the water, and from which he
-had been rescued once, just in time, in his early kittenhood. And there,
-running like colts around the corner of the house, came Lois and Rob!
-
-That sight brought the cats down from the fence in a twinkling, and side
-by side they ran forward, backs and tails up, joy sparkling on their
-very whisker-tips. Rob and Lois stopped abruptly and gazed at the cats.
-
-Then the garden rang with their shout: “It’s Kiku! Kiku-san and
-Bannie-Ban!” screamed Lois. “Kiku, my darling, Kiku, you lamb-cat, where
-have you been all this time?”
-
-She gathered the happy, purring white creature into her arms and
-showered kisses on him, murmuring the while, too delighted to utter
-words. And Kiku-san rubbed his face against Lois’s, and purred and
-purred, and gave little mews and coos of rapture, till Lois knew the
-truth—that he was as glad to see her again as she was to get him back.
-
-Rob’s face turned dark red with emotion when he saw Ban-Ban, whom he had
-given up as dead or lost for ever. “Why, Ban-Ban!” he managed to say,
-but he could hardly speak.
-
-Ban-Ban spread his fore feet
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “She gathered the happy, purring white creature into her arms.”]
-
-wide apart and put down the top of his head between them till it rested
-on the ground as he saw Rob coming toward him; this was Ban’s old way of
-showing pleasure, and it upset Rob completely.
-
-Boys cannot cry when they feel strongly, but Rob was dangerously near
-tears of joy. He gathered silky Ban-Ban into his arms, Ban-Ban
-flattening his body against Rob’s in his old way till he fitted Rob like
-a Russian squirrel coat. Rob hid his excited face in Ban-Ban’s close,
-fine fur. “Ah, Ban!” was all he said, but Ban understood; it was quite
-enough, and he purred so loud he could have been heard all over the
-garden, for Ban-Ban was a wonderful songster.
-
-After awhile the children were able to talk—indeed, they were not able
-to stop talking. They both chattered at once, exclaiming over the sleek
-and prosperous look the two beloveds wore, and their entire indifference
-to the food brought them. Where could they have been? Ban-Ban and
-Kiku-san ran into their respective houses ahead of the children. Like a
-flash Ban-Ban rushed from room to room, seeing that nothing was changed,
-and seeing, too, that there was no other cat nor smallest kitten in the
-house taking his place. Rob was constant to him. It was a great
-temptation to settle down in comfort and love, and never to return to
-Purrington! And yet not a great temptation, either, when he remembered
-the Purrers all waiting his return, and leaning on him as their Founder.
-
-Kiku-san looked up into Lois’s face as he strolled from room to room in
-his house, finding, as Ban-Ban was finding, his place still empty. He
-was so glad to get home that it seemed to him that he never, never could
-go back to Purrington. He thought with dread of the perils of the
-journey which he was to take twice again, if he returned—for he had made
-up his mind that, with or without Ban-Ban, he was coming back to Lois
-when his duty toward the Purrers was done.
-
-He looked up into Lois’s face. It was just the same sweet, old-fashioned
-little face as ever. Her brown hair, fine and straight, was tied with
-just the same big, soft ribbon; her eyes, as blue as the ribbon, looked
-at him with just the same look of devoted love. White Kiku mewed aloud,
-thinking, with pity for himself, how long it had been since he had seen
-this dear little gentle face.
-
-Rob and Ban-Ban had a game of hide-and-seek that night before they went
-to bed. It made the Maltese cat quite crazy with joy to hear the whistle
-again which he had heard from his kittenhood, and to dash up and
-down-stairs, looking behind portières and doors for Rob, in the old way.
-And he puffed like a little gray porpoise from sheer excitement when he
-found Rob, and the boy darted out at him and chased him down-stairs,
-where Ban-Ban would scuttle into a place of hiding in his own turn and
-lie, with close-wrapped tail, while Rob looked for him, softly calling:
-“Where is Ban? Why, where is Ban?” But Ban-Ban knew better than to come
-out; he would lie as still as stillness till he was found, and then dash
-at Rob with all his fur on end. Oh, it was glorious! Ban-Ban thought
-anew that there were no comrades like human ones when a cat was lucky
-enough to find the right sort.
-
-Ban-Ban went to sleep at last on Rob’s feet. But in the next house
-Kiku-san crept into Lois’s arms, just as he had always done, both paws
-around her neck, his white cheek pillowed on the little girl’s rosy one,
-and softly purred himself to sleep in his quiet voice, the kind of
-purring you can feel more plainly than you can hear. And Lois was
-purring, too, in her loving little heart, for she had mourned bitterly
-for her lost darling, and words could not have told how glad she was to
-have him back.
-
-In the morning, however, Lois ran over to see Rob, Kiku-san held tight
-in her arms. “I don’t know what ails Kiku,” she cried, as soon as Rob
-and Ban-Ban were within hearing. “He acts as if he wanted to tell me
-something and make me go somewhere. I do wish I could understand.”
-
-“That’s queer,” said Rob. “Ban-Ban is acting the same way. I told him a
-little while ago to go ahead, I’d follow him. I’m sure he wants me to go
-somewhere.”
-
-Ban-Ban and Kiku-san looked at each other, and the children thought they
-were mewing. What they were saying, or, what Kiku-san was saying, was
-this: “If we’ve got to go back, Ban-Ban, we ought to go soon, for those
-Purrers are waiting for us anxiously. But I tell you now I am coming
-back here as soon as we settle things in Purrington.”
-
-“To tell the truth I’ve about made up my mind to coming back, too,” said
-Ban-Ban. “But the only thing to do now is to hurry to Purrington. If
-only we can make these blessed children follow us! You see it will be
-safe enough going back by daylight if they are with us.”
-
-“Now do hear them mew!” cried Lois, in a worried tone. “Kiku, darling,
-what do you want?”
-
-“Go on, Ban-Ban; I’ll come,” said Rob at a venture. “Mamma knows I’m
-going out, and she’ll tell your mother, Lois.” You see he little thought
-what was to be the end of this walk.
-
-He went to the outside door and set it open. Instantly Ban-Ban darted
-out, followed more slowly by Kiku-san, and the children went out on the
-steps and watched them. Both cats came back, rubbed their heads against
-Lois’s skirt and Rob’s knickerbockers; mewed a little; ran ahead, came
-back, and did everything that they could think of to coax their boy and
-girl to come after them.
-
-Rob took Lois’s hand. “They want us,” he said. “It’s queer, but we must
-go.”
-
-Ban-Ban immediately stood on his head, between his forepaws, in his most
-delighted fashion, and Kiku-san said: “M-m-m-m-mmmm!” as he always did
-when he was happy. And so the children knew that they were doing what
-their beloved cats wanted them to do, and followed steadily.
-
-When they found that Rob and Lois fully understood what was wanted of
-them, Ban-Ban and Kiku-san stopped looking back at them, and swung into
-a steady, rapid trot.
-
-“They know just what they want and where it is,” said Rob, wondering.
-Lois was too amazed to speak. Still more surprised the children grew as
-the cats took them briskly along the road, toward the outskirts of the
-city, and finally into the suburbs, and, still farther, along a country
-road.
-
-“What can it mean?” said Lois, but Rob held her hand tight, so she was
-not much afraid, only for the cats when a dog came in sight. But there
-was no mishap, and little delay on the way. Toward the last of the
-journey, just as they had done in going back to their old home, Ban-Ban
-and Kiku-san broke into a run, and the two cats and two children came in
-sight of Purrington on the trot.
-
-“Oh, look, Rob!” cried Lois, whose blue eyes were long of vision. “There
-is a city, a tiny city, with little, wee houses! What can it mean?”
-
-On the walls the children saw a great crowd of cats, all waving paws and
-tails, and mewing wildly.
-
-“My goodness! I believe it’s a city of cats!” gasped Rob, dropping
-Lois’s hand in his amazement. “For pity’s sake—”
-
-But he could get no further, for Ban-Ban and Kiku-san dashed through the
-gates of Purrington, the children after them, too dazed to realize fully
-the wonderful adventure that had befallen them.
-
-And the instant they passed the gates it was just as Tommy Traddles had
-said it would be: Rob and Lois understood every word that the cats on
-the walls, and swarming around their feet, were saying. And they
-discovered that what they had taken for a chorus of mews was in reality
-a song of welcome, sung to the air of “Bonnie Dundee,” with these words:
-
-       “Welcome, oh, welcome, you are truly well come,
-       Dear Ban-Ban and Kiku-san, back to your home!
-       To Purrington first our good Brindle Ban brought,
-       And sympathy now from our child friends he’s sought.
-
-       _Chorus:_ “Then climb on the walls, and wave happy tails;
-               When Ban-Ban attempts he sure never fails;
-               Fling Pussy-Town’s gates wide and mightily mew,
-               Let both cats and children triumphantly through!
-
-       “We waited your coming unable to purr,
-       While anxious thoughts rumpled our minds and our fur;
-       Afar off we saw you, and mounted the walls,
-       Our voices quite hoarse from our eager catcalls!
-
-       _Chorus:_ “All hail to you, Ban-Ban, and hail, Kiku-san!
-               All hail, little woman, and hail, little man!
-               Our joy shall be full since with us you have part,
-               Kind childhood, kind cathood united in heart!”
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER X
-              THE PURRERS BESTOW THE FREEDOM OF PURRINGTON
-
-
-The instant that the last note of this song had died away the Purrers,
-of all sizes and colours, surrounded the wonder-stricken children. Much
-as she loved cats, Lois shrank against Rob, frightened by the
-unbelievable state of things.
-
-A city of cats! Cats singing “Bonnie Dundee,” with real English words!
-
-But as soon as Lois and Rob had had a moment in which to adjust
-themselves to the queer adventure befalling them, they found that they
-were beginning to have the best time of all their lives.
-
-Madam Laura came up, saying: “My dears, you don’t know how glad we
-are—Doctor Traddles, Bidelia, and myself—to see you again.”
-
-It was so funny to hear her speaking to them like a grown-up lady that
-Rob and Lois barely kept themselves from laughing. Then Lois said: “Why,
-you are the three cats we missed from our neighbourhood when Ban-Ban and
-Kiku-san disappeared! Look, Rob! Here is that beautiful tiger-cat—this
-lady calls him Doctor Traddles—and the little tortoise-shell who used to
-play so prettily—Bidelia, this lady says she is called. We are glad to
-see you, too; we were dreadfully worried about you.”
-
-“If you will follow us to the city hall we have arranged to present you
-with the freedom of the city,” said Tommy Traddles, bowing his thanks
-for Lois’s anxiety about him.
-
-“I wonder what that means,” Lois whispered.
-
-“I’ve read about it; they used to do it in the Middle Ages,” Rob
-whispered back. “I don’t know what it means, but it’s a great honour.”
-
-“Tommy Traddles is a scholar; he will tell you what it means, Rob,” said
-Ban-Ban, and Rob nearly tumbled down, he was so surprised to hear his
-own cat speak to him, for so far neither Ban-Ban nor Kiku-san had spoken
-directly to the children.
-
-“It means,” said Tommy Traddles, promptly, not unwilling to reveal his
-learning, though he never tried to display it, “it means this: While you
-stay with us, and always on all the other visits which we hope you will
-make often, everything in Purrington is yours: our houses, our shops,
-our services are entirely yours. We desire to beg you to accompany us to
-the city hall to receive this freedom with proper ceremonies.”
-
-“Thank you very much,” said Rob, a trifle dismayed at the prospect of
-taking part in public ceremonies in the cats’ city hall. “But I don’t
-understand what this city is, nor why Ban-Ban and Kiku-san brought us
-here. Would you mind telling us? Because we feel queer.”
-
-“Haven’t you explained Purrington to them and why you sought them?”
-demanded Tommy Traddles, turning reproachfully to Ban-Ban.
-
-“Why, how could I?” retorted Ban-Ban, “when I couldn’t speak to them so
-that they would understand till they had passed our gates? It was all we
-could do to get them to follow us here, wasn’t it, Rob?”
-
-“It certainly was,” said Rob, feeling that he must be talking in a
-dream.
-
-“Take Rob and Lois to your house—yours and Bidelia’s—and there tell them
-the story of how we came to be a city. They will like to see your house
-anyway, and we can delay the presentation of the freedom of the city for
-half an hour,” said Tommy Traddles, graciously.
-
-“Come, Lois,” said Kiku-san, and Lois, recognizing the familiar cooing
-note in his voice, realized that he must have often said: “Come, Lois,”
-in the old days, before she had understood his speech.
-
-She gladly accompanied the dear white cat, while Rob walked beside
-Ban-Ban.
-
-“It tires me to walk long on my hind legs, Lois,” said Kiku-san, “or I
-would gladly take your hand.”
-
-“I should like to carry you, if you wouldn’t mind,” said Lois,
-doubtfully. “We could talk more easily than if I had to bend down so
-very much—and I always carried you.”
-
-“Certainly, you shall carry me, dear,” said Kiku, at once holding up his
-paws. Lois drew him to her breast, as she had done in her own home; Rob
-shouldered Ban-Ban, and thus they progressed comfortably, hearing
-without difficulty the story of the founding of Purrington, which was
-poured into their ears by their beloved cats.
-
-“And that is why you went away!” cried Rob, admiringly, when Ban-Ban had
-finished the story. He regarded the Maltese with eyes of new respect as
-the founder of a refuge for the unfortunate ones of his kind.
-
-“You darling, darling Kiku-san-chrysanthemum blossom!” Lois was saying,
-as she hugged Kiku closer. “You don’t know how I love you—and
-Bannie-boy! It is such a comfort to know that there is a place like this
-where cats can live happily ever after! I’m glad you did it, though I’ve
-cried myself ’most sick over your going off, and worried and worried!
-Our mothers tried to get Rob and me to have another kitten, but we just
-couldn’t look at another one! But it’s worth it all to have a city for
-poor, friendless cats!”
-
-“Well, I should think we would be the protector, or
-whatever-you-call-it, of Purrington,” Lois heard Rob saying to Ban-Ban:
-“We’ll come out here once a week, and we’ll bring all kinds of things to
-you—Oh, say, Bannie, not to you, though! Won’t you come home again, and
-let Purrington be run by the Purrers without you? You’ve got it started,
-and Lois and I can’t stand it without you and Kiku-san.”
-
-Ban-Ban put his mouth close to Rob’s ear and whispered.
-
-“You’re the stuff!” Rob cried, joyously, and Lois knew it was going to
-be all right, even before Kiku whispered to her: “I couldn’t stay away
-from you to save my life, Lois. We’re going back when you do.”
-
-The children could not get inside of Bidelia’s house, but they surveyed
-the rooms through the windows, and were delighted with the tiny, cosy
-arrangements, and its neatness. The three kittens were led forth by
-Bidelia, very beautiful to behold in fresh ribbons, but Puttel and Dolly
-each had a paw in her mouth for shyness. The instant they saw the
-children they forgot to be shy, but ran at once to them to be petted.
-Lois gathered Puttel and Dolly up into her neck, and here they remained
-through the ceremonies at the city hall, while Nugget, who was, now that
-he had been freed from Scamp’s influence, the same good, obedient little
-Nugget as of old, sat on Rob’s other shoulder, where Ban-Ban
-good-naturedly tolerated him.
-
-The city hall had been hung with flowers—the late flowers of
-September—and all the Purrers were seated in the body of the hall when
-Rob and Lois arrived. Tommy Traddles, ’Clipsy, Wutz-Butz, and two of the
-old cats met them at the door and escorted them to the seats of honour
-on the platform, where Mrs. Brindle was already seated, as another
-distinguished and useful guest of Purrington, to Lois’s great dismay,
-for she was in mortal terror of a cow. But, when Ban-Ban and Kiku-san
-introduced Rob and Lois to Brindle, Lois saw at once that her fears were
-foolish. A sweeter-eyed, more gentle-appearing person than Mrs. Brindle
-it had never been her fortune to meet, and the Extract of New Mown Hay,
-and Sweet Clover with which she seemed to be perfumed made her sweet in
-another sense. So Lois took the chair placed for her between Rob and
-Brindle without a qualm, and looked at the meeting with the greatest
-interest. Such a lot of cats, and such nice, happy, sleek ones she had
-never seen before. Mr. S. Katz, the butcher, sat directly in front of
-the platform, and his prosperity stood out about his stout person like a
-rich garment.
-
-“Please pinch me, Rob—not too hard,” whispered Lois, leaning over to
-hold out her little pink palm to Rob, as she realized that this was a
-cats’ City Hall, that this was a meeting held by cats to honour them,
-and that she was seated on the platform beside the cats’ cow, with her
-own Kiku-san, as well as Ban-Ban, Tommy Traddles, Wutz-Butz, ’Clipsy,
-and two other cats whose names she did not know on the platform with her
-as a committee.
-
-“You pinch back,” whispered Rob, obediently giving Lois a little nip and
-then holding out to her his own square, brown hand.
-
-It would be impossible to give the speeches made on this occasion.
-Doctor Traddles surpassed all his previous flights of scholarship in a
-review of the ancient custom of bestowing the freedom of a city upon
-those whom that city wished to honour. Rob and Lois found themselves
-bowing deeply to the assembled Purrers, and Rob made a speech of thanks,
-not nearly as long and clever as Tommy Traddles, but which was received
-with the kindest attention and applause by the Purrers.
-
-Then Rob and Lois gave their solemn promise always to stand by
-Purrington, to visit it often, and in every way to give it the best of
-their advice and help, which would be more valuable every year as they
-grew from little children into big boy and girl, and then into manhood
-and woman-hood.
-
-With this pledge, which the Purrers hailed with a perfect storm of
-shouts and applause, the ceremonies ended, and pure fun was the order of
-the day.
-
-Rob and Lois went through all the streets, saw Tommy Traddles’s
-school,—through its windows, of course,—S. Katz’s shop, with its fresh
-food temptingly displayed for sale; the other shops, and all the houses,
-for not a Purrer of Purrington was there who would not have felt
-slighted if Rob and Lois had not visited his home.
-
-The children rested in the park, which was right in the middle of the
-city, that afternoon, and Lois had never had such a beautiful, kitteny
-time in all her life. Every kitten in Purrington came out and got up
-into her lap, and over her shoulders, and sat on her back, their downy
-fur brushing her cheeks and hands and arms until Lois felt that she
-could hardly bear the delight of it, and Kiku-san did not half like it,
-for he always was a bit inclined to jealousy.
-
-That evening there was a ball given in the hall, to which everybody
-went, even the smallest kitten, for this was a great day in the annals
-of Purrington!
-
-First the kittens danced their funny, pretty cotillion figure which they
-had given at Bidelia’s tea, and Rob and Lois went nearly out of their
-minds with delight over it. Then all the cats came out on the floor to
-dance, and the children discovered that they should have to dance with
-each cat, Rob with the ladies, and Lois with the gentlemen, or else
-offend some one mortally. It was not clear to them at first how they
-should manage it, because there really was a great difference—more than
-three feet—between their height and their partners’! But when they
-discovered that they were expected to whirl about with their partners in
-their arms, it became very simple, though not any less queer to be
-waltzing one’s very best with a cat talking pleasantly in one’s
-arms;—light, society conversation, suited to one’s partner at a
-ball,—while a black cat played the violin for the dancing in a manner
-that would have made a cigar-store Indian “tread the mazy.”
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “A black cat played the violin.”]
-
-It was a beautiful and painfully funny sight to watch the Purrers
-dancing together. They were so graceful, so full of the real waltzing
-spirit, that the children gave up all hope of ever again admiring human
-dancing. It was pleasant also to dance the square dances that night,
-with seven smiling cats making up the set! Rob and Lois did not once
-dance in the same set, to divide their attentions as much as possible.
-It was like a dream of a puss-in-the-corner game to cross over, balance
-corners, swing partners and opposites, when there came forward to meet
-you a large, beautiful, joyous cat, gaily bedecked with an immense bow.
-Lois reflected that her hair-ribbons were the only thing about her
-costume suitable to such a beautiful ball, and Rob’s stout gray cheviot
-knickerbockers and pleated jacket looked suddenly very clumsy, among the
-sleek and shining fur around him.
-
-Suddenly the Purrers began to sing as they danced, and the children
-found themselves singing with them, though they did not understand where
-they had learned the words. For this is what they were singing, to the
-air of “Pop Goes the Weasel:”
-
-                “Paws around and forward and back,
-                  Balance to corners lightly;
-                When pussy-cats the lanciers attack,
-                  It is a sight most sightly.
-                Swing your partner, tails enlinked,
-                  Lady in the centre;
-                Each beau must keep his whiskers prinked
-                  If he would content her.
-
-                “Paw to partner, right and left,
-                  Halt half-way for bowing;
-                While you glide through, swift and deft,
-                  Keep the tune miauwing!
-                Chassé all, a two-step dance,
-                  Each with partner mated,
-                Then to supper gaily prance—
-                  You’ll find tables freighted.”
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
-
-                               CHAPTER XI
-                      AN ELECTION AND A DEFECTION
-
-
-It was just a little dismaying to the children at the close of the ball
-to be suddenly brought face to face with the fact that they were going
-to spend the night in Purrington. Because there really was not any
-arrangement for the sort of night which up to this moment Lois and Rob
-had considered the only kind of night which one could spend. Bedsteads,
-for instance, had heretofore been as much a part of their idea of night
-as was the setting of the sun and coming on of darkness; but, though
-there was plenty of soft bedding and good mattresses, or, rather, beds,
-of straw and leaves, there was not a bedstead in Purrington. Then, too,
-there was much to be desired—from the children’s view-point—in the
-arrangements for bathing. They could not imagine how they were to wash
-their faces and hands in the same way that the Purrers did—and yet was
-there any other way? Lois delicately tried her tongue on the knuckle of
-her left forefinger, and instantly felt sure that she could not manage
-to bathe in cat fashion.
-
-But the cats who had lived among nice human beings, Bidelia, Madam
-Laura, and Ban-Ban and Kiku-san, themselves solved the doubts that were
-filling their guests’ minds by telling them that in the morning they
-would lead them down to the river Meuse, “where they could wet their
-faces and hands all they pleased,” said Kiku-san, with a shudder.
-
-The children were to sleep in the city hall, that being the only
-building in the place large enough to hold them, and Bidelia with her
-kittens, Madam Laura, Tommy Traddles, ’Clipsy, Wutz-Butz, and, of
-course, their own dear cats, were to stay with them through the night.
-After they had lain down in the beds provided for them, Lois and Rob
-found that they were very comfortable indeed.
-
-Ban-Ban, Tommy Traddles, ’Clipsy, and little Nugget slept around Rob,
-fitting themselves beautifully and cosily around and into the curves of
-his body. Of course Kiku-san crept into Lois’s arms, but Madam Laura,
-Bidelia, and Dolly Varden and Puttel added themselves to her couch, and
-the little girl fell asleep, supremely happy, for the more cats the
-merrier Lois was—she never could get enough of their purr and their fur.
-
-Wutz-Butz stayed awake, on guard all night.
-
-The entire party was awakened early by the kittens, who were ready to
-play before the sun was fairly up. But it did not matter; every one was
-perfectly rested, and it was to be such a busy day that it was necessary
-to make it a long one in order to get into it all that must be done.
-
-Bathing in the Meuse proved to be a pleasant experience, and breakfast
-was delicious eaten under the trees. As soon as it was cleared away, all
-the cats seated themselves in a circle and waited, washing their paws
-and faces once in awhile, but very lightly, much as human beings use
-finger-bowls after meals, and only to occupy the time.
-
-Tommy Traddles came forward at last and addressed Rob and Lois.
-
-“We should like your advice on matters which are most important,” he
-said. “First of all, we shall be cold here in the winter. How shall we
-warm our houses?”
-
-Rob considered a few moments, while Lois looked at him anxiously; for
-the life of her she could not see how it was to be done.
-
-“I think,” said Rob, looking up, suddenly, with a bright smile of
-relief, “I think you had better move all your houses together and take
-down one wall of each, so that they will be turned into one big house.
-Then, I think, you ought to have a chimney right in the middle of that
-one big house and keep a fire in it, and let everybody in the city live
-in that house.”
-
-“Wouldn’t it be hard to move all these houses?” asked Lois.
-
-“Not a bit,” said the black and white cat who had helped to carry Dolly
-Varden on the day the pilgrims had come to the site of the present city;
-he was the head of the carpenter cats. “Not a bit, ma’am. We’d just as
-soon move them houses as not—there ain’t no work doin’ now, and we
-carpenters hate bein’ idle. Them houses was built so quick you wouldn’t
-think it, and they can be moved as easy as catchin’ a small mouse. The
-boy’s got a good notion; I reccymend we take it up.”
-
-“The question arises,” began Tommy Traddles, his English sounding more
-elegant than ever after the slips of the carpenter cat, who had been
-only a street waif, “whether we could manage the fire. We could easily
-feed it, but could we build it?”
-
-“I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” said Rob, enthusiastically. “I’ll get a
-friend of my father’s who has lived among all sorts of people in Africa
-and India, and—and—oh, all sorts of queer people—Eskimos, I guess, and
-Alaska Indians, I’ll get him to tell me how to build a clay chimney and
-strike a fire from flint. Then I’ll come and build your chimney myself,
-and I’ll let the fire go out and build it up new every week when I come,
-so all you’ll have to do is to feed it. But I’ll teach you how to rub
-stones together to get fire,—when I’ve learned myself,—and if it ever
-happened that it went out, you could light another. You mightn’t have
-matches, but you can always get stones. I guess you’ll be all right that
-way.”
-
-“More than all right,” said Tommy Traddles, with a look of relief on his
-part, for he had been worried over the approach of cold weather and the
-prospect of the Purrers having no heat. All the Purrers applauded Rob’s
-wisdom and noble promise to help them, and Ban-Ban’s fur stood up with
-pride, while he looked an “I-told-you-so” to the assembled cats.
-
-“We can bring out lots of woollen things and some wadding,” said Lois,
-longing to be useful too.
-
-Madam Laura smiled at her, understanding her feeling. “My dear little
-girl,” she said, “you will do a great deal more than bring us warm
-things; we shall depend upon you for more than you dream of now.” And
-Lois was comforted even while she remembered how queer it was to be
-comforted in this grandmotherly way by a particularly small cat.
-
-“City government?” suggested ’Clipsy to Tommy Traddles, reminding him.
-
-“I am coming to that,” said the doctor. “So far we have not adopted any
-form of government; nothing has happened that required laws. But, as
-time goes on and Purrington grows into a big city, we think we ought to
-adopt a government. What sort do you advise?”
-
-Rob tried to look wise, but only succeeded in looking embarrassed, his
-face flushing darkly to his hair. You see he was but nine years old, and
-it flattered him tremendously to be consulted—by a Doctor of Claws,
-too!—on such a serious matter. He did not know what to say, but he made
-a wise speech to begin with, and was encouraged to go on by the
-approving looks it won him.
-
-“Well, you see,” he began, “no cat ever minds anybody. If he does what
-you tell him to it’s only because you happened to tell him to do
-something he meant to do before. So I don’t see the use of making laws
-for the Purrers. You’d better trust ’em to do what’s right, because they
-see it’s best for everybody. Cats are freemen, every one of ’em. So I’d
-have just a mayor and some Purrers to advise him, and let it go at that.
-I’m sorry I don’t know much about politics,” Rob added, apologetically.
-
-“You couldn’t have said anything more clever!” cried Tommy Traddles, in
-high delight, while all the cats miauwed frantically, and Ban-Ban
-couldn’t resist standing on his head between his front paws, though he
-had never let the Purrers see him do this, fearing it was undignified in
-their founder.
-
-“Those are my sentiments!” cried ’Clipsy, while Wutz-Butz remarked in a
-deep, admiring bass: “He might have been a cat himself, he knows us so
-well!”
-
-“Then how shall we elect a mayor?” asked Tommy Traddles. “Who would be
-your first choice, Purrers?”
-
-“Ban-Ban, Ban-Ban!” arose on all sides. “He is the founder of
-Purrington, and he must be our first mayor,” cried Posty, to which they
-all shouted: “Must be! Must be!” like a great mew.
-
-“It is impossible for me to serve,” said Ban-Ban, with deep emotion. “I
-thank you more than I can say. I appreciate the honour done me, and
-shall never forget it. But I cannot serve. I positively decline. May I
-suggest that the Purrers allow Rob to appoint their first mayor? Then no
-one can feel that his neighbours have preferred another to him. You
-elected me as your founder, and I thank you, but unless the founder has
-a claim there is no one whom you would like to pick out to honour above
-his fellows. So let Rob choose your mayor.”
-
-“Ban-Ban is always clear-sighted,” remarked Kiku-san to Lois.
-
-“I would appoint Doctor Thomas Traddles—” began Rob, but got no further.
-There was a storm of applause, and the meeting saw the remarkable
-spectacle of a second election by acclaim, as it is called. Tommy
-Traddles was thus appointed Purrington’s first mayor.
-
-“Why wouldn’t you serve, Ban-Ban?” asked Bidelia, suspiciously.
-
-Ban-Ban faced the meeting. His whiskers quivered, his fur arose, and his
-breath came quick and short as it always did when he was stirred.
-
-“My friends,” he said, and the Purrers turned to look at him; every cat
-there caught instantly the emotion in his voice. “My friends,” Ban-Ban
-said, “I must tell you why I refused the honour which you would have
-done me. To-night, when Rob and Lois go home Kiku-san and I are going
-with them.”
-
-Dead silence fell upon the meeting at these words, and from its outer
-edge a long moo broke from Brindle like a sob. Then a growl ran around
-the circle, deepening into a louder growl, like thunder, and every cat
-sprang to his feet in wrath and dismay.
-
-“Going back on us like that?” demanded Wutz-Butz, tragically.
-
-“Oh, Bannie!” said Madam Laura, but the words contained volumes, and
-Bidelia sobbed into her party-coloured paws, while every kitten present
-broke into a chorus of pathetic mews. It was most moving, and Ban-Ban
-trembled from head to foot.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “Bidelia sobbed.”]
-
-“Dear friends, listen,” he said. “I am not deserting you, as Wutz-Butz
-seems to think. Every week I shall come here with Rob and Lois—they
-promise faithfully to bring us, Kiku and me. I planned this city; all
-summer I have here, leaving the boy I owned—” Rob stared at this way of
-putting it—“to miss me and mourn for me, and Kiku has done likewise with
-his girl. I have brought them here to be the aid and reliance of us all.
-They love us; we have had the happiest home with them all our lives, and
-we miss them. They are most unhappy without us—do you not think, dear
-Purrers, considering that every week Rob and Lois are coming here, that
-all their lives they are going to protect and befriend this city of
-cats, that you can repay them to a tiny degree by consenting to give up
-to them two of your number?”
-
-“Ah, but these two!” murmured Bidelia.
-
-The cats all wiped their eyes with their forepaws. “We consent,” said
-the Purrers, sobbing, and Dolly Varden put her paws around Lois’s neck.
-
-“I don’t blame them,” said that sweet kitten. “Take me, too!”
-
-“Away from your mother?” asked Kiku-san, not at all minded to have even
-dear little Dolly share with him Lois’s love.
-
-“Then, since it must be, let us pass the rest of the day as merrily as
-we can,” said Tommy Traddles. “Let us sing my favourite air—you know it
-as ‘’Way Down Upon the Swanee River,’ Rob and Lois.”
-
-And then the cats sang the following song:
-
-              “When all the little willow catkins
-                Had run away,
-              And birch leaves clapped their tiny patkins,
-                Like summer rain at play,
-              Then Ban-Ban led us where the flowers
-                Smiled through the dews,
-              And bade us spend long, happy hours
-                Beside our river Meuse.
-              Ah, we cats will love him ever,
-                  Absent though he be;
-              Cats’ mem’ries are forgetful never
-                  Of good, nor cruelty.
-
-              “Go, then, dear Ban, since we must lend you—
-                  Lend, but not give!
-              We’ll purr our prayers that good attend you,
-                  All the long days you live.
-              And when each week that rolls shall bring you
-                  To our pussy clan,
-              May all good fairies guide and wing you,
-                  Ban and sweet Kiku-san.
-              So this day sees not our parting,
-                  We’ll banish pain;
-              Ban-Ban and Kiku-san, departing,
-                  Go but to come again.”
-
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-
-
-                              CHAPTER XII
-                   WEDDING-BELLS AND BRIEF FAREWELLS
-
-
-There’s nothing harder than deciding on how to have a good time when one
-deliberately sets out to have one. A good time seems to be a fine sort
-of thief, which must come upon one unawares and steal away heaviness of
-heart.
-
-Having made up their minds to giving back Ban-Ban and Kiku-san to Rob
-and Lois, except for the weekly visit to Purrington which all four had
-pledged themselves to make, and having resolved on having the very best
-kind of time until the close of that day when their guests and the
-beloved cats started for their first home, the Purrers did not know how
-to begin having it. They were in danger of standing around discussing
-what to do instead of pitching into the good time without delay, just as
-children sometimes do, when something happened.
-
-Down the road that led to Purrington two dots were seen moving nearer.
-When they had come decidedly nearer the two dots turned into two cats
-hurrying along. One was snowy white, as the sunshine revealed, and the
-other was a Maltese.
-
-“Here come your doubles, Ban and Kiku!” cried Bidelia.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “Had often sat on a big volume of Shakespeare.”]
-
-The Purrers were quite used by this time to the arrival of strangers
-coming out from the human city to seek the peace and safety of
-Purrington, but this pair looked very different from most of the
-arrivals. The refugees who joined the Purrers were more than likely to
-come with “lean and hungry look,” like Cassius. Indeed Tommy Traddles,
-who had often sat on a big volume of Shakespeare during his youth, and
-who thus had learned to know the poet well, named one of these strangers
-Cassius for that reason. But this pair of cats arriving now were glossy,
-sleek, plump, and most elegant to behold, and the Purrers wondered at
-them as they waved their paws, making them welcome and signalling them
-to enter the gates of the city.
-
-The Maltese cat came up to the Purrers with a jaunty air. He was
-strikingly like Ban-Ban, with the same short, Maltese-kind of nose and
-the same up-and-coming air which the Founder wore, but the Purrers and
-Lois and Rob thought he was not quite as beautiful in figure.
-
-The white cat accompanying him hung back shyly. She had a less delicate
-face, more chubby than Kiku-san’s, but she had his gentle air.
-
-“Gentlemen, your servant,” said the Maltese cat, bowing to the Purrers
-with an impressive air, and expressing himself in a manner which at once
-betrayed the fact that he had lived with a family where English classics
-were read aloud. “My name is Ods Bobs, gentlemen; it is a name as old as
-the reign of Queen Elizabeth. This lady is called Lady Blanche. We lived
-in the same house in town; one of us had been brought up by one old
-maiden sister, the other by the other. Lady Blanche and I were looking
-forward to being married and living happily ever after, looking forward
-to spending our lives together to their end, just as we had spent them
-together thus far from kittenhood, when—imagine our horror!—I learned
-that the person who had brought me up intended sending me away to her
-brother’s little girl, while Lady Blanche stayed on with her protector!
-It was not possible to submit to such a fate! We made up our minds to
-run away; of course to run away together. And where were we so likely to
-run as to Purrington, of which we had heard such glowing accounts from
-other cats? So we came; here we are! Will you receive us among you?”
-
-“Gladly,” cried all the Purrers.
-
-“Isn’t that the very strangest thing, that another Maltese cat and this
-little white lady should come here just when we are taking away Ban-Ban
-and Kiku-san?” whispered Lois to Rob. “It looks as if they had come to
-take their places,” she added, as Rob nodded his assent to her question.
-
-“Then we will gladly stay,” Ods Bobs went on. “But one thing more. We
-were to have had a pretty wedding on the day after to-morrow—no end of
-guests were invited. We can get on without the guests and the
-prettiness, but we should like a wedding, and to set up housekeeping for
-ourselves at once. Can we be married here?”
-
-The Purrers looked at one another, puzzled. There had been no demand for
-such a thing before, and they were at a loss how to answer. Then they
-looked at Rob for a suggestion.
-
-“I think the mayor can marry them,” Rob began, slowly, but was
-interrupted by Bidelia’s little excited mew as she ran over to throw her
-paws around Lady Blanche’s neck, who was blushing till the tip of her
-pink nose was rosy red.
-
-“The mayor!” cried Bidelia. “Tommy Traddles—the very thing! We’ll give
-you the loveliest wedding, my dear! Come, Laura! Come, all lady Purrers,
-and the kittens! We must gather quantities of catnip and make garlands
-for the hall. And order all the ribbon there is at the shop. Won’t you
-come with us, Lady Blanche; we shall want to ask you something every
-five minutes. Why, you’re not much older than my girls!”
-
-“I’m nine months old,” said Lady Blanche, through her blushes.
-
-“Puttel and Dolly Varden are six months old—I’m only eighteen months old
-myself. We’ll have a lovely wedding! I wish my husband was here, but he
-won’t come for a month. He went to the country with the family he owns
-very early this year, and hasn’t got back. Come along, my dears,” said
-Bidelia, hurrying away.
-
-The Purrers had never seen Bidelia so excited, and the gentlemen of the
-place looked at one another, feeling very useless indeed, as the ladies
-ran off, attended by all the kittens.
-
-“I think we ought to offer to help them,” said Lois. “Rob, Ban-Ban,
-Kiku-san dearie, let us go after them and ask Bidelia if we can’t help
-trim the hall.”
-
-It seemed queer to ask such a small cat as Bidelia if she couldn’t make
-use of them in some way, but the children were getting used to queer
-things, and to taking the lower place with cats, as mere mortals should.
-
-Bidelia said if they would wait until the kittens came back with the
-catnip, which they had gone to gather in the Public Gardens, she would
-be willing to let them help twist the garlands and hang them around the
-hall. Bidelia took the lead in these arrangements, as she was most
-fitted to do, by reason of her youth and taste, as well as her
-experience.
-
-“How often we shall talk over these wonderful happenings in Purrington
-after we get home, you and I, and our two Blessings,” observed Lois, as
-they waited for the catnip.
-
-“We shall not talk to you—or rather you won’t understand us—between our
-visits to Purrington,” Ban-Ban reminded her. “You understand us a little
-when you’re at home—you often can tell what we want—but we can’t talk
-together like this outside of Pussy-Cat Town.”
-
-“I’ve been trying to think of everything I want to say to you before we
-leave here to-night,” Kiku-san added.
-
-“Oh, how horrid!” cried Lois, who had forgotten this rule, and had been
-looking forward to long talks with Kiku after they were tucked away for
-the night.
-
-“It will only make us enjoy our visits to Purrington the more,” said
-Rob, wisely. And then the kittens came bringing the catnip, and they all
-fell to work weaving the slender leaves and blossoms into wreaths and
-garlands.
-
-In a short time the hall was beautifully hung with green, and the odour
-that filled it would have made one of those calico cats, stuffed with
-batting, turn a somersault. When the hall was trimmed Bidelia, never
-stopping to admire her own handiwork, ran off with her kittens at her
-heels to make her own toilet and her children’s, and to summon the
-wedding guests.
-
-Not a Purrer was lacking to the “large and fashionable gathering which
-filled the hall,” as _The Weekly Mews_, Purrington’s paper, stated when
-it appeared on the following Saturday.
-
-’Clipsy played beautifully on his fiddle as the bridal procession
-approached. Rob remembered having once seen a picture of a Puritan
-wedding, in which the bride was represented as riding on a splendid
-snow-white bull. So the Purrers, acting on this hint, had got Brindle to
-allow Lady Blanche to ride to her wedding on Brindle’s back, and the
-effect of the very small snow-white bride clinging to big Brindle’s
-ridge-poled back was most impressive. The groom walked at the cow’s
-side, strutting along as proud as a cat, a duke, and a peacock, all
-rolled into one—and well he might be, for the Lady Blanche was lovely.
-
-Tommy Traddles stood on the platform waiting the bridal procession. It
-entered the hall, preceded by Puttel and Dolly Varden, in immense white
-bows, as bridesmaids, and following them came Nugget, also in a white
-bow bigger, far, than his head, scattering catnip blossoms before the
-happy couple’s softly falling, padded feet.
-
-It was a most beautiful sight, and a deep purr rolled around the hall as
-the Purrers gazed admiringly at this first wedding in Purrington.
-
-Rob had drawn up the marriage service, which was brief and simple.
-
-[Illustration:
-
-  “It was a most beautiful sight.”]
-
-“Do you promise, Ods Bobs,” Doctor Traddles asked, “to keep this cat
-provided with mice all her life? To protect her from dampness,
-crossness, and all other things she wouldn’t like, just as far as you
-can? And to love her until she is white, not with this beautiful young
-whiteness she has now, but with the whiteness of old age?”
-
-“I promise,” said Ods Bobs, in a deep voice.
-
-“And do you, Lady Blanche, promise to nurse and lick this cat if he gets
-ill, to keep his house, and cook his mice and his catnip as he likes
-them, and to love him always, and not to spit at him, or scratch him
-ever, but be a good wife until you die?”
-
-“I promise,” mewed Lady Blanche so faintly that Tommy Traddles had to
-bend down to hear whether she said: “I promise,” or “I prefer mice.”
-
-But as her response was the right one, Tommy Traddles straightened
-himself and said, turning to the audience: “I now marry these cats! Lady
-Blanche, give Ods Bobs your paw to hold; Ods Bobs, take Lady Blanche’s
-hand. You are now cat and cat, cat and wife. Keep your promises and be
-happy for life.”
-
-The Purrers purred together the gay tune into which ’Clipsy’s fiddle at
-once broke, and the procession left the hall as it had entered it, only
-in retiring Nugget did not walk backward, nor behind his sisters, but
-strutted out ahead of the bride and groom, and of the bridesmaids, as
-proud as Ods Bobs himself.
-
-“I’m afraid we ought to start for home,” said Rob, regretfully, as the
-Purrers prepared to escort the bridal party to the newest house in town,
-which, fortunately, had not been rented, and so was ready for their use.
-
-“And take Ban-Ban and Kiku-san?” cried a Purrer. All the cats suddenly
-remembered their sorrow, which the events of the past few hours had made
-them almost forget.
-
-“Isn’t it strange—and nice—that Ods Bobs and Lady Blanche have come on
-the very day we go, and that they are white and Maltese, like Bannie and
-Kiku?” hinted Lois, comfortingly.
-
-“There are no friends like old friends; there can be but one Ban-Ban and
-Kiku-san,” mewed the cats in chorus.
-
-“So there can’t,” agreed Rob, heartily. “But we’re going to bring this
-one Ban and Kiku every week to see you. Don’t you think we ought to have
-just one cat, when we love all cats so much? And don’t you think it
-ought to be this one, one for each of us, that we took care of and loved
-from the time they were kittens?”
-
-“Oh, it’s all right, Rob, it’s all right,” cried the cats, eagerly,
-afraid Rob was offended. “We owe you even our best Purrer and our
-Founder—but we are sorry enough to let them go.”
-
-“Say good-bye, friends,” cried Ban-Ban, brightly. “Ods Bobs, you’ll have
-to try to look still more like me, so they won’t miss me! Good-bye,
-Wutz-Butz; keep the town safe! Good-bye, ’Clipsy, you fine fellow!
-Good-bye, Tommy Traddles, and good luck to your mayoring! Good-bye, kind
-Madam Laura, and good-bye, clever, charming Bidelia! Good-bye, three
-kittens, Puttel, Dolly, Nugget—keep your mittens; remember you are
-_three_ little kittens! And we shall never be gone long. Good-bye.”
-
-Kiku-san silently took each paw in turn as it was proffered by the
-Purrers. He was much moved, but did not for a moment lose sight of the
-fact that where Lois was he must be. The children kissed every cat in
-the city between the ears, and renewed their promises to protect
-Purrington.
-
-Then the party of four passed out of the city gates.
-
-“I hope you will never be sorry, Ban,” said Rob. Ban-Ban looked up in
-his face.
-
-“Mew,” he said, and Rob remembered that, until their return, this was
-all that Ban-Ban and Kiku-san would say to Lois and him.
-
-Looking back, the children and their cats saw gathered on the walls of
-the city all the Purrers, just as they had seen them when they arrived.
-Again they were singing, and though as Rob and Lois walked down the road
-they could no longer understand the words of the song, Ban-Ban and
-Kiku-san understood them, and they were these, sung to the air of “My
-Lady Lou:”
-
-            “We watch two shadows wav’ring down the roadway—
-              Our Bannie-Ban and Kiku-san;
-            How heavy on our homeless hearts their load lay
-              When they showed us where the home road ran!
-            We could not look upon our dear ones going,
-              Our eyes would burn, our hearts would yearn,
-            But that we’re comforted in knowing
-              We shall watch when they return.
-
-                               _Chorus_;
-
-        “Good-bye, Ban, we’re lending you;
-        Good-bye, dear Kiku-san, we’re sending you
-      But for a little space, then turn your gentle face
-        Toward Pussy-Town, where love awaits.
-        Here we’ll live in joy and peace,
-        But you will bring us joy’s increase,
-      And when these children come, they’ll hear our loud purrs hum
-        Through Purrington’s wide open gates.”
-
-
-
-
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-
-
-
-
-Transcriber’s note:
-
-    ○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
-
-    ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
-
-    ○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
-      when a predominant form was found in this book.
-
-
-
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-<body>
-<h1 class="pgx" title="">The Project Gutenberg eBook, Pussy-Cat Town, by Marion Ames Taggart,
-Illustrated by Rebecca Chase</h1>
-<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
-and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
-restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
-under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
-eBook or online at <a
-href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>.  If you are not
-located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the
-country where you are located before using this ebook.</p>
-<p>Title: Pussy-Cat Town</p>
-<p>Author: Marion Ames Taggart</p>
-<p>Release Date: October 14, 2020  [eBook #63458]</p>
-<p>Language: English</p>
-<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p>
-<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PUSSY-CAT TOWN***</p>
-<h4 class="pgx" title="">E-text prepared by<br />
-    Mary Glenn Krause, Charlene Taylor, Barry Abrahamsen,<br />
-    and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
-    (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br />
-    from page images generously made available by<br />
-    Internet Archive<br />
-    (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4>
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10">
-  <tr>
-    <td valign="top">
-      Note:
-    </td>
-    <td>
-      Images of the original pages are available through
-      Internet Archive. See
-      <a href="https://archive.org/details/pussycattown00tagg">
-      https://archive.org/details/pussycattown00tagg</a>
-    </td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-<hr class="pgx" />
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c000' />
-</div>
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/insidecover1.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c000' />
-</div>
-<div  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/insidecover2.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c000' />
-</div>
-<div  class='figcenter id003'>
-<img src='images/i001-top.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<div>
-  <h1 class='c001'><span class='c002'>PUSSY-CAT TOWN</span></h1>
-</div>
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<img src='images/i001-bottom.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c003' />
-</div>
-<div  class='figcenter id003'>
-<img src='images/i001-top.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<div class='blackletter'>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c003'>
-    <div><span class='c004'>Roses of</span></div>
-    <div><span class='c004'>St. Elizabeth Series</span></div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-  <div class='nf-center'>
-    <div class='c005'><span class='c006'>⚜</span></div>
-    <div class='c000'>Each 1 vol., small quarto, illustrated and decorated in color. <b>$1.00</b></div>
-    <div class='c000'><span class='c006'>⚜</span></div>
-    <div class='c000'><span class='xlarge'><b>The Roses of Saint Elizabeth</b></span></div>
-    <div><span class='sc'>By</span> JANE SCOTT WOODRUFF</div>
-    <div class='c000'><span class='xlarge'><b>Gabriel and the Hour Book</b></span></div>
-    <div><span class='sc'>By</span> EVALEEN STEIN</div>
-    <div class='c000'><span class='xlarge'><b>The Enchanted Automobile</b></span></div>
-    <div><span class='small'><i>Translated from the French by</i></span></div>
-    <div>MARY J. SAFFORD</div>
-    <div class='c000'><span class='xlarge'><b>Pussy-Cat Town</b></span></div>
-    <div><span class='sc'>By</span> MARION AMES TAGGART</div>
-    <div class='c000'><span class='c006'>⚜</span></div>
-    <div class='c000'><span class='xlarge'>L. C. PAGE &amp; COMPANY</span></div>
-    <div>New England Building</div>
-    <div><span class='large'>BOSTON, MASS.</span></div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id004'>
-<img src='images/i001-bottom.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div id='frontis'  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i004.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic005'>
-<p>“<i>They progressed comfortably, hearing without difficulty the story of the founding of Purrington.</i>”<br /><span class='small'>(<i>See page 190</i>)</span></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c003' />
-</div>
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i007-top.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<div class='blackletter'>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c005'>
-    <div><span class='xxlarge'>The Roses of St. Elizabeth Series</span></div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-</div>
-<hr class='c007' />
-<div class='blackletter'>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-  <div class='nf-center'>
-    <div><span class='c006'>Pussy-Cat</span></div>
-    <div><span class='c006'>Town</span></div>
-    <div class='c005'><i>BY</i></div>
-    <div><span class='xlarge'>Marion Ames Taggart</span></div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-</div>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c005'>
-    <div><span class='c008'><i>ILLUSTRATED IN COLOURS BY</i></span></div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='blackletter'>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-  <div class='nf-center'>
-    <div><span class='xlarge'>Rebecca Chase</span></div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-</div>
-<div  class='figcenter id006'>
-<img src='images/publogo.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<div class='blackletter'>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c005'>
-    <div><span class='xxlarge'>L. C. Page &amp; Company</span></div>
-    <div>Boston&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Membi</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-</div>
-<div  class='figcenter id001'>
-<img src='images/i007-bottom.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<p class='c009'>&nbsp;</p>
-<div  class='figcenter id007'>
-<img src='images/i008-top.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-  <div class='nf-center'>
-    <div><i>Copyright, 1906, by</i></div>
-    <div><i>L. C. PAGE &amp; COMPANY</i></div>
-    <div class='c000'>(<i>Incorporated</i>)</div>
-    <div class='c000'><i>All rights reserved</i></div>
-    <div class='c000'><i>First Impression, September, 1906</i></div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div  class='figcenter id007'>
-<img src='images/i008-bottom.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<p class='c010'>&nbsp;</p>
-<p class='c011'>&nbsp;</p>
-<div  class='figcenter id007'>
-<img src='images/i008-top.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-  <div class='nf-center'>
-    <div><i>COLONIAL PRESS</i></div>
-    <div><i>Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds &amp; Co.</i></div>
-    <div><i>Boston, U. S. A.</i></div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<p class='c009'>&nbsp;</p>
-<div  class='figcenter id007'>
-<img src='images/i008-top.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<p class='c012'><i>To my comforting cats, Bandersnatch-Bandarlog
-and Kiku-san, sitting close to me
-now and always when I write; to the
-memory of my wise Tommy Traddles; to
-Bidelia Purplay W.; to Wutz-Butz and
-Madam Laura K., all “really and truly”
-cats, this book is dedicated by their humble
-admirer</i></p>
-<div class='blackletter'>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c013'>
-    <div>Marion Ames Taggart</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-</div>
-<div  class='figcenter id007'>
-<img src='images/i008-bottom.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c003' />
-</div>
-<div  class='figcenter id008'>
-<img src='images/i011-top.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<p class='c010'>&nbsp;</p>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 class='c014'>CONTENTS</h2>
-</div>
-<table class='table0' summary=''>
-<colgroup>
-<col width='12%' />
-<col width='73%' />
-<col width='14%' />
-</colgroup>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'><span class='small'>CHAPTER</span></td>
-    <td class='c016'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c017'><span class='small'>PAGE</span></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>I.</td>
-    <td class='c016'>Ban-Ban, the Bold</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#ch01'>1</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>II.</td>
-    <td class='c016'>Six Small Cats Do Great Things</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#ch02'>24</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>III.</td>
-    <td class='c016'>The Purrers of Purrington</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#ch03'>45</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>IV.</td>
-    <td class='c016'>A Five O’clock Catnip Tea</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#ch04'>66</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>V.</td>
-    <td class='c016'>The Scampishness of Scamp</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#ch05'>87</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>VI.</td>
-    <td class='c016'>Mrs. Brindle Brings Startling News</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#ch06'>107</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>VII.</td>
-    <td class='c016'>They Fought Like Cats and Dogs!</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#ch07'>126</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>VIII.</td>
-    <td class='c016'>Ban-Ban and Kiku-san form an Embassy</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#ch08'>146</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>IX.</td>
-    <td class='c016'>Visitors to Purrington</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#ch09'>164</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>X.</td>
-    <td class='c016'>The Purrers Bestow the Freedom of Purrington</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#ch10'>184</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>XI.</td>
-    <td class='c016'>An Election and a Defection</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#ch11'>204</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c015'>XII.</td>
-    <td class='c016'>Wedding-bells and Brief Farewells</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#ch12'>224</a></td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-<p class='c010'>&nbsp;</p>
-<div  class='figcenter id008'>
-<img src='images/i011-bottom.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<p class='c010'>&nbsp;</p>
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div  class='figcenter id008'>
-<img src='images/i011-top.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 class='c014'>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
-</div>
-<table class='table0' summary=''>
-<colgroup>
-<col width='85%' />
-<col width='14%' />
-</colgroup>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>&nbsp;</td>
-    <td class='c017'><span class='small'>PAGE</span></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“They progressed comfortably, hearing without difficulty the story of the founding of Purrington” (<i>see page <a href='#progressed'>190</a></i>)</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#frontis'><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>Nugget</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i022'>8</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>Puttel</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i023'>9</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>Dolly Varden</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i031'>17</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“‘I have had a Great Idea’”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i033'>18</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>Singing the Song</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i039'>23</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>One of the Stranger Cats</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i043'>27</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“Little Dolly Varden fell asleep”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i047'>31</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“S. Katz  Fresh Mice Daily”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i067'>49</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“The shout of welcome which all the Purrers of Purring to raised”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i077'>59</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“A long, creamy, blessed drink”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i081'>61</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“One came to town with five kittens!”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i088'>68</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“A small, gray cat called Posty”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i089'>68</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>The Dance</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i104'>82</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“Scamp looked him over scornfully”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i122'>100</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“Licking him frantically”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i131'>109</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“Ready to pounce”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i155'>133</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“Each with a cat on his back”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i160'>136</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“The cats watched the retreat”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i166'>142</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“They sat for a time resting”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i168'>144</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“Kiku-san came and rubbed his cheek against Tommy’s”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i184'>160</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“Their speed increased”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i189'>165</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“She gathered, the happy, purring white creature into her arms”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i195'>170</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“A black cat played the violin”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i227'>201</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“Bidelia sobbed”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i246'>220</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“Had often sat on a big volume of Shakespeare”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i252'>226</a></td>
-  </tr>
-  <tr>
-    <td class='c016'>“It was a most beautiful sight”</td>
-    <td class='c017'><a href='#i265'>238</a></td>
-  </tr>
-</table>
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div  class='figcenter id008'>
-<img src='images/i015.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-</div>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 id='ch01' class='c014'>CHAPTER I<br /><span class='c018'>BAN-BAN, THE BOLD</span></h2>
-</div>
-<div class='c011'>
-  <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-dc-h.jpg' width='100' height='195' alt='' />
-</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'>
-He was really very beautiful.
-High-born, too,—a pure
-Maltese! He had a short,
-saucy face; a square little
-nose, with which he
-was apt to pry into other people’s
-business; and he saw everything
-with his bright eyes, and understood
-most things with his quick
-wit. But he had almost no patience
-at all, and he was as full
-of pranks as a monkey—indeed,
-that’s what gave him his name.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>A boy? Mercy, no! Whoever
-heard of a pure Maltese
-boy? A cat, of course, but such
-a beauty! He was as quick as
-he could be, and ran very fast,
-and jumped like a flash—flashes
-do jump, so that’s all right. Did
-you never see a flash of lightning
-jump from one cloud to another?
-Well, this Maltese kitten was
-so quick that his little master
-called him Bandersnatch—out
-of “Through the Looking-Glass”,
-you know, where the White
-King says: “You might as well
-try to catch a Bandersnatch,” or,
-in another place: “You might
-as well try to stop a Bandersnatch.”
-So that is where quick
-little Ban-Ban got his first name.
-And the second Ban was short
-for Bandarlog, the name of the
-monkey people in the Jungle
-Book, because he was so much
-more like a monkey than a quiet,
-purry, furry, mild-mannered kitten.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban had the very best
-home a cat could have; indeed,
-he was a good deal spoiled. In
-this home he grew up to be three
-years old, but it was only his
-body that grew bigger. Inside
-that Maltese body he wore a kitten’s
-heart, getting younger every
-minute, loving play better, and
-cutting up more didoes all the
-time, instead of settling down
-into a staid cat, as any one would
-have expected him to do who saw
-the purple shades in his dark
-gray suit!</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Now Ban-Ban loved his little
-master very much—not that he
-ever thought of him as his “master;”
-no cat ever would admit
-having a master. Ban-Ban considered
-the little boy as a friend
-whom he, a prince of the Maltese
-Royal Family, allowed to play
-with him. He was more useful
-than kitten friends because he
-could open doors, drag strings
-around, hide sticks under the
-edges of rugs, get milk from the
-refrigerator, cut up meat, play
-hide-and-go-seek better than cats,
-and shake up soft knitted things
-into fine beds on cold days, besides
-scratching a person under
-the chin and on the side of the
-cheek in a way that made a person
-stick out his little red tongue
-and purr, no matter how much he
-felt like playing. But that is not
-having a master; that is really
-keeping a very useful and devoted
-servant. Ban-Ban hated of all
-things to show that he loved little
-Rob; he liked to pretend that he
-was only polite to him, and often,
-when he meant to get up in Rob’s
-lap for a little talk, if Rob saw
-him coming, Ban-Ban would sit
-down and wash his face, trying to
-look as if he had never once
-thought of being loving. You
-see he was independent.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Because he was independent,
-and so very impatient, it all came
-about.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>One day Ban-Ban had an idea
-dart into his brain. Ban-Ban’s
-ideas always darted, they never
-came slowly; they were just like
-everything else about him, “as
-fast as a Bandersnatch.” “If two-legged
-people can build towns
-and live in them without asking
-the help of us cats, why can’t we
-cats have a town of our own, and
-not ask the help of the two-legged
-people? They are more clumsy
-and stupid than we are—except
-Rob; he isn’t clumsy or stupid.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>It was such a wonderful thought
-that it half-stunned even Ban-Ban.
-For as much as five minutes he
-sat perfectly still, with only the
-tippest tip of his tail moving.
-Then he started up with a leap,
-as if he were jumping after those
-lost five minutes just as he jumped
-for butterflies, and away he ran
-down the garden to find some of
-his friends.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia was one of these
-friends. She was a little creature,
-very young, a tortoise-shell cat, not
-pretty, but so clever that no one
-who didn’t know her could believe
-how clever she was. Her cat
-acquaintances suspected that she
-wrote stories on the sly, for her
-sides were always spattered with
-big black spots on a yellow
-ground, and her friends believed
-she got ink on her yellow clothes
-writing stories for the magazines,
-because she was so very clever,
-and people who are very clever
-and write books are apt to be
-untidy with their ink.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Though she was younger than
-Ban-Ban by nearly two years she
-had three children, and they were
-already two months old: Nugget,
-all yellow, Puttel, black with a
-white thumb-mark under her chin,
-and Dolly Varden, with a tortoise-shell
-dress like her mother’s. Bidelia
-had good reason to be as
-proud of her children as she was!</p>
-
-<div id='i022'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i022.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p><i>Nugget.</i></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>Another of Ban-Ban’s friends
-was Mr. Thomas Traddles, a
-tiger cat, who was so wise and
-had such remarkable judgment
-that every one came to him for
-advice. He was older than Ban-Ban,
-and he was one of that
-queer sort of friends which we all
-have: people whom we do not
-really like, but whom we respect
-heaps and heaps, and without
-whom we cannot get along. Not
-that there was any reason why
-Ban-Ban should not like Tommy
-Traddles; his disposition was
-perfect, and his manners of the
-best. Perhaps it was because
-Tom was so sensible and grave,
-and Ban-Ban was such a little
-firebrand, for we none of us really
-like people who make us feel
-that we are in the wrong, not
-unless we are far more humble-minded
-folk than was proud little
-Ban-Ban.</p>
-
-<div id='i023'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i023.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p><i>Puttel.</i></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>There, too, was Wutz-Butz,
-whose name didn’t mean much,
-but that the little girl who owned
-him liked to mix up letters and call
-him by queer sounds. He was a
-gray and white cat who would let
-the little girl whom he thought
-he owned, but who thought that
-she owned him, do anything under
-the sun to him, and he would
-stand it with a perfect mush of
-patience, but out among the cats
-he was a warrior. He fought
-every one that he happened to
-dislike, and Ban-Ban was always
-thankful Wutz-Butz liked him—and
-Ban-Ban was not a coward,
-either. Wutz-Butz had a big, round
-head, and a short, thick-set body,
-and his complexion was apt to
-get rumpled up—can complexions
-get rumpled? Well, at any
-rate this cat’s complexion looked
-rumpled—because of the many
-strong arguments he had with
-Ruth’s grandmother’s big white
-cat with the gray ears. Ruth was
-the little girl who owned Wutz-Butz,
-or whom he owned, according
-to whether you believe from
-her or his side of the question.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban had another friend to
-whom he was bound by ties of
-the highest respect and gratitude.
-This was Madam Laura, a sweet,
-kindly middle-aged lady,—perhaps
-a trifle past middle age,—to
-whom all the cats went for
-comfort and teaching. She was
-a widow lady, so she wore a great
-deal of black over her white sides
-and back, laid on in big spots.
-She had had a great many sons
-and daughters, but they had all
-gone to make their own way in
-the world, and Madam Laura
-was said to be quite wealthy, with
-no one dependent upon her for
-mice. She was a cat with a
-mother’s heart for all the mewing
-world, and no cat could be so
-scratchy as not to love this gentle
-lady.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The last and dearest of Ban-Ban’s
-friends was Kiku, the snow-white
-cat, whose name was a
-Japanese word that means chrysanthemum,
-and whose nature was
-as flower-like as his name. He
-lived next door to Ban-Ban, and
-played with him most of the time.
-His little mistress was Rob’s
-dearest friend, his cousin, and her
-name was Lois. She was a year
-younger than Rob, which made
-her only seven years old, but she
-was not the least bit careless or
-rough with her pets, as some children
-are, and Kiku was a very
-lucky “kitteny-wink, little white
-lambkin,” as Lois called him.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Kiku was always called “Kiku-san,”
-because “san” is a mark of
-honour among the Japanese, and
-white Kiku was so gentle and
-lovely-mannered that no one could
-deny him the respectful title that
-his Japanese name suggested.
-Kiku-san wore white garments
-with pink trimmings, and he kept
-them snowy white, for he only
-went out to play in the grass in
-fine weather, and slept at night
-cuddled close in Lois’s arms. He
-puckered his mouth when he was
-spoken to, and brought his lids
-down over his amber eyes as if
-he knew he was most sweet and
-lovable, fully deserving all the
-praise which he received—and
-so he did, for nothing would
-tempt him to scratch; he never
-lost his temper, unless he had lost
-it for good and all when he was
-born, and had never found it
-again, which seemed to be the
-case, for no one had ever seen
-him cross.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>These were Ban-Ban’s friends,
-and it was to find them, or all
-of them that he could find, that
-he ran so fast down the garden
-after his wonderful idea struck
-him.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>He came upon Bidelia, who
-was sitting in the sunshine letting
-the children play with her tail.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Oh, Bidelia!” cried Ban-Ban,
-“have you seen any of the
-others?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“How out of breath you are!”
-said Bidelia, reproachfully. She
-was so little that she could jump
-about all day and never lose her
-breath. “Tommy Traddles is
-sunning himself on the fence.
-Madam Laura is singing a few
-Felines on the garden bench.” A
-Feline is a kind of cat hymn.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Do you think you could trust
-one of the kittens to hunt up
-Wutz-Butz, and Kiku-san, and
-ask them to join us here? I
-have something catelovelant to
-tell them,” said Ban-Ban. “Catelovelant”
-means “lovely for cats.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I think Nugget could go; he
-is getting very plump and reliable,”
-returned Bidelia. “Puttel,
-go and ask Madam Laura if she
-would kindly come over here when
-she has finished her Felines.
-And, Dolly Varden, go waken
-Mr. Traddles and ask him to
-come. If he is very sound asleep
-you may stand up on your hind
-legs and pull his tail—very
-gently,” she added, as Dolly spun
-around three times rapidly, “and
-with the greatest respect.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The three kittens scampered
-off, and Ban-Ban with much effort
-kept himself from pouring out to
-Bidelia the Great Idea. Fortunately
-the kittens so quickly got
-together the cats for whom they
-were sent that Ban-Ban was saved
-from choosing between telling or
-having a fit.</p>
-
-<div id='i031'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i031.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p><i>Dolly Varden.</i></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>“You had something to say
-to us, my dear?” hinted Madam
-Laura after they were all seated.
-Her voice sounded like rolls of
-butter rolling, it was so soft and
-smooth.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Yes,” said Ban-Ban, his fur
-beginning to stick up all over and
-his tail to swell, as it always did
-when he was excited. “I have
-had a Great Idea.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“You were clever from your
-kittenhood, Bannie,” said Madam
-Laura, who had known his grandmother.</p>
-
-<div id='i033'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i033.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“‘<i>I have had a Great Idea.</i>’”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Human beings,” Ban-Ban continued,
-trying to keep back the
-little puffing spits which he often
-gave when he was stirred, “Human
-beings build towns and live in
-them. They never ask our help;
-they feel that they own the towns.
-Very likely they do; but as their
-cats always own the human
-beings, it doesn’t matter. What
-I have to suggest is that there is
-no reason why cats should not
-build and own a city just as the
-human beings do. I think that
-we should be the ones to do this.
-Let us, all of us here, go away to
-some lovely spot and build a city.
-Let us ask all the poor, homeless
-cats, who don’t own any human
-beings, and so have very little
-food and no warm places to
-live, to join us. Let us have a
-city of cats, and let us hand our
-names down in all future categories
-and catalogues and histories
-as the Fathers—and
-Mothers”—he added, bowing
-to Madam Laura and Bidelia—“of
-Our Country, Glory of Our
-Race.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Hear, hear!” cried Wutz-Butz.
-He pronounced it: “He-ar,
-He-ar!” It sounded like a
-mew.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Bandersnatch-Bandarlog, you
-are indeed A Great Mind,” said
-Tommy Traddles, gravely.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“It will be lovely!” cried
-Bidelia, joyously. “I want a
-more extended field.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“And more field-mice,” added
-Laura, who was not clever, only
-good, which is better than mere
-cleverness, as all properly taught
-cats know.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Then you agree?” asked
-Ban-Ban, not able, this time, to
-keep from ending in a “P-pst!”
-of pure excitement.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Yes, yes,” cried all the cats
-together.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Yes,” added Kiku-san alone,
-“but I am afraid that Lois will
-need me.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Our human beings will soon
-get other cats,” said Ban-Ban,
-wisely. “I have always noticed
-they soon get another cat to wait
-upon, when they lose the one they
-have had. Not that I shall leave
-Rob long without me,” he added.
-“Rob and I are friends. But
-the founding of this city is a duty;
-it will be a haven for oppressed
-cats. When shall we go?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“On the third day from this
-one,” said Tommy Traddles,
-promptly. “In the meantime we
-will eat all that we can, and get
-together as many provisions as we
-can carry.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Before we part,” said Bidelia,
-“let us sing a song. Wait; I
-will make one for this occasion.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>It was the custom of these cats
-to sing each night before separating,
-so the others all willingly sat
-down to wait while Bidelia wrote
-the words which were to commemorate
-their newly taken and
-important resolution.</p>
-
-<div id='i039'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i039.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p><i>Singing the song.</i></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>Soon that clever little cat announced
-the song ready, and they
-sang the following words to the
-air of the “Battle Hymn of the
-Republic:”</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c019'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“We’ll put our fur in order and brave Pilgrim-cats we’ll be;</div>
-      <div class='line'>With whiskers out and tails erect we’ll march courageously.</div>
-      <div class='line'>We’ll found a town for other cats, less fortunate than we:</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>Each cat shall have his day!</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“We love the friends that love us, and our hearts to them are true;</div>
-      <div class='line'>We’ll ne’er forget the kindly folk beside whose hearths we grew,</div>
-      <div class='line'>But though our friends are good to us, mankind is cruel, too:</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>Each cat must have his day!</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Then, onward, Pilgrim-cats, nor pause to cast a look behind,</div>
-      <div class='line'>For duty calls our velvet paws our kindred’s wounds to bind;</div>
-      <div class='line'>In Pussy-Town all homeless cats a home and peace may find:</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>Each cat shall have his day.”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 id='ch02' class='c014'>CHAPTER II<br /> <br /><span class='c018'>SIX SMALL CATS DO GREAT THINGS</span></h2>
-</div>
-<div class='c011'>
-  <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-dc-t.jpg' width='100' height='158' alt='' />
-</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'>
-Three days later the
-moon looked down on
-a more wonderful sight
-than she had seen since
-the cow had jumped over her,—more
-wonderful even than she
-had seen then, for this sight was
-much more than one cat with a
-fiddle.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Six cats and three kittens led a
-procession of at least a dozen
-more cats out of the town and
-along the wooded country roads.
-Ban-Ban was ahead. He had a
-big red bow on his collar, which
-poor Rob had tied on, intending
-the Maltese cat to look his best
-when expected company should
-come that evening. He little
-thought that he was adorning
-Ban-Ban for a journey, and a
-parting that was going to cost
-himself keen grief!</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>But Ban-Ban had no room in
-his mind for Rob’s anxiety; he
-trotted proudly along, with his
-short, velvety ears pricked up, his
-nose alert for dangers. Close
-behind him marched Wutz-Butz,
-in case he was needed for a fight.
-Tommy Traddles came next, in
-case he was needed for advice.
-Kiku-san—he wore a beautiful
-pink ribbon, because Lois loved
-to see him well dressed—Kiku
-walked between Bidelia and
-Madam Laura, the only one of
-the party with a regret. His
-thoughts dwelt on Lois, and how
-troubled she would be when he
-did not come to bed that night,
-and she could not find him in the
-morning. Behind Bidelia came
-the three kittens, driving their
-young mother half crazy with their
-antics. They would not walk
-soberly, but frisked and played,
-and ran out of sight into the
-shadow, and sometimes half-way
-up a tree, until little Bidelia was
-sure that she would be quite as
-gray as Ban-Ban, but with another
-sort of grayness, from her worry,
-by the time she got to wherever
-they were going.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The stranger cats walked behind
-their leaders. They were
-all thin and sad-looking, for they
-had had no homes, and life had
-been most hard to them. They
-were glad enough to think that
-they were on their way to make
-their fortunes in a city of cats,
-where there would be no stones
-thrown, no dogs to chase them,
-no cruel boys to frighten and
-hurt them.</p>
-
-<div id='i043'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i043.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p><i>One of the stranger cats.</i></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>The six cat leaders all carried
-something. Ban-Ban had a big
-piece of beef. He had not stolen
-it, because it had been bought for
-him, but he had whisked it out of
-the refrigerator when the cook
-left the door open for a moment.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Wutz-Butz had dragged along
-a piece of red flannel. He was
-inclined to be stiff in his legs
-from rheumatism and his frequent
-battles, and he had no mind to
-sleep on the cold ground, though
-many a soldier before him has
-had no better bed.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Tommy Traddles had a pail
-of milk fastened over his shoulders,—Laura
-had tied it on for
-him,—and in his paws he carried
-an umbrella, because he knew
-that if it rained they would all
-hate to be out in the wet.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia, like the gay young
-thing that she was, brought only
-neck-ribbons for her children, and
-some worsted balls with which
-they—and she, too, if she would
-own it—loved to play. But
-Madam Laura, like an older and
-wiser mother, brought catnip roots,
-as well as some dried catnip to
-start on, in case the kittens were
-ill. She also had a little bottle
-of castor-oil, because she knew
-how good that was for kittens
-when they overate themselves.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Kiku-san carried his crocheted
-shawl. It was one that had been
-dyed red, and which Lois kept in
-a rocking-chair for Kiku’s daytime
-naps. Kiku wore it now
-around his shoulders, and wondered
-doubtfully if he could get
-another crocheted shawl in Pussy-Cat
-Town when this one was
-worn out.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>They walked and they walked
-for what seemed a long, long distance
-even to the cats. As to the
-kittens, they had long ceased
-frisking, and crawled along slowly,
-mewing pathetically, and taking
-hold of Bidelia’s tail to help
-themselves as they went.</p>
-
-<div id='i047'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i047.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>Little Dolly Varden fell asleep.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>Tommy Traddles looked
-around and saw how tired they
-were. “If some of you gentlemen
-in the back there, who have
-no food or beds to carry, would
-lay your forepaws on one another’s
-shoulders, and take turns in letting
-the children sit on them, you
-would be able to get the poor
-little kitlets over the ground, saving
-them suffering, and not hurting
-yourselves,” he said.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The stranger cats were glad
-to do this, though they would
-never have been wise enough to
-have invented this way of carrying
-the babies. Little Dolly Varden
-fell asleep the instant she was put
-up on the paws of a big black cat
-and a black and white one, who
-offered to carry her. “She was
-that done out,” said the black and
-white cat. He had a kind heart,
-but his English was not very
-good, because he had learned it
-in the streets.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>It was about twenty minutes
-past ten when the cat pilgrims
-reached a lovely spot. It was a
-clearing in a wood, almost an
-acre wide. It stood right on the
-bank of a tiny stream, which
-Bidelia called a river, but which
-was really rather a small and
-quiet brook. All around this
-cleared spot were beautiful woods,
-and only a grass-grown road ran
-through it, such as is made by
-broad wagon wheels when men go
-to cut down trees in the woods.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“This is the very place for us,”
-declared Ban-Ban, looking around
-him with great content.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“It isn’t far from the town,”
-objected the black cat, who was
-helping carry Dolly Varden. His
-name was ’Clipsy, short for
-Eclipse. He had not always
-been poor; he was born in a very
-nice home, where he had been
-given his name, but he had got lost
-when he was very young, and had
-had a hard time ever since. He
-was a gentleman always, though;
-the cat leaders all saw that he
-was the best of all the stranger
-cats who had joined them.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I know it is not far from
-town,” said Tommy Traddles,
-planting his umbrella in the
-ground, and setting down his pail
-of milk beside it, with a wink at
-Wutz-Butz to keep his eye on
-it—no one could tell what some
-thirsty stranger cat might be
-tempted to do. “It is not far
-from town, ’Clipsy, but it is rather
-better for that. Did you never
-notice that when human beings
-have lost something they always
-look everywhere else for it before
-they look near home? I suppose
-you haven’t noticed that, because
-you have not lived with human
-beings since you were so little, but
-it is quite true that when anything
-is lost and can’t be found, it
-always turns out that it is because
-no one looked just at hand, where
-the lost thing always hides. So
-it is better for us to settle nearer
-our old human town than to go
-away off—to another State, for
-instance.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>There was no disputing with a
-cat that could allude so carelessly
-to “another State.” ’Clipsy at
-once gave up arguing; he didn’t
-know what “another State”
-meant, and he wondered greatly
-how Tommy could be so wise.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Oh, it’s all right as to that,”
-said Ban-Ban, speaking in his
-quick way. He understood about
-states, because he had so often sat
-by Rob when he was learning his
-lessons. “I don’t think any one
-would find us in this place; but
-I wonder if there is a good market
-here.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“There ought to be fish in that
-river,” said Madam Laura, who
-liked fish even better than most
-cats. “I know how to catch fish
-with my paw.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“There <i>are</i> fish in that stream,”
-said Tommy Traddles, decidedly.
-“And field-mice in the woods;
-the market here will be excellent.
-I am convinced that the guardian
-fairies of good cats have led
-us here. It is well to be near
-town, because our city must be
-easily reached by homeless cats
-who may wish to join us. I advise
-you, my friends, to decide
-upon this spot at once as the site
-of the city. Do you agree to stay
-here?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Yes, yes, yes!” cried all the
-cats together, their voices making
-a chorus of soprano, alto, bass,
-baritone, and tenor. Even the
-kittens joined with their thin little
-pipes, though they may have been
-crying from sleepiness.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“We’ll make a camp!” cried
-Ban-Ban, putting up his back and
-dancing around on his toes the
-way he had always done when
-Rob offered to play with him.
-“We will camp out for the night,
-and in the morning we will ask
-the carpenter cats to begin to
-build our houses.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“It won’t take us long,” cried
-the carpenter cats, five of the strangers
-who had joined the party.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I told a friend of mine I
-would write at once after we
-settled on a site to let him know
-where he could join us. What are
-you going to call the town?” asked
-one of these cats.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Purrington!” cried Bidelia,
-triumphantly, looking around for
-the praise she felt sure that this
-happy name would win from all
-her companions. She had been
-thinking up a name during the
-three days that she was getting together
-her kittens’ neck-ribbons,
-mending their clothes, and packing
-for the journey.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>All the cats raised such a yowl
-of delight that if there had been
-any human being within hearing
-he would certainly have thought
-that some awful thing had happened
-to all the cats in the world
-at once. But it was merely keen
-pleasure that such a fashionable-sounding,
-yet happy, homelike, catified
-name had been hit upon by
-Bidelia, whom they now felt surer
-than ever must secretly be a successful
-author.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Purrington by all means,” said
-Tommy Traddles, with the grave
-approval of a great scholar. “I
-should suggest that we also give
-this stream a name, and call it the
-Meuse. Purrington-on-the-Meuse
-will be a delightful heading for
-our note-paper.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Mews! Yes, that is a nice
-name for our river,” said Madam
-Laura. “Yet I don’t like, don’t
-<i>quite</i> like, calling the river after
-mews only. We are often so unhappy
-when we mew!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“My dear lady,” said Doctor
-Traddles,—Tommy Traddles had
-been honoured with the title of
-Doctor of Claws by a feline college,—“we
-are not calling it after
-our own mews; we do not spell
-it that way. This is M-E-U-S-E,
-not M-E-W-S, and there is a river
-with that name in France. I confess
-I had the double sound of
-the word in my mind when I suggested
-the name, however.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“How did you become so
-learned, Tommy?” sighed Madam
-Laura, much impressed.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I used to sit on a dictionary a
-great deal of the time while I was
-growing,” said Thomas Traddles.
-“I then lived with a student of
-law, and I absorbed learning, and
-especially a knowledge of words,
-by sitting, and even napping, on
-his dictionary.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“We are going to live in Purrington-on-the-Meuse!”
-cried Ban-Ban,
-with a flirt of his tail.
-“Wutz-Butz, bring your red flannel
-over here. Those kittens must
-be put to bed. Kiku-san, will
-you let Dolly Varden and Puttel
-sleep with you in your crocheted
-shawl, while Nugget curls up
-with Wutz-Butz in this red flannel?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Before Kiku-san could reply,
-Bidelia started to say that she
-must keep her children with her,
-and Wutz-Butz to say that he intended
-to watch all that night
-with ’Clipsy and some others of
-the stranger cats; but nobody
-could hear a word that either of
-them said, for all three kittens set
-up a perfectly deafening trio of
-miaous:</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“We want mamma, we want
-mamma; we won’t sleep with
-Y-O-U-U-U!” they shrieked.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Oh, dear,” sighed Bidelia,
-“they are so tired you must pardon
-them! My darlings, you are
-going to sleep with mamma;
-please, please be quiet.” And
-she gave three hasty but tender
-licks down the noses of each of
-them, which quieted the kittens
-and comforted them.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I was about to say that Bidelia
-may use my blanket to-night,” said
-Wutz-Butz. “I shall stay awake
-and watch. By to-morrow night
-she will have her own house all
-furnished.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“You are most kind, Wutz-Butz,”
-said Bidelia, feeling rather
-ashamed that she had looked
-down on Wutz-Butz, thinking him
-only a stupid soldier. She curled
-herself down at once on his red
-flannel and drew the three kittens
-to her, one under her forepaw, one
-close to her head, and one tucked
-away under her chin—this was
-Dolly Varden, the smallest and
-sweetest of the three.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Kiku-san and Ban-Ban laid
-down close together in Kiku’s
-crocheted shawl. Kiku was very
-silent, and even Ban-Ban had
-nothing to say, but drew the white
-cat’s gentle face close to his saucy
-one. They remembered Rob and
-Lois, and it is more difficult to
-be brave at night, than it is in the
-broad daylight, when the sun is
-shining.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“We will sing you to sleep,”
-said Madam Laura and Tommy
-Traddles, kindly, guessing that
-these petted cats might be lonely.
-And they sang to the tune of
-“Santa Lucia:”</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c019'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Little cats, dearest cats, sleep on your pillows,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Under the stars and ’neath green pussy-willows.</div>
-      <div class='line'>Sweet should your rest be and peaceful your slumber,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Dreaming of cream-pans and mice without number;</div>
-      <div class='line'>Rich your reward for your courage and pity,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Giving the homeless a home and a city.</div>
-      <div class='line'>Ban-Ban and Kiku-san, all cats shall bless you,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Lois and Robin again will caress you;</div>
-      <div class='line'>Bravest cats, dearest cats, sleep on your pillows,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Kissed by the winds and the soft pussy-willows.”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c020'>Sung to a low, sweet tune, this
-song proved soothing, and Kiku-san
-and Ban-Ban fell asleep as
-soon as it ceased, borne away to
-dreamland by the rise and fall of
-many purrs mingling with the
-murmur of their rippling river
-Meuse.</p>
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 id='ch03' class='c014'>CHAPTER III<br /><span class='c018'>THE PURRERS OF PURRINGTON</span></h2>
-</div>
-<div class='c011'>
-  <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-dc-n.jpg' width='100' height='150' alt='' />
-</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'>
-No one can imagine how
-fast cat carpenters work,
-for very few indeed have
-ever seen them work.
-And so it would be hard to make
-any one believe how fast Purrington-on-the-Meuse
-grew. Why, in
-a week those five cat carpenters
-had built all the houses which
-were needed to start with! Of
-course the other cats helped in all
-ways that they could, such as
-bringing boards, laying up bricks,
-and puttying in windows, but even
-with this help it was wonderful
-the way the town grew.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>There did not have to be many
-houses to begin with. There was
-one big house, rather like a city
-apartment-house for single gentlemen,
-in which the stranger cats,
-all of them unmarried, were to live.
-Madam Laura offered to keep
-house for them, because they
-never could take care of themselves
-without a lady at the head
-of their domestic affairs, and there
-never could be another more fitted
-in every way to keep house for
-them than was kind Madam
-Laura. It was most good of her
-to do it, however, for being a lady
-of means, she could have gone off
-and lived selfishly by herself,
-without a care in the world.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban and Kiku-san lived
-with Bidelia and the children;
-Thomas Traddles and his new
-friend ’Clipsy had another house
-to themselves; and there was a
-fourth house put up for a widow
-lady who came with her son to
-Purrington from the human city.
-She was a white and yellow lady
-named Alloy, because she was not
-all gold, and her son, who was
-about a month older than Bidelia’s
-children, was named Scamp, and
-if ever a name just suited its
-bearer it was this kitten’s, for he
-was such a scamp that all the
-cats were worried for fear his
-example would lead Nugget into
-bad ways.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>So they built a schoolhouse at
-once, and opened a school for the
-children, with Doctor Traddles
-for teacher, and some others to
-come in during the week to teach
-extra branches. Madam Laura,
-for instance, taught Fishing and
-Deportment; Bidelia taught Dancing;
-Kiku-san taught French,
-which he had learned from
-Lois’s French nurse; Wutz-Butz
-taught Boxing; and ’Clipsy was
-to give a course in Business Methods,
-which he had learned during
-his life in the streets.</p>
-
-<div id='i067'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i067.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>S. KATZ<br />FRESH<br />MICE<br />DAILY.</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>Then there were the shops.
-One where you could buy ribbons,
-collars, bells, catnip, balls, cushions,
-and all such elegant trifles; and
-another which was the market.
-Here you could buy asparagus
-tips, string beans, peas, fish, and
-meat. This was kept by a gentleman
-named Schwartz Katz, one of
-the stranger cats who had joined
-the party. He was very round
-and stout, and was of German
-descent, having been born in a
-delicatessen shop in the human
-city. He had the nicest, cleanest
-market you ever saw, and over
-his door was his tempting sign:
-“S. Katz, Butcher. Fresh Mice
-Daily.” He had many customers
-among the citizens of Purrington
-who were too busy or too lazy to
-hunt their own game. He was a
-black cat, as his name showed, but
-he wore a white front and had
-white forelegs, so that he looked
-precisely like a human market-man—at
-least in his clothes—who
-had put on a white apron
-and drawn white linen sleeves
-over his coat sleeves. He often
-sat in his doorway, watching for
-customers, looking big and fat
-and prosperous, just like a nice
-German butcher.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Dr. Thomas Traddles had said
-that all the citizens of Purrington
-should be spoken of as Purrers,
-both because they were so very
-happy in their beautiful new city,
-and because it was the best way
-he knew of shortening the word
-Purrington. So Purrers they
-were called, and they lived up to
-it beautifully.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>One day a most wonderful
-thing happened, and one that
-made the cats of Purrington even
-more Purrers than they were before.
-Everything had been made
-comfortable, and there was no
-lack of anything a cat could want
-in Purrington, save one thing,
-but that was a sad lack. This
-was milk. There was no milk to
-be had in Purrington, and no
-prospect of a way to get any.
-The Purrers were feeling very
-grave about it when, one day, a
-cow came walking along the grass-grown
-road that led through the
-woods beside the city, and stopped
-to look at the houses, as well she
-might, for there was not one
-higher than three feet, and even
-the apartment-house was not more
-than ten feet square.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban saw the cow considering,
-and he guessed in a moment
-that she must be the cow of
-whom he had heard Rob read in
-Mother Goose, who belonged to
-a piper who bade the cow consider.
-He knew this, because that
-was the only cow of whom he
-had ever heard who considered.
-So he ran straightway out to
-the edge of the woods to speak
-to her.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Dear Madam,” Ban-Ban began
-most politely, for he had always
-moved in the best society
-and had heard no end of books
-read aloud, “you can’t imagine
-how glad I am to meet you.
-Did you like ‘Corn Rigs Are
-Bonny’ better than the first tune
-after you had bade the piper play
-it to you?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The cow stared. “Yes, I always
-liked that tune best of all,”
-she said. “But how did you
-know?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“That you were that piper’s
-cow?” asked Ban-Ban, twirling
-his moustache with, it must be
-confessed, considerable self-satisfaction.
-“Oh, I recognized you
-at once, because I saw you considering.
-May I ask whither you
-are going and whence you came?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>You will see that Ban-Ban was
-trying to express himself elegantly,
-because he wanted to impress the
-cow, and hoped to get her to see
-things his way.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I came from the piper,” said
-the cow, “but I have no idea
-where I am going. I have left
-him for good and all. He had
-nought to give me—”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Yes; I know,” interrupted
-Ban-Ban.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Well, of course I am fond of
-music and all that,” the cow went
-on, “but a person cannot live on
-piping, and corn is better than the
-tune, ‘Corn Rigs Are Bonny.’
-So I had to leave the piper, and
-now I am looking for a home.
-When I see a comfortable farm,
-and a farmer that looks good-tempered,
-and as if he would be
-kind to animals, I shall turn in at
-his gate and chew my cud until
-he takes me to keep.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban fairly quivered with
-eagerness. “We are not farmers,”
-he began, and as the cow stared
-more than ever at the cat who
-made such an unnecessary statement,
-he stopped and went back
-to the beginning of his story.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“We are cats,” he said, “who
-have built this city of Purrington
-on this river Meuse for a place
-where all poor, abused cats can
-come and live happily all their
-nine lives. We have everything
-we want, except milk. Don’t you
-think you could be happy if you
-joined us? There would not be
-any one to bother you all day long;
-you could wander where you
-might choose—and wherever a
-cow chews—with no one to drive
-you, or turn you into a poor
-pasture, or out of a good one.
-We would be honoured by your
-presence, and would build you a
-house all to yourself, and all we
-would ask would be that every
-morning and night you would let
-down your milk to us.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“That would be like my friend
-Cusha-Cow Bonny. Her master
-asked her to let down her milk to
-him, and he promised her in
-return a gown of silk and a silver
-tee,” remarked the cow, thoughtfully.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I don’t know what a silver
-tee is,” said Ban-Ban, “but it
-doesn’t sound like anything that a
-cow would care for, and I’m sure
-you would rather have a nice
-house and your freedom all the
-long summer days than a gown
-of silk. Any sensible person
-would, especially we who already
-have such beautiful gowns of fine
-fur and glossy brown hair,—yours
-is a lovely colour, if you
-will pardon a personal remark,”
-added artful Ban-Ban.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The cow smiled. “Not as
-beautiful as yours,” she said, not
-to be outdone in politeness.
-“Yours is silver on the high line
-of your back, and almost purple
-in the shadow; I never saw a
-more beautiful coat.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Thank you,” said Ban-Ban.
-He did not pay as much attention
-to compliments as the cow
-did, because he had been praised
-ever since he had had his eyes
-open, and he could not help
-knowing how beautiful he was.
-“Don’t you think that you would
-rather stay with us, in Purrington,
-than to go farther, only to be
-again the slave of some man?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The cow seemed to be struck
-by this way of putting the case;
-she no longer hesitated. Shifting
-her cud to the left cheek, the
-cheek on which a cow always
-chews when her mind is fully
-made up, Mrs. Brindle said, decidedly:
-“I am quite sure that I
-should. And I will!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Good!” cried Ban-Ban. “Follow
-me, then!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Making his tail very stiffly
-erect to do honour to such an
-important occasion as was this
-one, when he was to lead into
-Purrington its supply of much
-needed milk, Ban-Ban wheeled
-around and trotted rapidly down</p>
-
-<div id='i077'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i077.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>The shout of welcome which all the Purrers of Purrington raised.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>the main street, followed by Mrs.
-Brindle, who looked more round-eyed
-than ever, as if she could not
-quite understand being adopted
-by a cat.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The shout of welcome which
-all the Purrers of Purrington
-raised as they espied Ban-Ban
-and his companion nearly lifted
-little Dolly Varden off her feet.
-But when she ran to the window
-and saw what was coming she
-raised her piping voice and cried:
-“Mamma, Mamma Bidelia! Come
-quick! Ban-Ban’s bringing home
-something awful, with horns!
-It’s bigger than men and looks
-crosser!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia ran to the window.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Why, that’s milk, my Furry-Softness!”
-she cried, joyfully.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Milk!” cried Nugget, scornfully.
-He was not nearly as respectful
-in his manner since he
-had played with Scamp. “Milk
-comes in cans, mamma; not in
-big, hair-covered horny things,
-with legs!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“That is a cow, Nugget; you
-will see to-night whether you
-know more than your mother.
-Cows give milk, just as pumps
-give water,” said Bidelia, severely.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Then I’m glad Ban-Ban
-brought her,” said Puttel, licking
-her lips thirstily. “I’m so tired
-not having milk I ’most want to
-go back to our old place.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Poor Puttel!” said Bidelia,
-feeling of the kitten’s nose. “You
-are feverish. Never mind, my
-babies; to-night you shall have a
-long, creamy, blessed drink, and
-I’m going to cook a fish for Ban-Ban’s
-supper for bringing the cow
-here. What a genius Ban-Ban
-is! Nugget, run around to Mr.
-Schwartz Katz’s and ask him to
-let you have his best fish. Tell
-him Ban-Ban has brought the cow
-to Purrington, and that the fish is
-for him.”</p>
-
-<div id='i081'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i081.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>A long, creamy, blessed drink.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>“He knows it,” growled Nugget,
-flattening his ears sulkily, for
-he did not like to go on errands
-since Scamp had told him his
-mother took too much of his play-time
-for her service. It was far
-from true, for Bidelia was a most
-indulgent little mother.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Nugget, go at once, and lift
-your ears. I will not allow you
-to flatten your ears when I ask
-you to do something for me.
-Oh, dear,” sighed Bidelia. “How
-dreadful it is to have kittens fall
-in with bad comrades! Nugget
-has always been such a good
-boy! And now that Scamp is
-changing him for the worse every
-day!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Don’t worry, mamma,” purred
-dear little Dolly, putting her forelegs
-around Bidelia’s neck. “Nugget
-isn’t bad, like Scamp; he only
-thinks it’s smart to spit and flatten
-his ears. He thinks that makes
-him catly, and a soldier like
-Wutz-Butz.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia licked Dolly tenderly.
-“I only wish he were not so weak
-as to want to copy bad kittens.
-As though it were not much more
-grown-up to be strong, and good,
-and obedient! If he wants to be
-catly why doesn’t he imitate Doctor
-Traddles, or sweet Kiku-san,
-our gentle white friend, or clever
-Ban-Ban, or even Wutz-Butz, if
-he does fight sometimes? It is
-so silly to swagger!” And Bidelia
-sighed again, feeling that she was
-too young to manage such a great
-yellow kitten as Nugget was growing
-to be.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Just then there arose in the
-street a great chorus. To human
-ears it would have sounded like
-a chorus of mews, but it was
-not.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>All the cats were shouting, just
-as they had heard human beings
-shout at election time, and this
-was what they were saying:</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“What’s the matter with Ban-Ban?”
-“He’s all right!” “Who
-founded Purrington?” “Ban-Ban!”
-“Who brought the cow
-to Purrington?” “Ban-Ban!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>And then they sang, to the
-tune of Yankee Doodle:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c019'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Bannie-Ban, with coat of silk,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Got poor thirsty cats their milk!</div>
-      <div class='line'>Bannie-Ban, he knows how</div>
-      <div class='line'>Best to argue with a cow.</div>
-      <div class='line'>Purrers, we, of Purrington,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Without milk could not get on.</div>
-      <div class='line'>Who went out, the cow to catch?</div>
-      <div class='line'>Our noble Bandersnatch!</div>
-      <div class='line'>Who brought Brindle, jogging-jog?</div>
-      <div class='line'>Our noble Bandarlog!</div>
-      <div class='line'>Cheer, then, cheer, all cats who can,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Cheer your best for great Ban-Ban!”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 id='ch04' class='c014'>CHAPTER IV<br /><span class='c018'>A FIVE O’CLOCK CATNIP TEA</span></h2>
-</div>
-<div class='c011'>
-  <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-dc-w.jpg' width='100' height='159' alt='' />
-</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'>
-When Purrington was
-started there were a great
-many who thought that
-it must fail. Cats who
-would not join the pilgrims to
-the new city sat on back fences
-and mewed over the certain disappointment
-awaiting those who
-went, sometimes spitting in their
-wrath that any cat should be so
-foolish as to go on such a wild-goose
-chase after happiness, just
-as human folk croak over other
-people’s experiments. It is too
-much to expect that cats can
-always be better than human
-beings, at least that all cats can.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>But Purrington was not a failure;
-on the contrary it was a
-great success; and, when it had
-been built in two weeks, and everything
-was in running order, and
-the Purrers were quite sure that
-their plan was working well, Bidelia
-and Madam Laura resolved
-to give a tea to celebrate the
-founding of the city.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>A great many ladies had come
-to the town by this time, so there
-was no trouble about getting together
-plenty of guests for the
-tea. Doctor Thomas Traddles’s
-school was by this time grown to
-thirty scholars, for most of the
-ladies who had moved to Purrington,
-like Bidelia, brought with
-them two or three children—and
-one came to town with five
-kittens!</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The cards to the tea were
-issued three days in advance, and
-were delivered at each house—there
-were more houses built by
-this time to shelter all the new arrivals—by
-a small, gray cat
-called Posty, whose duty it was
-to deliver the mails and to keep
-the post-office.</p>
-
-<div id='i088'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i088.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>One came to town with five kittens.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<div id='i089'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i089.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>A small, gray cat called Posty.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>The cards ran thus: “Mrs.
-Bidelia Purplay requests the pleasure
-of your company to tea on
-June 10th, from four to six.
-Music.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>There was not a cat omitted
-in these invitations, because the
-founders of Purrington had talked
-the matter over in private and had
-agreed that it would never do to
-allow any division and jealousy in
-the town such as is caused by
-social sets, and one person looking
-down upon another, and snubbing
-him. It was not easy for
-Ban-Ban, Kiku-san, Bidelia, and
-Tommy Traddles to bring themselves
-to treat everybody exactly
-alike, for there is nothing on
-earth so lofty by nature as a cat,
-and these four had been used
-only to fashionable society. However,
-they made up their minds
-that they must do whatever was
-for the general good, and treat
-all the Purrers of Purrington with
-the same neighbourly kindness.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia hoped that by having
-her tea continue from four to six
-she would escape crowding her
-parlour, in which there was not
-any too much room; but, by five
-minutes to four, there was a
-stirring in the streets, heads
-poking out of windows and doors
-to see if any one were starting,
-and before the French clock on
-Bidelia’s parlour cabinet had struck
-half-past four, all her guests had
-arrived.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Of course nobody would have
-missed this first social event in
-Purrington for their whiskers, but
-there had been a good deal said
-from one to another about Bidelia’s
-giving a tea. Nobody
-seemed to think that tea would
-be very enjoyable.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“It’s all very well to be fashionable,”
-said the mother of the
-five kittens—Daisy Bell was her
-name—“but tea! Whoever
-heard of a cat that would so much
-as smell of tea? I should have
-thought that Mrs. Bidelia Purplay
-could have found something better
-to have asked us to than
-tea! I told my eldest daughter
-not to be surprised if I came
-home down sick. Tea! Of all
-things!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>This was said as Daisy Bell
-came to the tea—one of the very
-earliest to arrive she was, too, in
-spite of her dislike for tea—and
-her neighbour, Mrs. Blotch, to
-whom she was talking, fully
-agreed with her.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Judge, then, the pleasure of
-these ladies when, on entering
-Bidelia’s house, a strong odour of
-catnip met their twitching noses.
-Here is where breeding tells;
-Daisy Bell’s manners were not
-proof against this surprise and
-the tempting odour.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Dear me!” she cried, as she
-came in,—before she had so
-much as inquired after her hostess’s
-children, mind you,—“Dear
-me! How strong that catnip
-smells! Are you giving a catnip
-tea? I wouldn’t have dreaded
-coming if I’d have known that!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Did you dread coming?” inquired
-Bidelia, pleasantly. “I
-am very sorry. Of course it is a
-catnip tea. I never thought of
-stating it on my cards, because I
-thought everybody would understand.
-A Five O’Clock Catnip
-Tea. Why, of course it is. What
-other kind of a tea would I care
-to give, or you care to come
-to?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“No other kind,” said Daisy
-Bell, promptly. “What do we
-do?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“If you will go into my bedroom
-you will find Puttel there
-to take your things, and help you
-in any little way that you may
-need help; she acts as my maid
-to-day. Then, when your fur is
-arranged and you are quite ready,
-if you will be so kind as to come
-back to me I will take you to the
-dining-room. Madam Laura is
-good enough to pour for me to-day.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Daisy Bell did not know what
-Bidelia meant by pouring for her,
-but she kept silent, for there was
-something in little Bidelia’s easy
-and gracious manner that made
-Daisy Bell, and Mrs. Blotch, too,
-conscious that they had not her
-advantages of education and social
-experience.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>They had not got their things
-off and their fur smoothed down,
-and their ribbons retied, before
-other ladies came, and still others,
-until Bidelia’s small bedroom was
-crowded, and Puttel had to give
-the first comers a hint to go out
-to her mother, for everybody
-seemed to dread to make the first
-move to go back to the parlour.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>In the meantime the gentlemen
-had been arriving, hardly less
-prompt than the ladies, which is
-not strange, because it was curiosity
-that brought them all so
-early, and cats are the most curious
-of creatures, the gentlemen
-just as curious as the ladies among
-them—wherein they are very
-different, you know, from human
-creatures.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia was busy receiving her
-guests, and ushering them out to
-the dining-room, where Madam
-Laura was pouring catnip tea at
-the table out of a very big urn
-indeed. The table was beautifully
-set with charming saucers
-and plates of glass and silver,
-and decorated with bunches of
-catnip in the centre and at each
-corner, connected by long loops
-of sky-blue ribbon. There were
-thin slices of cold meat, little
-cakes of puppy biscuits, cut into
-fancy shapes, crackers, cheese,
-cream in a large bowl, like a
-punch-bowl on a side-table, and
-ice-cream—melted ice-cream, of
-course, as all sensible people with
-good, catlike tastes prefer it.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia had cups for the catnip
-tea which had come down to her
-from her greatest of grandmothers,
-nobody knows how many generations
-ago, for the cups were nearly
-a hundred years old, and in a
-hundred years cats lay by a great
-length of grandmothers. These
-cups were small at the bottom
-and flaring at the top, like little
-bowls, and they had no handles.
-They were a grayish china, with
-dark blue border and little sprigs
-of dark blue flowers in the bottoms,
-which the guests could not
-see until they had lapped up their
-tea to the last drop.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Dolly Varden handed around
-tea and the other refreshments.
-The crowd grew so great that
-there was not room after awhile
-to set the cups on the floor.
-Ever so many were waiting to be
-served, and one could see from
-their rising fur that this was annoying
-them dreadfully.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Tommy Traddles saw this, too,
-and he whispered to Bidelia.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Certainly,” she said aloud, and
-Tommy Traddles turned to the
-guests.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Our hostess has provided us
-with an entertainment, in which
-I have the honour to be of
-some assistance, as the master of
-the Purrington school,” he said.
-“When you have enjoyed sufficiently
-the hospitality of this room
-will you please go out upon the
-lawn, where the music announced
-on the cards of invitation will be
-given.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The instant Doctor Traddles
-had finished speaking more than
-half the guests hastened out on
-the lawn, anxious to secure the
-best places to see and hear,
-for cats do not always behave
-unselfishly; perhaps they have
-followed the bad example of
-human beings, of whom a few are
-always trying to get the best of
-everything for themselves.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Here the fond and proud
-parents found all the kittens of
-Purrington, little girls and little
-boys, drawn up in a row, their
-eyes as bright as they could be,
-their noses quivering with nervous
-impatience, and their little tails
-all straight up in the air above
-their backs like so many fur-covered
-slate-pencils. The kittens
-all wore ribbons crossed under
-the left foreleg and tied in a bow
-on the right shoulder. The boys
-wore pink, the girls blue ribbons,
-and the scholars who had done
-well in school had each a little
-silvered bell tied around the
-throat by a narrow ribbon, matching
-in colour the wider one around
-the shoulder.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The murmurs that arose from
-the guests on the lawn reached
-the ears of those remaining in the
-dining-room, who hastily finished
-their catnip tea and swallowed
-their last bites of cold meat and
-puppy biscuit cakes, lapped the
-final drops of their ice-cream, and
-hurried after the ladies and gentlemen
-on the lawn.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Dear friends,” said Bidelia in
-a faint little voice, for she was
-frightened to speak to so many
-cats, all with their eyes fixed on
-her and with their tails slightly
-waving. “Dear friends, with
-Doctor Traddles’s help I have
-got together our blessed kittens
-to help me entertain you, and to
-prove what great progress they
-are making in school. First, my
-dancing class will show you a
-figure, a new figure, in the cotillion.
-It is called: The Chase
-of the Tails.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>’Clipsy, who, being black, had
-a natural talent for music, and
-particularly for playing the violin,
-took his place with his fiddle over
-his shoulder, precisely as you see
-the cat in “High, Diddle, Diddle.”
-Nearly all the kittens stepped out
-into the middle of the lawn, stuck
-their tails out straight, and waited.
-’Clipsy played a few bars softly
-and then dashed into a lively air,
-that made every eye in the place
-spread its pupil ’way to the beginning
-of its white line, so exciting
-was this music.</p>
-
-<div id='i104'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i104.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p><i>The Dance.</i></p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>Instantly every kitten made a
-rapid, low bow, and then danced
-a few steps to the right, a few
-to the left, leaped into the air,
-turned its soft body half-way
-around as it came down, and
-slapped at its own tail with its
-right forepaw. The music changed
-into other time, and with it the
-dancing steps of the kittens
-changed also. Swinging and
-swaying, the kittens began to spin
-around after their tails, keeping
-perfect time to the exciting music,
-whirling faster and faster, until
-all one could see were so many
-soft, varied-coloured balls of graceful
-kits, spinning, dashing, running,
-skipping, snatching after
-the tails that they never quite
-caught, never losing the swing of
-the dance, never losing the fun
-of the thing, until all the cats looking
-on were quite wild themselves
-with the delight of it and pride
-in their children. Fancy, if one
-kitten running after its tail is
-funny and charming, what it must
-have been to have seen twenty-two
-kittens, in a circle, trying to
-catch their tails in a mazy dance,
-perfectly performed!</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“We’ve had the time of our
-lives!” cried Posty, jumping up
-in the air himself, and giving a
-wild mew, because he could not
-help doing it.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Let us give Mrs. Bidelia a
-vote of thanks,” proposed Ban-Ban,
-remembering how he had been
-publicly thanked for bringing the
-cow into Purrington.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Three cheers instead!” cried
-Wutz-Butz, who wanted to let off
-steam in some way.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The three cheers were instantly
-given, for all the cats felt precisely
-as Wutz-Butz did, that
-they must give vent to their
-feelings, so wrought up by the
-dance, or fly into small pieces on
-the spot.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia dropped a beautiful
-curtsey. “Thank you, dear
-friends,” she said. “I am glad
-that you consider our first social
-event in Purrington a success.
-Before you go will you join in
-a song? The kittens will lead
-us, because they know it best.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>A large kitten, whose voice was
-already changing from soprano to
-tenor, started the air of “Old
-Kentucky Home,” in which all
-the kittens, and most of the cats,
-joined at once, singing the following
-words:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c019'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line in6'>“We are cosy ev’ry night,</div>
-      <div class='line in7'>And we’re happy ev’ry day,</div>
-      <div class='line'>In this Pussy-town we call Purrington;</div>
-      <div class='line in7'>We have just enough of work,</div>
-      <div class='line in7'>And we’ve just enough of play</div>
-      <div class='line'>To keep us ever purring on.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><i>Chorus</i>: “Then hasten, all ye pussies,</div>
-      <div class='line in7'>Oh, come, our joy to see.</div>
-      <div class='line in7'>For we’re happy little kits,</div>
-      <div class='line in7'>And we’ve danced ourselves to bits,</div>
-      <div class='line in7'>In honour of Bidelia’s Catnip Tea.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line in6'>“In the world we’ve left behind</div>
-      <div class='line in7'>Where the houses grow in blocks,</div>
-      <div class='line'>We were often far from safe and warm,</div>
-      <div class='line in6'>And the hands that ought to stroke,</div>
-      <div class='line in6'>Sometimes gave us cruel knocks;</div>
-      <div class='line'>But in Purrington we’re out of reach of harm.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><i>Chorus</i>: “Then sing aloud, dear pussies,</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>And purr your joy and glee!</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>For here we’ve made a home,</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>Whence we never more will roam,</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>And we’re grateful for Bidelia’s Catnip Tea.”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 id='ch05' class='c014'>CHAPTER V<br /><span class='c018'>THE SCAMPISHNESS OF SCAMP</span></h2>
-</div>
-<div class='c011'>
-  <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-dc-i.jpg' width='100' height='157' alt='' />
-</div><p class='drop-capi0_6'>
-It is hard to imagine a
-cloud crossing the sky of
-Pussy-Cat Town; but
-Purrington was growing
-larger, and, among a good many
-people, even cat people, there
-must be some who are not quite
-happy, and some who are not
-quite good.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Kiku-san was the only one of
-all the citizens of Purrington who
-was really unhappy, though Ban-Ban
-had many moments when his
-shining gray fur covered homesickness
-and longing for Robin. But
-Ban-Ban had a certain brightness
-about him, a snap-and-go which
-made it impossible for him to give
-up to downright unhappiness.
-Kiku-san, however, had a different
-nature. Gentle, clinging, and
-most affectionate, he could not
-shake off trouble when it found
-him, and Kiku-san was so homesick,
-so lonely for gentle little
-Lois, in whose arms he had slept
-all his life, and against whose
-cheek it had been his daily custom
-to rub his own cheek again and
-again, the while that he cooed
-softly to her, telling her of his
-love for her, that not all the
-charms of Purrington, nor the
-thought that it was making so
-many friendless cats rich and
-happy, could cheer his little
-heart.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia, too, had a growing
-anxiety that might prove to be a
-grief. Nugget was getting more
-and more under the influence of
-Scamp, and that influence was not
-for good. Nugget had always
-been as obedient as Puttel and
-Dolly Varden, and very proud of
-his young little mother, perfectly
-happy to trot beside her, and glad
-to have other kittens see how
-much he loved her. But now
-Nugget thought it was catly to
-pretend not to love Bidelia very
-much, and even to dare to spit—softly,
-under his breath, to be
-sure,—but still to spit,—when she
-told him to do something for her, or
-when she forbade him to go out.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>So far Nugget had not done
-anything wrong, or outright wrong;
-but Bidelia was not a silly mother,
-and, even though she had not
-had experience in bringing up
-kittens until these three were born,
-she knew quite well that nobody
-goes wrong all at once, but that
-from small beginnings comes
-great harm, and she worried
-over Nugget’s impertinent manner.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>She felt certain that he was only
-foolish, like some human children
-whom she had known, who thought
-it proved them quite grown up if
-only they were saucy and unmannerly,
-and she knew that the
-change in Nugget came from the
-bad example of Scamp, whose
-naughtiness was of a much more
-serious sort than Nugget’s had
-yet become.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>She could not take Nugget out
-of school, away from Scamp altogether,
-as she would have liked
-to do, because she was too busy
-to teach him herself, and he was
-getting on beyond anything.
-Tommy Traddles said that Nugget
-was one of his best scholars, that
-he could subtract three tails from
-seven mice, and seven mice from
-eleven rats, all in his head as quick
-as a cat could wink. And that
-he knew the tables of jumps and
-pounces better than any one else
-in the school, and could tell in a
-twinkling how many jumps made
-one good pounce. In grammar
-he led his class, being able to tell
-in what case every mew noun was
-the moment he heard it, and he
-could decline purring verbs in the
-passive voice, or spitting verbs in
-the active voice in a way that
-delighted his teacher’s heart, for
-Doctor Traddles was particularly
-fond of grammar.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>So Nugget went to school every
-day, and thus saw Scamp constantly.
-Scamp sought Nugget’s
-society more than any other kitten
-there; he seemed to take a fancy
-to the quick-witted little yellow
-fellow, and perhaps liked to lead
-a good kitten into paths of naughtiness—there
-are many with that
-sort of taste.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>One day Scamp spoke to Nugget
-as they met in the schoolroom
-doorway, after recess.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Come with me to-night,” he
-said. “I’m going fishing in the
-Meuse, and we’ll have fun. Bring
-some bait; I scratched up worms
-in our garden.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I don’t have to have worms
-for bait,” said Nugget, proudly.
-“I learned how to fish with just
-my paw. I guess I can’t go,
-though.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Now Scamp knew that Nugget
-had been taught to fish with his
-paw, and that was why he particularly
-wanted him to go fishing
-that evening. But this he would
-not own, so he said: “Why can’t
-you? There won’t be any one
-but just us two. We’ll have fun,
-I tell you.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“My mother won’t let me——”
-began Nugget, but stopped himself,
-ashamed to say that he could
-not go for that reason, though
-there could hardly have been a
-better one.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Before I’d be tied to my
-mammy’s tail! Cry-kitten, ’fraid-cat!”
-sneered Scamp.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“My mother says the river is
-dangerous at night,” said Nugget.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“How does she know? A
-little cat like her!” said Scamp.
-“Did she ever go there, then?
-You’re no good, Nugget. I don’t
-care; I’ll get some one else. I
-only wanted to give you first
-chance! ’Fore I’d stay home for
-my mother! If you was any good
-you’d get up and go, and tell her
-afterward! You could hide, and
-I’d bring you supper, and then
-we’d go. I don’t care, though!
-There’s plenty ain’t ’fraid-cats, if
-<i>you</i> are. Stay home, and let your
-mother lick your eyes open, if you
-want to!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>This was an unbearable taunt.
-No kitten can endure to have
-another say this to him. It means,
-among kittens, that you are a
-baby, not yet nine days old, and
-not bright enough to get your own
-eyes open.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Foolish little Nugget had not
-enough strength of character to
-treat these taunts with the contempt
-they deserved. He had
-not time to think, because they
-were standing in the schoolroom
-doorway, and were likely to be
-called to their places at any
-moment. So Nugget answered
-quickly, under the spur of this
-stinging taunt: “Who’s afraid?
-I didn’t want to go, but I will go,
-just to show you!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>He didn’t see the smirk which
-curled Scamp’s whiskers, and
-which he put up his paw to hide;
-but Nugget went to his seat a
-very sober kitten, and it was with
-a heavy heart that, after school
-was dismissed, instead of going
-home to Bidelia, as usual, he followed
-Scamp to the place where
-he was to await his coming to go
-fishing.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>It was not at all exciting, either,
-to eat his supper, which Scamp
-brought him, under the trees, and
-then to follow his unfriendly
-friend along the line of the woods
-to the river, when it had grown
-too dark for them to be seen.
-Nugget had hoped that at least
-it would be thrilling to steal along
-this way, keeping out of sight, but
-the thrills were the wrong sort,
-for it was chilly, and dreadfully
-dark. If he had told the truth,
-Nugget would have said that he
-was afraid, and that the heart
-under his golden fur ached for
-the mother whom he was treating
-so badly.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Scamp had said that the fish
-would bite better at night than by
-daylight. Nugget had listened
-to this statement with the awe that
-a small kitten feels for the wisdom
-of a larger one. It did not prove
-to be such very wise wisdom after
-all. The fishes did not bite
-Scamp’s bait, not once, nor would
-they swim where Nugget could
-scoop them up in his little yellow
-paw, a trick at which he had
-become very skilful, thanks to
-Madam Laura’s teaching. It
-was too dark to see them plainly
-when they did swim up to the
-surface and near to the shore;
-even a kitten’s eyes were misled
-by the ripples of the water under
-the stars, and Nugget often
-dipped for the fish too soon, or
-too late, or when there was no
-fish there.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Nugget was so miserable that
-he had hard work to keep from
-mewing. Scamp was entirely
-changed in his manner to the
-poor little naughty thing that he
-had led astray. Now that he had
-got Nugget to do what he wanted
-him to, he seemed not to care for
-him in the least; he snubbed him,
-paid no attention to the younger
-kitten’s remarks, and often walked
-off to fish at some distance from
-Nugget, leaving the kitten to
-struggle with a fear that every
-moment was growing more unbearable—it
-was the first time
-in his short life that Nugget had
-ever been out after dark without
-a grown cat to look after him.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Scamp came back just in time
-to catch a whine which, in spite
-of himself, escaped Nugget, a sort
-of mew with his lips shut; but,
-so far from being sorry for Nugget,
-he fell into a great rage as
-he heard the kitten’s moan, and
-he walked up to him sidewise,
-with his fur bristling and his
-claws sticking out, ready for a
-scratch.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“What’s the matter with you,
-you cry-kitten?” he demanded,
-growlingly. “’fraid your mother’ll
-spank you when you get home?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>He spoke so roughly, so angrily,
-that Nugget lost heart altogether,
-and burst forth into open mewing.
-“I wouldn’t care if she did,” he
-wailed. “I wouldn’t care what
-she did, if only I was home again
-where she could do it.”</p>
-
-<div id='i122'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i122.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>Scamp looked over him scornfully.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>Scamp looked him over scornfully,
-but Nugget’s spirit was
-gone; not a hair on his body rose
-the higher for the look.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Next time I ask a cry-kitten
-to go fishin’ you’ll know it,” said
-Scamp, spitting.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I wouldn’t go with you if you
-did,” said Nugget, not resenting
-being called “cry-kitten,” or pretending
-not to know for whom
-the name was intended. “I’ll
-never go anywhere with you again,
-Scamp Alloy, not anywhere, day
-or night. You make me bad;
-mamma says so, and it’s true, and
-now you make me frightened, and
-cold, and tired, and everything
-besides.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Nugget put both paws before
-his face and mewed fast and
-furiously. He did not see Scamp
-nor the way he walked up close
-to him, still sidewise, with his ears
-back and his fur bristling. Nugget
-was sitting close to the river’s
-edge, too busy with his trouble to
-think of anything else. So, when
-Scamp got up to him, he was not
-ready for the hard blow that bad
-kitten gave him on the side of
-his bowed yellow head, and it sent
-him flying out almost into the
-middle of the stream.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Scamp was so frightened by
-what he had done that, after an
-instant, in which he stood staring
-at the circles in the water eddying
-around the spot where Nugget
-had sunk, he took to his heels
-and ran away for his life, leaving
-Nugget to get out or die as best
-he could.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>While these dreadful things
-were happening by the river, the
-cats at home were having hours
-of misery over Nugget’s disappearance.
-When he did not come
-home to supper, and Dolly and
-Puttel reported that they had not
-seen him since school was dismissed,
-Bidelia’s heart misgave
-her. Ban-Ban and Kiku-san
-looked at Nugget’s delay from
-the brighter side, and comforted
-her by telling her it was caused
-by the kitten’s stopping to play,
-or getting into some comparatively
-harmless mischief, as kittens
-will. But after the supper, which
-Bidelia pushed away untasted,
-was over, even Ban-Ban and
-Kiku-san began to look serious,
-as Nugget did not turn up, and
-they each went out to inquire
-among their friends if any one
-had seen little Nugget.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>When they came back without
-tidings of the lost kitten Bidelia
-sat down half-fainting, mewing
-piteously. Then she sprang up,
-took her little girls each by a paw,
-hurried them over to Madam
-Laura’s, and then rushed from
-house to house, calling upon all
-the Purrers of Purrington to turn
-out and search for her child.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>It did not take long to learn
-from Alloy, his mother, that
-Scamp was missing, too. Alloy
-laughed at Bidelia for her fears,
-being quite accustomed to Scamp’s
-doing precisely what he pleased,
-coming home exactly when he
-was ready to come. But Bidelia
-was made only the more anxious
-at the thought that her little kitten
-should be missing in such
-bad company as Scamp’s.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Twenty cats joined in the
-search for Nugget. Ban-Ban
-darted hither and thither; Tommy
-Traddles beat every bush and
-scanned every hole in his thorough
-way; and Kiku-san walked beside
-Bidelia, one paw around the
-afflicted little cat, talking to her
-in his gentle, cooing way, and
-keeping up her courage as none
-of the others could do. As they
-walked, searching sorrowfully, the
-cats sang these words to the air
-of “Long, Long Ago:”</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c019'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“When our loved kittens wander away,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Sad are our hearts, bitter our pain;</div>
-      <div class='line'>Sobbing, we mew through the long empty day,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Hoping they’ll answer again.</div>
-      <div class='line'>Oh, little Nugget, had’st thou been wise,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Thy mother’s counsel thou would’st not despise!</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>But through our errors life’s lessons we learn;</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>All is forgiven; oh, return!”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c020'>The last two lines of the music
-they repeated, singing, over and
-over again: “Nugget, oh, come!
-Nugget, oh, come!” hoping that
-the kitten would hear and call to
-them. After some time they were
-rewarded by hearing afar a faint,
-a very faint and feeble mew.</p>
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 id='ch06' class='c014'>CHAPTER VI<br /><span class='c018'>MRS. BRINDLE BRINGS STARTLING NEWS</span></h2>
-</div>
-<div class='c011'>
-  <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-dc-t.jpg' width='100' height='158' alt='' />
-</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'>
-The twenty cats broke
-into a run at the sound
-of that weak mew.
-Although it was not repeated,
-with their keen eyes, made
-to see in the dark, and their keen
-noses, made to smell out all kinds
-of the micest secrets, they had no
-trouble in finding poor little
-Nugget. There he lay on the
-bank, hardly beyond the reach of
-the water, wet, cold, too exhausted
-to mew again, although he could
-hear with his failing senses the
-voices of the Purrers come to
-secure him.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Kiku-san saw him first, and
-gently pointed him out to Bidelia,
-afraid as he did so that they had
-come too late, that Nugget was
-already dead. The delicate legs
-hung limp, the head had fallen
-forward, the eyes, still half-blue
-in colour, were glazed, and the
-mouth that had called them was
-open.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia stiffened with dread as
-she saw her kitten, but instantly
-darted forward, calling: “M-m-m-mmmmm!”
-That coaxing mother-note
-in which all cats call their
-kittens so lovingly. As she cooed
-to Nugget, she bent over him,
-nosing him, licking him frantically,
-yet with the wisest, strongest
-strokes, for, young as she was,
-and without having taken a course
-of First Aids to the Injured, her
-mother-love taught her how best
-to bring Nugget back.</p>
-
-<div id='i131'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i131.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>Licking him frantically.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>Her friends stood by watching
-the little mother, herself scarcely
-more than a kitten, anxiously hoping
-that she would warm Nugget
-into life. And she did. Though
-a few minutes longer delay and
-the rescuers would have come too
-late, Nugget was still on the right
-side of the line between life and
-death when he was found, and he
-rewarded his mother’s rapid work
-on his limp little body by moving
-a paw and uttering another plaintive
-little mew.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Let us help you,” cried Daisy
-Bell and Mrs. Blotch, while the
-other cats heaved a sigh of relief,
-well knowing that if Nugget
-turned to come back to them the
-battle was as good as won.
-Daisy Bell and Mrs. Blotch,
-experienced in the care of kittens,
-fell to licking with Bidelia, and
-did it with so much good-will
-that the soft, wet little form rocked
-back and forth on the grass, and
-the kitten soon opened both eyes
-as the grateful warmth of the busy
-tongues dried his yellow fur
-and set his chilled blood in
-motion.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia licked around the kitten’s
-face, and Nugget put both
-paws around her neck.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I’m dreadful sorry, mamma,”
-he whispered, so sincerely that he
-forgot to speak like Tommy
-Traddles’s best grammar scholar.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Yes, dear, but I’m only glad
-just now that you are safe,”
-Bidelia whispered back.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Scamp coaxed me to go fishing
-with him; I didn’t want to, but
-he said I was ’fraid-cat, so I
-went,” Nugget continued. “He
-was ugly after he got me here,
-and I mewed, so he pushed me
-into the water, and ran away. I
-kept up, and kept swimming—I
-don’t see how I swam; nobody
-taught me.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Oh, everybody knows how to
-swim without teaching, everybody
-except human beings,” said Bidelia.
-“Go on, dearest.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I swam, but I could not get
-to shore,” sobbed Nugget. “Not
-for the longest, longest time!
-And I felt so weak, and I was so
-frightened, and it was so dark,
-and there were you and Dolly
-and Puttel all safe at home, and
-I thought I was never going to
-see you—” Nugget broke off, sobbing
-with all his might.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“There, there, dear, darling
-little Nugget, don’t talk about it,
-don’t tell me any more now!” said
-Bidelia, soothing him by the softest
-kisses and pats. “I know all
-about it. At last you did get to
-the bank, and crawled up, and lay
-there dying, when you heard the
-good Purrers singing to you, and
-gathered strength for just one tiny
-mew; just enough, dear, to save
-you. And now you’re going to
-get well fast, and we are going
-to take you home where Mrs.
-Brindle has warm milk for you,
-and never, never again are you
-going to be a naughty kitten, and
-disobey your little mother. Isn’t
-that it, my poor little Nugget?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Nugget cuddled down close
-into Bidelia’s soft neck. “That’s
-right, mamma,” he said.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia gave a few quick purrs
-of happiness. It really was worth
-Nugget’s suffering and her own
-misery to have her kitten freed
-for ever from the bad influence of
-Scamp. She turned to her friends
-with a bright smile. “How shall
-we get this poor, naughty kitten
-home, dear Purrers? He is far
-too weak to walk.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“We’ll make a cat’s-cradle,”
-said Ban-Ban, promptly.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Now a cat’s-cradle is not what
-most of us understand it to be.
-The real cat’s-cradle, from which
-the one we make with strings got
-its name, is made in this manner:
-an equal number of cats form
-themselves into two lines, walking
-abreast, one line behind the other.
-The rear line gently takes into its
-mouths the tips of the tails in the
-front line, which thus form, as one
-can easily see, a sort of hammock
-upon which a kitten, or any not
-too great weight, may be carried.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>In this case ten cats made a
-line abreast, and ten more, in
-another line abreast, took the tips
-of the ten preceding tails into
-their mouths, and Nugget was
-laid on the cradle thus made,
-whereon he swung as easily as
-a Baltimore oriole in its nest, and
-slept peacefully while his kind
-protectors bore him home.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Madam Laura, with Dolly Varden
-and Puttel, were at the door
-of the apartment-house, eagerly
-watching for the return of the
-search-party. It was the shriek
-of glad mews which they raised
-that woke Nugget from his sleep
-of exhaustion, and told him that
-he was once more with his sisters,
-whose qualities as “mere girl
-kittens” he no longer despised,
-since they had been good, while
-he had been both foolish and
-naughty.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia, Laura, Ban-Ban, and
-Wutz-Butz took Nugget at once
-to Mrs. Brindle’s house to get
-her to give the poor kitten some
-warm milk.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>As soon as she saw them the
-cow uttered a long moo of welcome.
-“I thought you would
-never get here to-night,” she said
-when they were within hearing.
-“I have news for you that I could
-hardly wait to tell you.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Nugget has been lost and
-nearly drowned,” said Ban-Ban.
-“We were out hunting for him.
-Will you please let down some
-milk for him while you are telling
-us your news?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I was out walking to-day over
-at the other side of the woods,”
-Brindle began at once, as she
-obligingly let down her foaming
-milk into the pan Ban-Ban offered
-her. Cows never waste time beating
-around the bush when they
-have anything to say. “I came
-upon something there that shocked
-me. Purrington is in danger.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“In danger from what?” demanded
-Ban-Ban, who was always
-the one with whom Brindle preferred
-to talk, as he was her first
-friend among the Purrers.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“There is a settlement of
-dogs over there,” said Brindle,
-gravely. “The place is called
-Dog Corners. I heard the dogs
-talking. They were saying that
-they had just learned of the existence
-of Purrington, and that
-they meant to attack the city, destroy
-it, and capture or kill all the
-cats in it.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“They never dreamed that I, a
-cow, was one of the people of
-Purrington,” she added, nodding
-her head up and down as a low
-growl of indignant horror arose
-from her hearers; even Nugget
-stopped drinking to join in
-it. “The dogs talked freely,
-although they saw me standing
-there. I half-shut my eyes, and
-pretended to be interested in
-nothing but my cud. But you
-may be sure I listened to every
-word, and I have been nervous
-ever since because no one came
-near me to be warned of the
-danger.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Wutz-Butz stood with his feet
-braced, and every separate hair
-bristling with fury. “It may
-come to-night,” he growled very
-low, and Ban-Ban, Laura, and
-Bidelia understood that he meant
-the dogs’ attack on Purrington,
-and thrilled at his words.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“There isn’t a moment to lose.
-We must consult the others, and
-arrange for meeting this attack,”
-cried Ban-Ban. “Bidelia and
-Madam Laura, Wutz-Butz and I
-must leave you to bring Nugget
-home when you are ready. Mrs.
-Brindle, you are a cow in a thousand.
-You are full of the milk
-of human kindness and fidelity to
-your friends. We will do something
-to prove how we appreciate
-you when this danger is past.
-Wutz-Butz, come on!” And Ban-Ban
-flew like a streak of quick-silver—he
-was about the same
-colour—down the street, and
-Wutz-Butz flew after him as fast
-as his greater weight allowed.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The big bell in the town hall
-had never been rung. When it
-was hung Doctor Traddles had
-given a lecture in the hall on an
-incident in Scottish history, when
-one of the lords had asked in
-council who would bell the cat.
-Doctor Traddles pointed out that
-they, being cats, would reverse
-the order of the question, and
-ask: Who will bell the council-room?
-It was considered a most
-happy allusion, and Tommy
-Traddles’s wit was still quoted.
-But the bell had never, till this
-day, been rung. Now it pealed
-forth, calling together all the Purrers
-of Purrington for a council
-of war.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Wutz-Butz, as the most experienced
-soldier, was in the chair,
-presiding over the meeting. The
-cats looked very serious. An
-attack on their city by dogs was
-not a thing to be regarded
-lightly.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Gentlemen,” said Wutz-Butz,
-after a hasty whispered consultation
-with Tommy Traddles as to
-the proper way to proceed with
-the meeting, “I should be glad to
-hear from you what you consider
-the best way to meet the attack
-which Mrs. Brindle has warned
-us that the dogs of Dog Corners
-intend to make upon us.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>There were a great many good
-fighters in Purrington now, thanks
-to the number of cats who had
-joined the first settlers, and who
-had spent their days fighting for
-their lives in the human city’s
-streets; but they were better
-fighters than talkers, and no one
-responded to Wutz-Butz’s request
-for advice as to the best method
-of meeting the danger threatening
-them.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Finally Ban-Ban arose, looking
-around at the council. “I am
-not a fighting cat,” he said, “but
-since those who are seem shy
-about addressing us, let me state
-my opinion and offer my advice
-on the matter before us. We all
-know that those who attack are
-better placed than those who are
-attacked. They have but themselves
-to take care of, while the
-attacked have to consider their
-wives and children, and suffer the
-loss of their homes if the attack
-is at all successful. Hence I propose
-that, instead of waiting in
-Purrington for the dogs to attack
-us, we march on Dog Corners
-and wipe it off the map. We will
-send Brindle to find out when the
-dogs will be away, because, if
-they are free dogs, they must go
-off on long runs—even pet dogs
-do that. When we find out that
-most of the fighting dogs are
-absent, we will fall on their settlement
-and put to flight every
-puppy in it. It is right for us
-to do this, because as long as
-there is a dog village so near Purrington
-we shall never be safe.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>This speech, plain and to the
-point, was received with great
-applause. It was moved, seconded,
-and carried that the Purrers of
-Purrington should make war upon
-Dog Corners on the first day
-possible. Wutz-Butz was appointed
-Commander of the Cats,
-with ’Clipsy second in command,
-and Tommy Traddles and Ban-Ban
-staff-officers, for consultation.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>A city guard was appointed for
-that night to patrol the streets
-and alarm the Purrers should the
-attack be made at once. Then
-the meeting broke up, but not
-until the cats had sung, to the air
-of “Hail Columbia:”</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c019'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Let the wild dogs now beware,</div>
-      <div class='line'>We are bristling up our hair;</div>
-      <div class='line'>We have now unsheathed our claws,</div>
-      <div class='line'>We have made our martial laws,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And, when dogs shall dare attack,</div>
-      <div class='line'>With growls and spits we’ll drive them back!</div>
-      <div class='line'>For Purrington we’ll make a fight,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Strong, because our cause is right.</div>
-      <div class='line'>Liberty! our countersign;</div>
-      <div class='line'>You for yours, but I for mine!</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><i>Chorus:</i> “Like one cat we’ll meet the foe;</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>Like one paw we’ll lay him low.</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>Courage, then, Cat Heroes! Draw</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>Claws, and strike with heart in paw!”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 id='ch07' class='c014'>CHAPTER VII<br /><span class='c018'>THEY FOUGHT LIKE CATS AND DOGS!</span></h2>
-</div>
-<div class='c011'>
-  <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-dc-t.jpg' width='100' height='158' alt='' />
-</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'>
-“There is only one way
-to catch anything, and
-that is: Pounce on it!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Wutz-Butz was the
-speaker; he was addressing his
-soldiers, drawn up before him,
-ready for the fray. Brindle had
-early made her way to Dog
-Corners, and returned with the
-report that on this day the majority
-of the dogs were to be away from
-their village on a hunting trip.
-If the Purrers wished to attack
-there could not be a better time
-than the present to do so.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>There had been a discussion
-as to the best way of attacking
-the enemy, and Wutz-Butz, as
-General of the Cats, was giving
-his opinion.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“There is only one way,” he
-said, “to catch anything, and that
-is: Pounce on it! How do you
-catch a mouse? Crouch low,
-keep the tip of your tail wagging,
-whiskers forward, eyes
-fixed front, muscles taut—then:
-Jump! Isn’t that the way? Well,
-then; there is no other way to
-capture anything. A village is
-precisely like a mouse, only bigger—”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>A murmur of dissent arose at
-this statement, and Wutz-Butz
-hastily explained.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I mean,” he said, quickly, “in
-principle. In principle there is
-no difference between a mouse
-and a village, except in size. That
-difference is evened up by there
-being so many of us. One cat
-catches the little mouse; many
-cats catch the large village. And
-there you are! The only way for
-us to do is to march softly to Dog
-Corners, and when we get there
-to form a circle all around it.
-Then we must crouch down, fix
-our eyes on the village—it will
-be awful! A lot of big, staring
-eyes all around the walls! Then
-we must prick our ears forward,
-moving them a little at the tips, to
-catch every sound, and keep our
-whiskers stiff, and the tips of our
-tails moving, moving ever so little.
-We must hold our muscles taut,
-ready! And then I will give a
-tiny, tiny spit, and then—Like
-one cat we must pounce together,
-up in the air and down on the
-village, claws out and backs stiff!
-And then Dog Corners will be
-taken!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>All the soldiers purred together,
-like the roll of a drum. The
-programme as laid out by their
-general sounded so attractive!</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Are you ready?” cried ’Clipsy,
-facing the troops.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Yes!” shouted the army, as
-one cat.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Will you follow us to danger
-and—if need be—to death?”
-demanded ’Clipsy.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Yes, yes, miauw, miauw!”
-shrieked the soldiers, deeply
-stirred.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Then forward! March!” cried
-Wutz-Butz, wheeling about and
-taking a few steps in the direction
-of Dog Corners.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Instantly the column was in motion,
-and soon the women and children
-cats left behind in Purrington
-could see only tips of tails
-proudly waving in the air, which,
-an instant later, were lost to sight
-in a cloud of dust.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The army marched at double-quick
-through the woods, the padded
-feet of the soldiers making no
-sound on the dry leaves and pine-needle
-carpet over which they
-marched.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Dog Corners lay, as they
-thought, at some distance from
-Purrington. Mrs. Brindle had
-said that it took her three hours
-to reach it. The Purrers did not
-realize the difference that there
-was between the awkward gait of
-the big cow and the swift trot of
-their own lithe bodies until they
-came within hailing distance of
-Dog Corners most unexpectedly,
-and at the expiration of a little
-less than two hours’ time.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Wutz-Butz softly ordered a halt,
-and then detailed his sub-officers
-to lead four divisions of the army,
-which were to separate, march
-around the village, and then take
-up their positions, with an officer
-at the four points of the compass.
-The army would join its divisions,
-forming a cordon around the enemy,
-according to the announcement
-of his plans made by General
-Wutz-Butz before starting out.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>With a speed and silence most
-creditable to soldiers whose only
-experience in fighting heretofore
-had been in single combats, these
-orders were carried out.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Swiftly and noiselessly the four
-detachments marched to surround
-the village, and took up their positions,
-with the ends of the detachments
-united to form a single line,
-encircling Dog Corners.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Regarding the village as a gigantic
-mouse which they were to
-seize as a single cat, as their skilful
-leader had bidden them, the
-cats crouched, eyes forward, whiskers
-set, ears pointed, tails moving,
-muscles tense, ready to pounce
-at the word of command. Wutz-Butz
-led at the main gate. His
-followers listened for the spit that
-was to be the signal of onslaught.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Hark! Was that it? No; it
-was but the heavy breathing of an
-old soldier, his asthma increased
-by excitement. But at last—</p>
-
-<div id='i155'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i155.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>Ready to pounce.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban caught the sound first,
-and repeated it. The four officers
-spit together. Instantly the
-entire army arose in the air in a
-great, curving heap, legs out, claws
-extended, and pounced on the village,
-like one great cat on one
-large mouse!</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Panic seized the dogs left at
-home, little dreaming of what was
-to befall them that beautiful
-morning. There were dogs of
-various sizes and colours, and,
-though the greatest fighters had
-gone hunting, there were quite
-enough in the village to have
-made its capture go hard with the
-cats, had it not been that their
-attack was so sudden and entirely
-unexpected.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Just as they had sprung on the
-village walls, the cats sprang on
-the backs of its citizens, of course
-not touching the puppies, for it
-was not their part to make war on
-babies. The howls with which
-the appearance of the army of
-cats on the walls had been hailed
-turned into a chorus of yelps as
-each dog felt the sharp claws of
-a cat in his back. The dogs were
-bigger than the cats, and more
-used to fighting, but the nervous
-strength of the attacking party
-more than made up for their
-smaller size and less heavy muscles.
-The dogs tried to shake off
-their riders, but the claws did
-their work well, and the Purrers
-stuck like burrs, each soldier to
-his foe, scratching away and calling
-upon the dog to give up, until
-the citizens of Dog Corners were
-half-frantic.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>One big yellow dog took the
-lead. “We can’t run around
-here!” he cried. “Follow me!”
-So saying, he dashed for the main
-gate, his comrades after him, and
-made for the woods, each with a
-cat on his back, running for dear
-life to escape from the torment
-which was fastened on every
-back.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Two miles from Dog Corners
-the wild ride slackened. Wutz-Butz
-discovered that the big yellow
-dog carrying him was the
-King of the Dogs, for Dog Corners
-was not a republic, like Purrington,
-but lived under a king, it
-being necessary for dogs to have
-some one to obey, while cats always
-rule themselves.</p>
-
-<div id='i160'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i160.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>Each with a cat on his back.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>When Wutz-Butz discovered
-that he was riding the king, he
-stopped clawing him, and asked
-him to halt for a moment. Rex—of
-course that was the king-dog’s
-name—was only too glad
-to do so; he was fearfully out of
-breath, and his tongue ached from
-lolling so far.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Look here, King,” said Wutz-Butz—if
-it had been Tommy
-Traddles he would have begun
-differently, for his reading would
-have taught him to salute a king,
-in opening his remarks, with the
-words: “O king, live for ever!”
-For that is the only correct way
-to open regal conversation. However,
-Wutz-Butz, being a soldier
-and not a scholar, said: “Look
-here, King, I don’t care about
-dog-back riding all the morning,
-and I guess you’ve got about
-enough of carrying me. I’m the
-general of this army. We came
-down upon you because we had
-certain proof that you were coming
-to take our town, and capture
-or kill all of us. We didn’t seem
-to care about waiting at home for
-that kind of visitors, so we hit
-first—it’s the best way, if there’s
-got to be a fight. We’re not
-scrappy over at Purrington, and
-we don’t want fusses with our
-neighbours, for one thing, and we
-don’t want neighbours who are
-liable to drop down on us, for another.
-Now we’ve got you beat,
-and we’ll never get off your backs
-till you give in to our terms.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“What are your terms?” panted
-Rex, sadly.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Easy enough. You’re to move
-out of this region altogether, and
-give up Dog Corners to us. We
-will go back there and tear it all
-down, and there’ll be no more
-dogs and no more corners—we’ll
-round them off!” And Wutz-Butz
-chuckled at his mild joke.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“You keep on running—without
-us, you see, so it will be easier—and
-meet your friends, while we
-go back and tear down your village.
-You tell your friends that
-you’re going to move—you’re
-king, and what you say goes—<i>you</i>
-seem to go pretty well, too,
-and I mean you to go farther. I
-don’t believe you’ll fare worse!
-Now, will you do it, or won’t
-you?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“As a conquered king I have
-no choice but to accept your
-terms,” said Rex, in a tone so
-sad that it ended in a whine.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Right you are,” said Wutz-Butz,
-cheerfully, not at all impressed
-by the king’s superior
-speech. “Call up your people,
-then, and I’ll tell mine to stop
-clawing while you issue your
-orders.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Rex called the dogs together.
-“We are conquered, my people,”
-he said. “The terms upon which
-I have agreed to yield to this
-gentleman upon my back, who is
-the general of the cats, is that we
-remove far from Dog Corners,
-and go at once.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The dogs growled at this announcement,
-but a claw-prick here
-and there reminded them that
-they were anxious to get rid, on
-almost any terms, of the soldiers
-clinging to them, and they changed
-their growl into yelps and howls
-of acclaim, submitting to the inevitable
-and the wisdom of their
-king.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Now, then, Purrers,” shouted
-Ban-Ban, “don’t you jump off
-these dogs to the ground. You
-jump from their backs into the
-trees, and stay there until they are
-out of sight. How shall we know
-that they are really gone, and
-won’t come back?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Rex turned on Ban-Ban a
-scornful face. “You look like
-a gentleman,” he said, “and if you
-are one you should know that no
-gentleman breaks his pledge. I
-give you my word that we will
-fulfil the terms of our surrender,
-and a dog is a person of honour.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban felt rebuked, but
-’Clipsy murmured: “You’re all
-right, old chap, but I wouldn’t
-trust all your people, if you
-weren’t here to keep them
-straight.”</p>
-
-<div id='i166'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i166.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>The cats watched the retreat.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>At a given signal all the dogs
-ran close to a tree, and his rider
-leaped from the back of each
-of them, ran up to a high bough,
-and from that point the cats
-watched the retreat of their conquered
-foes.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>It was made without a pause,
-and in half an hour the cats
-descended and marched back to
-Dog Corners, which was now indeed
-a deserted village.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>It did not take long for the
-strong claws of the army to tear
-down every building in the place.
-In a short time Dog Corners was
-no more, and only a pile of ruins
-showed where once it had stood.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Upon this pile of ruins the
-triumphant army sat to eat the
-lunch which the forsaken larders
-of the dogs amply supplied.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Then they sat for a time resting,
-washing their faces and cleaning
-their whiskers, softly rubbing
-their ears with the velvet paws
-which, but a short time before,
-the dogs had found so little like
-velvet.</p>
-
-<div id='i168'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i168.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>They sat for a time resting.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>At last Wutz-Butz gave the
-order to march home. The army
-formed once more in order, and
-returned to Purrington. They
-entered the town just at sunset,
-and as they drew near to it, those
-left within its walls knew that
-they were coming victorious, for
-they were marching to the tune of
-“Marching Through Georgia,”
-to which they sung the following
-words:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c019'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Here we come victorious,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Our battle fought and won;</div>
-      <div class='line'>We made a Pounce most glorious—</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>You should have seen them run!</div>
-      <div class='line'>We’ve spent a day laborious,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>But yet we tasted fun,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Driving the dogs from their Corners!</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><i>Chorus:</i> “Hurrah, hurrah, then give us three times three!</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>Hurrah, hurrah, we bring you liberty!</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>The Purrers of dear Purrington are safe as safe can be;</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>We’ve wiped out the dogs and their Corners!”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 id='ch08' class='c014'>CHAPTER VIII<br /><span class='c018'>BAN-BAN AND KIKU-SAN FORM AN EMBASSY</span></h2>
-</div>
-<div class='c011'>
-  <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-dc-b.jpg' width='100' height='157' alt='' />
-</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'>
-Ban-ban and Kiku-san
-were walking arm and
-arm, talking earnestly.
-It had rained, and the
-streets were muddy, so they had
-linked the right paw of one
-through the left arm of the other,
-and each carried his tail looped
-over his remaining elbow, to keep
-it perfectly dry.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“There’s no use in my trying
-to fight it off any longer, Bannie,”
-Kiku was saying, earnestly. “I
-want to go home. I’m not needed
-here; the city is able to hold its
-own now; but, if it weren’t, I
-could be spared from it—I’m
-not the go-ahead kind which is
-useful in public affairs. I’ve got
-to see Lois. I’m sure she hasn’t
-any other cat to take my place,
-and worries about me still. I
-feel as if I couldn’t stay in my
-fur, I long so to cuddle down in
-her arms and be petted.” Kiku-san’s
-voice broke into the saddest
-mew as he ended, and Ban-Ban
-looked serious.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I don’t mind telling you,
-Kiku, though I wouldn’t have any
-one else in Purrington know it
-for the world, but I feel pretty
-much the same way,” he said.
-“Of course I’m the sort who can
-cut up capers, no matter what
-happens, but I want to see Rob,
-and I want to see him badly.
-I’m as sure that he cries nights
-over me as if I saw him. He
-thinks I’ve been killed, or got lost
-where I’ll suffer for food, and be
-abused—I know Rob! There
-are times when I wonder if I did
-right to leave him, but when I see
-how happy all these poor cats are
-in Purrington, and how well everything
-is going, and remember that
-they had no home, and no kindness
-until we led them here, then
-I feel certain again that it was
-more than right to leave our home.
-But—to be honest—now the
-work is done, I want to go back
-again, just for a visit, anyway.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“It won’t be a visit for me,”
-said Kiku-san, with the decision
-with which very gentle people
-usually surprise their friends when
-they are once aroused. “I’m
-going home to Lois, and I’m
-going to stay there. I won’t be
-contented, though, Ban, if I have
-to leave you behind: come with
-me!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Now wait a bit, Kiku-san, and
-we’ll try to manage it,” said Ban-Ban.
-“I don’t want to have the
-other Purrers feel as though I had
-deserted them. I’m not much good
-at patient waiting myself,—that’s
-more in your line,—but I see
-that there may something turn up
-that will let us go back—for a
-visit; I don’t dare promise to
-stay—without our seeming to
-run away. You see, I feel responsible
-for the Purrers and
-Purrington, because this city was
-my idea in the first place.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I’ll wait a little longer, then,”
-sighed Kiku-san. “But it can’t
-be very long; I can’t stand it.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>He did not have to wait long.
-When anything is to be, there is
-always a way made for it.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>It began to be whispered
-through Purrington that, after all,
-cats were not quite fitted to live
-entirely without human help. The
-houses that the cat carpenters had
-put up were not warm enough for
-winter; there were several matters
-on which the Purrers felt the need
-of help and advice. “If there were
-any human beings whom we could
-get to come here, straighten out
-these trifles, and act as our friends
-and advisers, who could be trusted
-to go between Purrington and the
-human city, looking after us and
-never betraying us, we should be
-better off,” they said.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The question was where to find
-such friends, how to bring them
-to Purrington, and whom to select
-for such an important trust.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“There are plenty of people who
-would do it faithfully,” said Tommy
-Traddles. “When I was a kitten
-I was taken in from the street by
-the kindest hands, and cared for
-ever after. My law student, my
-first friend, would have stood by
-us and helped us to the last hour
-of his life.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“When I was only four weeks
-old I was found by a lady in the
-worst, poorest part of the city,”
-said Bidelia. “She put me under
-her coat and carried me all
-the afternoon on several business
-calls which she had to make, although
-I cried dreadfully. When
-she got me home she cared for me
-like a baby; were it not for her I
-should not be here to-day. I
-would trust that friend of cats
-with our secrets.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“You see,” added Tommy
-Traddles, with his customary wisdom,
-“cats have lived so long
-among people that they have become
-dependent upon them. I
-think it would be most wise to
-secure for ourselves such a friend
-as Bidelia and I have known.
-But these two are beyond our
-reach. The question is: Whom
-should we select, and where should
-we find these friends?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Then up rose Kiku-san, his
-whiskers quivering with eagerness.
-“I can tell you,” he cried. “The
-little girl whom I owned, and
-whose love I miss more than I
-can say, is the very one for this
-position. She goes out of her
-way, and bears all sorts of inconvenience
-to help cats. She has
-such a tender heart that the sight
-of abuse of one of us makes her
-half-ill with grief and pity. Get
-Lois to help you, Purrers; she
-would die rather than betray you.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“And Rob!” added Ban-Ban,
-springing up as Kiku-san sat
-down. “He is a little fellow,
-only eight, but he is as brave as
-a lion when it comes to fighting
-for any abused animal. He has
-a good mother, who has taught
-him that we are all one big family,
-the human beings, and all the
-dumb creatures—as they call us,
-because they don’t understand our
-language! He touches any of us
-as gently as a paw without claws
-can touch, and he plays with us
-as well as a kitten could—better,
-because he can think of more
-things to do. He is a brave boy,
-the real sort of brave boy. They
-are always kind, you know, and
-don’t pretend to be brave by doing
-cowardly things, such as hurting
-a helpless creature. I’ve heard
-Rob tell other boys that it was
-manly to be gentle, and cowardly
-to be cruel, because a true man
-was a <i>gentle</i>-man! There’s his
-mother for you again; that’s what
-she teaches him! Rob’s the little
-boy I owned. You get Rob and
-Lois both on your side, Purrers,
-and you’ll bless the day Kiku-san
-and I told you about them.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>’Clipsy arose as Ban-Ban sat
-down, shaking his head gravely.
-“This little Lois may be all
-right,” he said. “Girls are usually
-more or less good to us, but a
-boy! I’m doubtful of the wisdom
-of trusting a boy.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“There are boys and boys,”
-said Tommy Traddles, mildly.
-“The right sort of boy is a brave
-fellow, and so must be a kind one,
-as Ban-Ban has said, and that sort
-is trustworthy, one on whom you
-can depend. Of course, friends
-and Purrers, you can rely on Ban-Ban’s
-judgment of the boy he
-owned and lived with from his
-kittenhood. But if you need
-further witnesses, let me add that
-Madam Laura, Bidelia, and I
-have known both Lois and Rob
-for a long time, and they are both
-the very ones to help us carry on
-our city, and be our friends
-through the winter that lies before
-us. They are both all, and more
-than all, that Kiku-san and Ban-Ban
-have said they were.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Madam Laura and Bidelia
-purred their entire assent to this
-statement.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Very well, then,” said ’Clipsy,
-“what are we to do about it, if
-they are such good children and
-good friends to cats? How shall
-we let them know about us, and
-get them to stand by us?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Tommy Traddles and Ban-Ban
-had never cared much for each
-other, but Tommy Traddles proved
-at this moment how superior his
-nature was to personal considerations
-of mere fancy. That wise
-cat, whose thoughtful gaze saw
-through most cats with whom
-he was in close contact, had seen
-that Ban-Ban and Kiku-san were
-longing for their beloved children,
-and he arose now to answer
-’Clipsy’s question.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I move that Ban-Ban and
-Kiku-san be appointed an embassy”—the
-Purrers gasped at
-this hard word—“to wait on
-Lois and Rob in their own
-homes. They will be able, I am
-sure, to get the children to follow
-them here, and when they come
-we shall be able to talk to them,
-for you know that when they pass
-the gate of Purrington they will
-at once understand our speech.
-Will the Purrers who are in favour
-of asking Ban-Ban and Kiku-san
-to return to their old homes, and
-to bring Lois and Rob to visit us
-here, please signify it by holding
-up their right paws and saying:
-‘Mew!’”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>A chorus of mews filled the
-air, and right paws waved like
-a grove of pussy-willows.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Contrary-minded, spit!” said
-Doctor Traddles, and waited.
-Not a spit was heard.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“It is a vote!” announced the
-Doctor. “Ban-Ban and Kiku-san,
-you are appointed to go to the
-city, the human city, as an embassy
-from Pussy-Cat Town, and
-bring here Lois and Rob to act
-as our advisers and friends henceforth.
-You will set out at your
-earliest convenience.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban ran up to Tommy
-Traddles and shook his paw. “I
-never sufficiently appreciated you,
-Tommy,” he said, “but I see that
-you have tried to give Kiku and
-me happiness, and you have succeeded.
-Count me your devoted
-friend from this day forth.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>And Kiku-san came and rubbed
-his cheek against Tommy’s with
-his soft coo, which at once embarrassed
-the Doctor dreadfully,
-and pleased him beyond words.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>There was a great flurry of
-preparation in Purrington; it was
-exciting to all the Purrers to feel
-that two among them, and one of
-these their founder, were returning
-to the world they had forsaken.
-Many were the messages with
-which Ban-Ban and Kiku-san
-were charged; many the errands
-they were asked to do, should
-time and chance allow them.</p>
-
-<div id='i184'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i184.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>Kiku-san came and rubbed his cheek against Tommy’s.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>Before starting, Kiku-san had
-to wash his beautiful thick white
-suit, for in Purrington it was the
-rule that each one should do his
-own washing.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia and Madam Laura put
-up a lunch for the travellers, although
-the distance was not great,
-and Wutz-Butz tried to teach them
-a certain stroke with the right
-paw, followed instantly by one of
-another sort with the left, which
-he knew, and which he said would
-be sufficient defence against any
-attack which might be made upon
-them on the way.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>But Kiku-san refused to entertain
-the idea of fighting, even in
-self-defence, and Ban-Ban said
-he’d risk his four slender, fast legs
-to take him out of reach of
-danger, and so Wutz-Butz had to
-give up his purpose of teaching
-them the noble art of self-defence,
-to his own great disappointment.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Purrington gave its ambassadors
-a farewell dinner. Mr. S.
-Katz furnished it with his most
-delicious meats, and all the ladies
-in town cooked for it. It was
-such a tremendous dinner that the
-idea of carrying a luncheon on
-their journey seemed really funny
-to Ban-Ban and Kiku-san; they
-ate so much at the dinner that
-they could not fancy themselves
-ever again being hungry.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>When the banquet ended all
-the cats rose from their chairs,
-and raising their glasses of distilled
-catnip high in the air, and
-keeping time with their left
-paws on the table to the gliding
-air of “Flow Gently,
-Sweet Afton,” sang this farewell
-song:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c019'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Go forth to your old friends, dear cats, from the new,</div>
-      <div class='line'>For Purrington sends you, an embassy true;</div>
-      <div class='line'>We hope that for your sakes the children may be</div>
-      <div class='line'>The guide and the stay of our Pussy city.</div>
-      <div class='line'>Then hasten, O Ban-Ban, your steps, for you know</div>
-      <div class='line'>How blank our days and our nights when you go,</div>
-      <div class='line'>For white Kiku-san and our Founder Maltese</div>
-      <div class='line'>Are Purrington’s glory, so hasten back—please!</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Delay not, though tempted with cushions of silk;</div>
-      <div class='line'>The world’s cream is rich, but we give you love’s milk,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And better plain fare, when it’s seasoned with love,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Than banquets of kings, whom a cat’s look may prove.</div>
-      <div class='line'>Then speed ye in going, but speed ye more fast</div>
-      <div class='line'>When your whiskers are pointed due homeward at last;</div>
-      <div class='line'>Defeated, triumphant, we’ll hail your return;</div>
-      <div class='line'>With love for you, dear cats, our feline hearts burn.”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 id='ch09' class='c014'>CHAPTER IX<br /><span class='c018'>VISITORS TO PURRINGTON</span></h2>
-</div>
-<div class='c011'>
-  <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-dc-b.jpg' width='100' height='157' alt='' />
-</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'>
-Ban-Ban and Kiku-san
-started out from Purrington
-at a good pace,
-swinging along through
-the wood-path and out into the
-open road. At least Kiku swung;
-he had a very swinging gait, but
-Ban-Ban trotted along with his
-usual businesslike air. As they
-put behind them more and more
-length of road, and the way ahead
-shortened, their speed increased,
-driven onward by their impatience
-to get home. For these two
-petted cats found themselves
-thinking of their old home as
-“home,” and not Purrington.
-Nor was this strange, since they
-had been so short a time in Purrington,
-and had spent all the rest
-of their lives being made much of
-by the children to whom they
-were hastening.</p>
-
-<div id='i189'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i189.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>Their speed increased.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>They met with no particular
-adventures. Once a dog chased
-them up a tree, and again they
-had to run away from an old lady
-in a victoria, who, seeing this pair
-of beautiful cats hurrying along
-the road, side by side, ordered
-her driver to stop and let her try
-to catch them. She was a cat-lover, but to
-Ban-Ban and Kiku-san’s
-minds as much to be dreaded
-as the dog. However, they had
-no difficulty in getting away from
-her, since she was past the age of
-rapid running, and her dignity
-forbade her chasing cats a long
-distance down the public way.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Timid Kiku-san began to be
-exhausted from the nervousness
-of his journey, but Ban-Ban kept
-up his heart and urged him on,
-knowing quite well himself that
-there was considerable risk in
-travelling alone and unprotected.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>But this only made that spirited
-cat hasten the faster, and, as they
-drew near the city, impatience
-seemed to wing each of the eight
-dusty paws, and they broke into a
-run, and reached the rear of their
-former homes—they stood side
-by side, you know—half an hour
-at least before they had calculated
-on being there.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>They sat down under the fence
-to get their breath and brush up
-their dusty clothes. It was hard
-work to do this, for they could
-hear plainly the voices of Rob
-and Lois shouting to each other
-in play, and burned to rush into
-their arms.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>It was a very hasty toilet that
-the travellers made. Ban-Ban
-sprang to his feet, shook out the
-places in his fur which his rapid
-licking had flattened, and cried:
-“Come on, Kiku; I won’t wait
-another minute!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Kiku-san arose, shook himself
-also, and said: “You don’t suppose
-I want to wait, do you?
-Lois is just on the other side of
-that fence!” Cold print cannot
-convey the happiness in white
-Kiku-san’s voice.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>They sprang together to the
-top of the fence. Here they
-paused a moment to look with
-purring hearts down on the old
-garden. There was the pink-bordered
-flower-bed; among its
-fragrant pinks Kiku-san had always
-loved to take his nap after
-lunch, when the shadow rested
-there. And there was the fountain,
-on the edge of which Ban-Ban
-had loved to sit and see his
-saucy short face reflected in the
-water, and from which he had
-been rescued once, just in time,
-in his early kittenhood. And
-there, running like colts around
-the corner of the house, came
-Lois and Rob!</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>That sight brought the cats
-down from the fence in a twinkling,
-and side by side they ran
-forward, backs and tails up, joy
-sparkling on their very whisker-tips.
-Rob and Lois stopped abruptly
-and gazed at the cats.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Then the garden rang with
-their shout: “It’s Kiku! Kiku-san
-and Bannie-Ban!” screamed
-Lois. “Kiku, my darling, Kiku,
-you lamb-cat, where have you
-been all this time?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>She gathered the happy, purring
-white creature into her arms
-and showered kisses on him, murmuring
-the while, too delighted
-to utter words. And Kiku-san
-rubbed his face against Lois’s,
-and purred and purred, and gave
-little mews and coos of rapture,
-till Lois knew the truth—that
-he was as glad to see her again
-as she was to get him back.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Rob’s face turned dark red
-with emotion when he saw Ban-Ban,
-whom he had given up as
-dead or lost for ever. “Why,
-Ban-Ban!” he managed to say,
-but he could hardly speak.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban spread his fore feet</p>
-
-<div id='i195'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i195.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>She gathered the happy, purring white creature into her arms.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>wide apart and put down the
-top of his head between them
-till it rested on the ground as he
-saw Rob coming toward him; this
-was Ban’s old way of showing
-pleasure, and it upset Rob completely.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Boys cannot cry when they
-feel strongly, but Rob was dangerously
-near tears of joy. He
-gathered silky Ban-Ban into his
-arms, Ban-Ban flattening his
-body against Rob’s in his old
-way till he fitted Rob like a
-Russian squirrel coat. Rob hid
-his excited face in Ban-Ban’s
-close, fine fur. “Ah, Ban!” was
-all he said, but Ban understood;
-it was quite enough, and he
-purred so loud he could have
-been heard all over the garden,
-for Ban-Ban was a wonderful
-songster.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>After awhile the children were
-able to talk—indeed, they were
-not able to stop talking. They
-both chattered at once, exclaiming
-over the sleek and prosperous
-look the two beloveds wore, and
-their entire indifference to the
-food brought them. Where could
-they have been? Ban-Ban and
-Kiku-san ran into their respective
-houses ahead of the children.
-Like a flash Ban-Ban rushed
-from room to room, seeing that
-nothing was changed, and seeing,
-too, that there was no other cat
-nor smallest kitten in the house
-taking his place. Rob was constant
-to him. It was a great temptation
-to settle down in comfort
-and love, and never to return
-to Purrington! And yet not a
-great temptation, either, when he
-remembered the Purrers all waiting
-his return, and leaning on him
-as their Founder.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Kiku-san looked up into Lois’s
-face as he strolled from room to
-room in his house, finding, as
-Ban-Ban was finding, his place
-still empty. He was so glad to
-get home that it seemed to him
-that he never, never could go
-back to Purrington. He thought
-with dread of the perils of the
-journey which he was to take
-twice again, if he returned—for
-he had made up his mind that,
-with or without Ban-Ban, he was
-coming back to Lois when his duty
-toward the Purrers was done.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>He looked up into Lois’s face.
-It was just the same sweet, old-fashioned
-little face as ever. Her
-brown hair, fine and straight, was
-tied with just the same big, soft
-ribbon; her eyes, as blue as the
-ribbon, looked at him with just
-the same look of devoted love.
-White Kiku mewed aloud, thinking,
-with pity for himself, how
-long it had been since he had
-seen this dear little gentle face.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Rob and Ban-Ban had a game
-of hide-and-seek that night before
-they went to bed. It made the
-Maltese cat quite crazy with joy
-to hear the whistle again which
-he had heard from his kittenhood,
-and to dash up and down-stairs,
-looking behind portières
-and doors for Rob, in the old
-way. And he puffed like a little
-gray porpoise from sheer excitement
-when he found Rob, and
-the boy darted out at him and
-chased him down-stairs, where
-Ban-Ban would scuttle into a
-place of hiding in his own turn
-and lie, with close-wrapped tail,
-while Rob looked for him, softly
-calling: “Where is Ban? Why,
-where is Ban?” But Ban-Ban
-knew better than to come out;
-he would lie as still as stillness
-till he was found, and then dash
-at Rob with all his fur on end.
-Oh, it was glorious! Ban-Ban
-thought anew that there were no
-comrades like human ones when
-a cat was lucky enough to find
-the right sort.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban went to sleep at last
-on Rob’s feet. But in the next
-house Kiku-san crept into Lois’s
-arms, just as he had always done,
-both paws around her neck, his
-white cheek pillowed on the little
-girl’s rosy one, and softly purred
-himself to sleep in his quiet voice,
-the kind of purring you can feel
-more plainly than you can hear.
-And Lois was purring, too, in
-her loving little heart, for she had
-mourned bitterly for her lost darling,
-and words could not have
-told how glad she was to have
-him back.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>In the morning, however, Lois
-ran over to see Rob, Kiku-san
-held tight in her arms. “I don’t
-know what ails Kiku,” she cried,
-as soon as Rob and Ban-Ban
-were within hearing. “He acts
-as if he wanted to tell me something
-and make me go somewhere.
-I do wish I could understand.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“That’s queer,” said Rob.
-“Ban-Ban is acting the same
-way. I told him a little while
-ago to go ahead, I’d follow him.
-I’m sure he wants me to go
-somewhere.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban and Kiku-san looked
-at each other, and the children
-thought they were mewing. What
-they were saying, or, what Kiku-san
-was saying, was this: “If
-we’ve got to go back, Ban-Ban,
-we ought to go soon, for those
-Purrers are waiting for us anxiously.
-But I tell you now I am
-coming back here as soon as we
-settle things in Purrington.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“To tell the truth I’ve about
-made up my mind to coming back,
-too,” said Ban-Ban. “But the
-only thing to do now is to hurry
-to Purrington. If only we can
-make these blessed children follow
-us! You see it will be safe
-enough going back by daylight if
-they are with us.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Now do hear them mew!”
-cried Lois, in a worried tone.
-“Kiku, darling, what do you
-want?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Go on, Ban-Ban; I’ll come,”
-said Rob at a venture. “Mamma
-knows I’m going out, and she’ll
-tell your mother, Lois.” You see
-he little thought what was to be
-the end of this walk.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>He went to the outside door
-and set it open. Instantly Ban-Ban
-darted out, followed more
-slowly by Kiku-san, and the children
-went out on the steps and
-watched them. Both cats came
-back, rubbed their heads against
-Lois’s skirt and Rob’s knickerbockers;
-mewed a little; ran
-ahead, came back, and did everything
-that they could think of
-to coax their boy and girl to come
-after them.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Rob took Lois’s hand. “They
-want us,” he said. “It’s queer,
-but we must go.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban immediately stood on
-his head, between his forepaws,
-in his most delighted fashion,
-and Kiku-san said: “M-m-m-m-mmmm!”
-as he always did when
-he was happy. And so the children
-knew that they were doing
-what their beloved cats wanted
-them to do, and followed steadily.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>When they found that Rob
-and Lois fully understood what
-was wanted of them, Ban-Ban and
-Kiku-san stopped looking back at
-them, and swung into a steady,
-rapid trot.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“They know just what they
-want and where it is,” said Rob,
-wondering. Lois was too amazed
-to speak. Still more surprised the
-children grew as the cats took
-them briskly along the road,
-toward the outskirts of the city,
-and finally into the suburbs,
-and, still farther, along a country
-road.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“What can it mean?” said
-Lois, but Rob held her hand tight,
-so she was not much afraid, only
-for the cats when a dog came in
-sight. But there was no mishap,
-and little delay on the way.
-Toward the last of the journey,
-just as they had done in going
-back to their old home, Ban-Ban
-and Kiku-san broke into a run,
-and the two cats and two children
-came in sight of Purrington on
-the trot.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Oh, look, Rob!” cried Lois,
-whose blue eyes were long of
-vision. “There is a city, a tiny
-city, with little, wee houses! What
-can it mean?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>On the walls the children saw
-a great crowd of cats, all waving
-paws and tails, and mewing
-wildly.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“My goodness! I believe it’s
-a city of cats!” gasped Rob,
-dropping Lois’s hand in his
-amazement. “For pity’s sake—”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>But he could get no further, for
-Ban-Ban and Kiku-san dashed
-through the gates of Purrington,
-the children after them, too dazed
-to realize fully the wonderful
-adventure that had befallen
-them.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>And the instant they passed
-the gates it was just as Tommy
-Traddles had said it would be:
-Rob and Lois understood every
-word that the cats on the walls,
-and swarming around their feet,
-were saying. And they discovered
-that what they had taken for
-a chorus of mews was in reality a
-song of welcome, sung to the air
-of “Bonnie Dundee,” with these
-words:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c019'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Welcome, oh, welcome, you are truly well come,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Dear Ban-Ban and Kiku-san, back to your home!</div>
-      <div class='line'>To Purrington first our good Brindle Ban brought,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And sympathy now from our child friends he’s sought.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><i>Chorus:</i> “Then climb on the walls, and wave happy tails;</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>When Ban-Ban attempts he sure never fails;</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>Fling Pussy-Town’s gates wide and mightily mew,</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>Let both cats and children triumphantly through!</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“We waited your coming unable to purr,</div>
-      <div class='line'>While anxious thoughts rumpled our minds and our fur;</div>
-      <div class='line'>Afar off we saw you, and mounted the walls,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Our voices quite hoarse from our eager catcalls!</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'><i>Chorus:</i> “All hail to you, Ban-Ban, and hail, Kiku-san!</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>All hail, little woman, and hail, little man!</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>Our joy shall be full since with us you have part,</div>
-      <div class='line in8'>Kind childhood, kind cathood united in heart!”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 id='ch10' class='c014'>CHAPTER X<br /><span class='c018'>THE PURRERS BESTOW THE FREEDOM OF PURRINGTON</span></h2>
-</div>
-<div class='c011'>
-  <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-dc-t.jpg' width='100' height='158' alt='' />
-</div><p class='drop-capi1_1'>
-The instant that the last
-note of this song had
-died away the Purrers,
-of all sizes and colours,
-surrounded the wonder-stricken
-children. Much as she loved
-cats, Lois shrank against Rob,
-frightened by the unbelievable
-state of things.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>A city of cats! Cats singing
-“Bonnie Dundee,” with real
-English words!</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>But as soon as Lois and Rob
-had had a moment in which to
-adjust themselves to the queer
-adventure befalling them, they
-found that they were beginning
-to have the best time of all their
-lives.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Madam Laura came up, saying:
-“My dears, you don’t know
-how glad we are—Doctor
-Traddles, Bidelia, and myself—to
-see you again.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>It was so funny to hear her
-speaking to them like a grown-up
-lady that Rob and Lois barely
-kept themselves from laughing.
-Then Lois said: “Why, you are
-the three cats we missed from our
-neighbourhood when Ban-Ban and
-Kiku-san disappeared! Look,
-Rob! Here is that beautiful
-tiger-cat—this lady calls him
-Doctor Traddles—and the little
-tortoise-shell who used to play so
-prettily—Bidelia, this lady says
-she is called. We are glad to
-see you, too; we were dreadfully
-worried about you.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“If you will follow us to the
-city hall we have arranged to
-present you with the freedom of
-the city,” said Tommy Traddles,
-bowing his thanks for Lois’s
-anxiety about him.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I wonder what that means,”
-Lois whispered.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I’ve read about it; they used
-to do it in the Middle Ages,”
-Rob whispered back. “I don’t
-know what it means, but it’s a
-great honour.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Tommy Traddles is a scholar;
-he will tell you what it means,
-Rob,” said Ban-Ban, and Rob
-nearly tumbled down, he was so
-surprised to hear his own cat
-speak to him, for so far neither
-Ban-Ban nor Kiku-san had
-spoken directly to the children.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“It means,” said Tommy Traddles,
-promptly, not unwilling to
-reveal his learning, though he
-never tried to display it, “it means
-this: While you stay with us, and
-always on all the other visits which
-we hope you will make often,
-everything in Purrington is yours:
-our houses, our shops, our services
-are entirely yours. We desire to
-beg you to accompany us to the
-city hall to receive this freedom
-with proper ceremonies.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Thank you very much,” said
-Rob, a trifle dismayed at the prospect
-of taking part in public ceremonies
-in the cats’ city hall. “But
-I don’t understand what this city
-is, nor why Ban-Ban and Kiku-san
-brought us here. Would you
-mind telling us? Because we feel
-queer.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Haven’t you explained Purrington
-to them and why you
-sought them?” demanded Tommy
-Traddles, turning reproachfully
-to Ban-Ban.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Why, how could I?” retorted
-Ban-Ban, “when I couldn’t speak
-to them so that they would understand
-till they had passed our
-gates? It was all we could do
-to get them to follow us here,
-wasn’t it, Rob?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“It certainly was,” said Rob,
-feeling that he must be talking in
-a dream.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Take Rob and Lois to your
-house—yours and Bidelia’s—and
-there tell them the story of
-how we came to be a city. They
-will like to see your house anyway,
-and we can delay the presentation
-of the freedom of the
-city for half an hour,” said
-Tommy Traddles, graciously.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Come, Lois,” said Kiku-san,
-and Lois, recognizing the familiar
-cooing note in his voice, realized
-that he must have often said:
-“Come, Lois,” in the old days,
-before she had understood his
-speech.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>She gladly accompanied the
-dear white cat, while Rob walked
-beside Ban-Ban.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“It tires me to walk long on
-my hind legs, Lois,” said Kiku-san,
-“or I would gladly take your
-hand.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I should like to carry you, if
-you wouldn’t mind,” said Lois,
-doubtfully. “We could talk more
-easily than if I had to bend down
-so very much—and I always
-carried you.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'><a id='progressed'></a>“Certainly, you shall carry me,
-dear,” said Kiku, at once holding
-up his paws. Lois drew him to
-her breast, as she had done in her
-own home; Rob shouldered Ban-Ban,
-and thus they progressed
-comfortably, hearing without difficulty
-the story of the founding of
-Purrington, which was poured into
-their ears by their beloved cats.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“And that is why you went
-away!” cried Rob, admiringly,
-when Ban-Ban had finished the
-story. He regarded the Maltese
-with eyes of new respect as the
-founder of a refuge for the unfortunate
-ones of his kind.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“You darling, darling Kiku-san-chrysanthemum
-blossom!”
-Lois was saying, as she hugged
-Kiku closer. “You don’t know
-how I love you—and Bannie-boy!
-It is such a comfort to
-know that there is a place like this
-where cats can live happily ever
-after! I’m glad you did it,
-though I’ve cried myself ’most
-sick over your going off, and worried
-and worried! Our mothers
-tried to get Rob and me to have
-another kitten, but we just couldn’t
-look at another one! But it’s
-worth it all to have a city for
-poor, friendless cats!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Well, I should think we would
-be the protector, or whatever-you-call-it,
-of Purrington,” Lois
-heard Rob saying to Ban-Ban:
-“We’ll come out here once a
-week, and we’ll bring all kinds
-of things to you—Oh, say,
-Bannie, not to you, though!
-Won’t you come home again, and
-let Purrington be run by the Purrers
-without you? You’ve got it
-started, and Lois and I can’t
-stand it without you and Kiku-san.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban put his mouth close to
-Rob’s ear and whispered.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“You’re the stuff!” Rob cried,
-joyously, and Lois knew it was
-going to be all right, even before
-Kiku whispered to her: “I
-couldn’t stay away from you to
-save my life, Lois. We’re going
-back when you do.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The children could not get
-inside of Bidelia’s house, but they
-surveyed the rooms through the
-windows, and were delighted with
-the tiny, cosy arrangements, and
-its neatness. The three kittens
-were led forth by Bidelia, very
-beautiful to behold in fresh ribbons,
-but Puttel and Dolly each
-had a paw in her mouth for shyness.
-The instant they saw the
-children they forgot to be shy,
-but ran at once to them to be
-petted. Lois gathered Puttel and
-Dolly up into her neck, and here
-they remained through the ceremonies
-at the city hall, while
-Nugget, who was, now that he
-had been freed from Scamp’s
-influence, the same good, obedient
-little Nugget as of old, sat on
-Rob’s other shoulder, where Ban-Ban
-good-naturedly tolerated him.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The city hall had been hung
-with flowers—the late flowers of
-September—and all the Purrers
-were seated in the body of the
-hall when Rob and Lois arrived.
-Tommy Traddles, ’Clipsy, Wutz-Butz,
-and two of the old cats met
-them at the door and escorted
-them to the seats of honour on
-the platform, where Mrs. Brindle
-was already seated, as another
-distinguished and useful guest of
-Purrington, to Lois’s great dismay,
-for she was in mortal terror
-of a cow. But, when Ban-Ban
-and Kiku-san introduced Rob
-and Lois to Brindle, Lois saw at
-once that her fears were foolish.
-A sweeter-eyed, more gentle-appearing
-person than Mrs. Brindle
-it had never been her fortune to
-meet, and the Extract of New
-Mown Hay, and Sweet Clover
-with which she seemed to be perfumed
-made her sweet in another
-sense. So Lois took the chair
-placed for her between Rob and
-Brindle without a qualm, and
-looked at the meeting with the
-greatest interest. Such a lot of
-cats, and such nice, happy, sleek
-ones she had never seen before.
-Mr. S. Katz, the butcher, sat
-directly in front of the platform,
-and his prosperity stood out about
-his stout person like a rich garment.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Please pinch me, Rob—not
-too hard,” whispered Lois, leaning
-over to hold out her little pink
-palm to Rob, as she realized that
-this was a cats’ City Hall, that
-this was a meeting held by cats
-to honour them, and that she was
-seated on the platform beside the
-cats’ cow, with her own Kiku-san,
-as well as Ban-Ban, Tommy
-Traddles, Wutz-Butz, ’Clipsy, and
-two other cats whose names she
-did not know on the platform
-with her as a committee.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“You pinch back,” whispered
-Rob, obediently giving Lois a
-little nip and then holding out to
-her his own square, brown hand.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>It would be impossible to give
-the speeches made on this occasion.
-Doctor Traddles surpassed
-all his previous flights of scholarship
-in a review of the ancient
-custom of bestowing the freedom
-of a city upon those whom that
-city wished to honour. Rob and
-Lois found themselves bowing
-deeply to the assembled Purrers,
-and Rob made a speech of thanks,
-not nearly as long and clever as
-Tommy Traddles, but which was
-received with the kindest attention
-and applause by the Purrers.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Then Rob and Lois gave their
-solemn promise always to stand
-by Purrington, to visit it often,
-and in every way to give it the
-best of their advice and help,
-which would be more valuable
-every year as they grew from little
-children into big boy and girl, and
-then into manhood and woman-hood.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>With this pledge, which the
-Purrers hailed with a perfect
-storm of shouts and applause, the
-ceremonies ended, and pure fun
-was the order of the day.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Rob and Lois went through all
-the streets, saw Tommy Traddles’s
-school,—through its windows, of
-course,—S. Katz’s shop, with its
-fresh food temptingly displayed
-for sale; the other shops, and all
-the houses, for not a Purrer of
-Purrington was there who would
-not have felt slighted if Rob
-and Lois had not visited his
-home.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The children rested in the
-park, which was right in the
-middle of the city, that afternoon,
-and Lois had never had such a
-beautiful, kitteny time in all her life.
-Every kitten in Purrington came
-out and got up into her lap, and
-over her shoulders, and sat on her
-back, their downy fur brushing
-her cheeks and hands and arms
-until Lois felt that she could
-hardly bear the delight of it, and
-Kiku-san did not half like it, for
-he always was a bit inclined to
-jealousy.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>That evening there was a ball
-given in the hall, to which everybody
-went, even the smallest
-kitten, for this was a great day in
-the annals of Purrington!</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>First the kittens danced their
-funny, pretty cotillion figure which
-they had given at Bidelia’s tea,
-and Rob and Lois went nearly
-out of their minds with delight
-over it. Then all the cats came
-out on the floor to dance, and the
-children discovered that they
-should have to dance with each
-cat, Rob with the ladies, and
-Lois with the gentlemen, or else
-offend some one mortally. It was
-not clear to them at first how they
-should manage it, because there
-really was a great difference—more
-than three feet—between
-their height and their partners’!
-But when they discovered that
-they were expected to whirl about
-with their partners in their arms,
-it became very simple, though not
-any less queer to be waltzing one’s
-very best with a cat talking pleasantly
-in one’s arms;—light, society
-conversation, suited to one’s
-partner at a ball,—while a black
-cat played the violin for the
-dancing in a manner that would
-have made a cigar-store Indian
-“tread the mazy.”</p>
-
-<div id='i227'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i227.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>A black cat played the violin.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>It was a beautiful and painfully
-funny sight to watch the
-Purrers dancing together. They
-were so graceful, so full of the
-real waltzing spirit, that the children
-gave up all hope of ever
-again admiring human dancing.
-It was pleasant also to dance
-the square dances that night,
-with seven smiling cats making
-up the set! Rob and Lois did
-not once dance in the same set,
-to divide their attentions as much
-as possible. It was like a dream
-of a puss-in-the-corner game to
-cross over, balance corners, swing
-partners and opposites, when there
-came forward to meet you a large,
-beautiful, joyous cat, gaily bedecked
-with an immense bow.
-Lois reflected that her hair-ribbons
-were the only thing about
-her costume suitable to such a
-beautiful ball, and Rob’s stout
-gray cheviot knickerbockers and
-pleated jacket looked suddenly
-very clumsy, among the sleek and
-shining fur around him.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Suddenly the Purrers began to
-sing as they danced, and the children
-found themselves singing with
-them, though they did not understand
-where they had learned the
-words. For this is what they
-were singing, to the air of “Pop
-Goes the Weasel:”</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c019'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Paws around and forward and back,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Balance to corners lightly;</div>
-      <div class='line'>When pussy-cats the lanciers attack,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>It is a sight most sightly.</div>
-      <div class='line'>Swing your partner, tails enlinked,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Lady in the centre;</div>
-      <div class='line'>Each beau must keep his whiskers prinked</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>If he would content her.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Paw to partner, right and left,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Halt half-way for bowing;</div>
-      <div class='line'>While you glide through, swift and deft,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Keep the tune miauwing!</div>
-      <div class='line'>Chassé all, a two-step dance,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Each with partner mated,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Then to supper gaily prance—</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>You’ll find tables freighted.”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 id='ch11' class='c014'>CHAPTER XI<br /><span class='c018'>AN ELECTION AND A DEFECTION</span></h2>
-</div>
-<div class='c011'>
-  <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-dc-i.jpg' width='100' height='157' alt='' />
-</div><p class='drop-capi0_6'>
-It was just a little dismaying
-to the children
-at the close of the ball
-to be suddenly brought
-face to face with the fact that
-they were going to spend the
-night in Purrington. Because
-there really was not any arrangement
-for the sort of night which
-up to this moment Lois and Rob
-had considered the only kind of
-night which one could spend.
-Bedsteads, for instance, had heretofore
-been as much a part of
-their idea of night as was the setting
-of the sun and coming on of
-darkness; but, though there was
-plenty of soft bedding and good
-mattresses, or, rather, beds, of
-straw and leaves, there was not
-a bedstead in Purrington. Then,
-too, there was much to be desired—from
-the children’s view-point—in
-the arrangements for bathing.
-They could not imagine
-how they were to wash their
-faces and hands in the same way
-that the Purrers did—and yet
-was there any other way? Lois
-delicately tried her tongue on the
-knuckle of her left forefinger, and
-instantly felt sure that she could
-not manage to bathe in cat fashion.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>But the cats who had lived
-among nice human beings, Bidelia,
-Madam Laura, and Ban-Ban
-and Kiku-san, themselves
-solved the doubts that were filling
-their guests’ minds by telling
-them that in the morning
-they would lead them down to
-the river Meuse, “where they
-could wet their faces and hands
-all they pleased,” said Kiku-san,
-with a shudder.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The children were to sleep in
-the city hall, that being the only
-building in the place large enough
-to hold them, and Bidelia with
-her kittens, Madam Laura, Tommy
-Traddles, ’Clipsy, Wutz-Butz, and,
-of course, their own dear cats,
-were to stay with them through
-the night. After they had lain
-down in the beds provided for
-them, Lois and Rob found that
-they were very comfortable indeed.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban, Tommy Traddles,
-’Clipsy, and little Nugget slept
-around Rob, fitting themselves
-beautifully and cosily around and
-into the curves of his body. Of
-course Kiku-san crept into Lois’s
-arms, but Madam Laura, Bidelia,
-and Dolly Varden and Puttel
-added themselves to her couch,
-and the little girl fell asleep,
-supremely happy, for the more
-cats the merrier Lois was—she
-never could get enough of their
-purr and their fur.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Wutz-Butz stayed awake, on
-guard all night.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The entire party was awakened
-early by the kittens, who were
-ready to play before the sun was
-fairly up. But it did not matter;
-every one was perfectly rested,
-and it was to be such a busy day
-that it was necessary to make it
-a long one in order to get into it
-all that must be done.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bathing in the Meuse proved
-to be a pleasant experience, and
-breakfast was delicious eaten under
-the trees. As soon as it was
-cleared away, all the cats seated
-themselves in a circle and waited,
-washing their paws and faces once
-in awhile, but very lightly, much
-as human beings use finger-bowls
-after meals, and only to occupy
-the time.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Tommy Traddles came forward
-at last and addressed Rob
-and Lois.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“We should like your advice
-on matters which are most important,”
-he said. “First of all, we
-shall be cold here in the winter.
-How shall we warm our houses?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Rob considered a few moments,
-while Lois looked at him
-anxiously; for the life of her she
-could not see how it was to be
-done.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I think,” said Rob, looking
-up, suddenly, with a bright smile
-of relief, “I think you had better
-move all your houses together and
-take down one wall of each, so
-that they will be turned into one
-big house. Then, I think, you
-ought to have a chimney right in
-the middle of that one big house
-and keep a fire in it, and let everybody
-in the city live in that house.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Wouldn’t it be hard to move
-all these houses?” asked Lois.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Not a bit,” said the black and
-white cat who had helped to carry
-Dolly Varden on the day the pilgrims
-had come to the site of the
-present city; he was the head of
-the carpenter cats. “Not a bit,
-ma’am. We’d just as soon move
-them houses as not—there ain’t
-no work doin’ now, and we carpenters
-hate bein’ idle. Them
-houses was built so quick you
-wouldn’t think it, and they can
-be moved as easy as catchin’ a
-small mouse. The boy’s got a
-good notion; I reccymend we
-take it up.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“The question arises,” began
-Tommy Traddles, his English
-sounding more elegant than ever
-after the slips of the carpenter
-cat, who had been only a street
-waif, “whether we could manage
-the fire. We could easily feed
-it, but could we build it?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” said
-Rob, enthusiastically. “I’ll get a
-friend of my father’s who has
-lived among all sorts of people
-in Africa and India, and—and—oh,
-all sorts of queer people—Eskimos,
-I guess, and Alaska Indians,
-I’ll get him to tell me how
-to build a clay chimney and strike
-a fire from flint. Then I’ll come
-and build your chimney myself,
-and I’ll let the fire go out and
-build it up new every week when
-I come, so all you’ll have to do is
-to feed it. But I’ll teach you how
-to rub stones together to get fire,—when
-I’ve learned myself,—and
-if it ever happened that it
-went out, you could light another.
-You mightn’t have matches, but
-you can always get stones. I
-guess you’ll be all right that
-way.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“More than all right,” said
-Tommy Traddles, with a look of
-relief on his part, for he had
-been worried over the approach
-of cold weather and the prospect
-of the Purrers having no heat.
-All the Purrers applauded Rob’s
-wisdom and noble promise to help
-them, and Ban-Ban’s fur stood up
-with pride, while he looked an
-“I-told-you-so” to the assembled
-cats.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“We can bring out lots of
-woollen things and some wadding,”
-said Lois, longing to be
-useful too.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Madam Laura smiled at her,
-understanding her feeling. “My
-dear little girl,” she said, “you
-will do a great deal more than
-bring us warm things; we shall
-depend upon you for more than
-you dream of now.” And Lois
-was comforted even while she remembered
-how queer it was to
-be comforted in this grandmotherly
-way by a particularly small cat.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“City government?” suggested
-’Clipsy to Tommy Traddles, reminding
-him.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I am coming to that,” said the
-doctor. “So far we have not
-adopted any form of government;
-nothing has happened that required
-laws. But, as time goes
-on and Purrington grows into a
-big city, we think we ought to
-adopt a government. What sort
-do you advise?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Rob tried to look wise, but
-only succeeded in looking embarrassed,
-his face flushing darkly
-to his hair. You see he was but
-nine years old, and it flattered
-him tremendously to be consulted—by
-a Doctor of Claws, too!—on
-such a serious matter. He
-did not know what to say, but he
-made a wise speech to begin with,
-and was encouraged to go on by
-the approving looks it won him.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Well, you see,” he began,
-“no cat ever minds anybody. If
-he does what you tell him to it’s
-only because you happened to tell
-him to do something he meant to
-do before. So I don’t see the
-use of making laws for the Purrers.
-You’d better trust ’em to
-do what’s right, because they see
-it’s best for everybody. Cats are
-freemen, every one of ’em. So
-I’d have just a mayor and some
-Purrers to advise him, and let it
-go at that. I’m sorry I don’t
-know much about politics,” Rob
-added, apologetically.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“You couldn’t have said anything
-more clever!” cried Tommy
-Traddles, in high delight, while
-all the cats miauwed frantically,
-and Ban-Ban couldn’t resist standing
-on his head between his front
-paws, though he had never let the
-Purrers see him do this, fearing
-it was undignified in their
-founder.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Those are my sentiments!”
-cried ’Clipsy, while Wutz-Butz
-remarked in a deep, admiring
-bass: “He might have been a
-cat himself, he knows us so well!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Then how shall we elect a
-mayor?” asked Tommy Traddles.
-“Who would be your first choice,
-Purrers?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Ban-Ban, Ban-Ban!” arose on
-all sides. “He is the founder of
-Purrington, and he must be our
-first mayor,” cried Posty, to which
-they all shouted: “Must be!
-Must be!” like a great mew.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“It is impossible for me to
-serve,” said Ban-Ban, with deep
-emotion. “I thank you more than
-I can say. I appreciate the honour
-done me, and shall never forget
-it. But I cannot serve. I positively
-decline. May I suggest
-that the Purrers allow Rob to appoint
-their first mayor? Then
-no one can feel that his neighbours
-have preferred another to
-him. You elected me as your
-founder, and I thank you, but
-unless the founder has a claim
-there is no one whom you would
-like to pick out to honour above
-his fellows. So let Rob choose
-your mayor.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Ban-Ban is always clear-sighted,”
-remarked Kiku-san to
-Lois.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I would appoint Doctor
-Thomas Traddles—” began Rob,
-but got no further. There was a
-storm of applause, and the meeting
-saw the remarkable spectacle
-of a second election by acclaim,
-as it is called. Tommy Traddles
-was thus appointed Purrington’s
-first mayor.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Why wouldn’t you serve, Ban-Ban?”
-asked Bidelia, suspiciously.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Ban-Ban faced the meeting.
-His whiskers quivered, his fur
-arose, and his breath came quick
-and short as it always did when
-he was stirred.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“My friends,” he said, and the
-Purrers turned to look at him;
-every cat there caught instantly
-the emotion in his voice. “My
-friends,” Ban-Ban said, “I must
-tell you why I refused the honour
-which you would have done me.
-To-night, when Rob and Lois go
-home Kiku-san and I are going
-with them.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Dead silence fell upon the
-meeting at these words, and from
-its outer edge a long moo broke
-from Brindle like a sob. Then
-a growl ran around the circle,
-deepening into a louder growl,
-like thunder, and every cat sprang
-to his feet in wrath and dismay.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Going back on us like that?”
-demanded Wutz-Butz, tragically.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Oh, Bannie!” said Madam
-Laura, but the words contained
-volumes, and Bidelia sobbed into
-her party-coloured paws, while
-every kitten present broke into
-a chorus of pathetic mews. It
-was most moving, and Ban-Ban
-trembled from head to foot.</p>
-
-<div id='i246'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i246.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>Bidelia sobbed.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Dear friends, listen,” he said.
-“I am not deserting you, as Wutz-Butz
-seems to think. Every week
-I shall come here with Rob and
-Lois—they promise faithfully to
-bring us, Kiku and me. I planned
-this city; all summer I have
-here, leaving the boy I owned—”
-Rob stared at this way of putting
-it—“to miss me and mourn for
-me, and Kiku has done likewise
-with his girl. I have brought
-them here to be the aid and
-reliance of us all. They love us;
-we have had the happiest home
-with them all our lives, and we
-miss them. They are most unhappy
-without us—do you not
-think, dear Purrers, considering
-that every week Rob and Lois
-are coming here, that all their
-lives they are going to protect and
-befriend this city of cats, that you
-can repay them to a tiny degree
-by consenting to give up to them
-two of your number?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Ah, but these two!” murmured
-Bidelia.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The cats all wiped their eyes
-with their forepaws. “We consent,”
-said the Purrers, sobbing,
-and Dolly Varden put her paws
-around Lois’s neck.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I don’t blame them,” said that
-sweet kitten. “Take me, too!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Away from your mother?”
-asked Kiku-san, not at all
-minded to have even dear little
-Dolly share with him Lois’s
-love.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Then, since it must be, let us
-pass the rest of the day as merrily
-as we can,” said Tommy Traddles.
-“Let us sing my favourite air—you
-know it as ‘’Way Down
-Upon the Swanee River,’ Rob
-and Lois.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>And then the cats sang the
-following song:</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c019'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“When all the little willow catkins</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Had run away,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And birch leaves clapped their tiny patkins,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Like summer rain at play,</div>
-      <div class='line'>Then Ban-Ban led us where the flowers</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Smiled through the dews,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And bade us spend long, happy hours</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Beside our river Meuse.</div>
-      <div class='line'>Ah, we cats will love him ever,</div>
-      <div class='line in4'>Absent though he be;</div>
-      <div class='line'>Cats’ mem’ries are forgetful never</div>
-      <div class='line in4'>Of good, nor cruelty.</div>
-    </div>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“Go, then, dear Ban, since we must lend you—</div>
-      <div class='line in4'>Lend, but not give!</div>
-      <div class='line'>We’ll purr our prayers that good attend you,</div>
-      <div class='line in4'>All the long days you live.</div>
-      <div class='line'>And when each week that rolls shall bring you</div>
-      <div class='line in4'>To our pussy clan,</div>
-      <div class='line'>May all good fairies guide and wing you,</div>
-      <div class='line in4'>Ban and sweet Kiku-san.</div>
-      <div class='line'>So this day sees not our parting,</div>
-      <div class='line in4'>We’ll banish pain;</div>
-      <div class='line'>Ban-Ban and Kiku-san, departing,</div>
-      <div class='line in4'>Go but to come again.”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='pbb'>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<div class='chapter'>
-  <h2 id='ch12' class='c014'>CHAPTER XII<br /><span class='c018'>WEDDING-BELLS AND BRIEF FAREWELLS</span></h2>
-</div>
-<div class='c011'>
-  <img class='drop-capi' src='images/i-dc-t.jpg' width='100' height='158' alt='' />
-</div><p class='drop-capi1'>
-There’s nothing harder
-than deciding on how to
-have a good time when
-one deliberately sets out
-to have one. A good time seems
-to be a fine sort of thief, which
-must come upon one unawares
-and steal away heaviness of
-heart.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Having made up their minds
-to giving back Ban-Ban and
-Kiku-san to Rob and Lois, except
-for the weekly visit to Purrington
-which all four had pledged
-themselves to make, and having
-resolved on having the very best
-kind of time until the close of
-that day when their guests and
-the beloved cats started for their
-first home, the Purrers did not
-know how to begin having it.
-They were in danger of standing
-around discussing what to do instead
-of pitching into the good
-time without delay, just as children
-sometimes do, when something
-happened.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Down the road that led to
-Purrington two dots were seen
-moving nearer. When they had
-come decidedly nearer the two
-dots turned into two cats hurrying
-along. One was snowy white,
-as the sunshine revealed, and the
-other was a Maltese.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Here come your doubles, Ban
-and Kiku!” cried Bidelia.</p>
-
-<div id='i252'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i252.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>Had often sat on a big volume of Shakespeare.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>The Purrers were quite used
-by this time to the arrival of
-strangers coming out from the
-human city to seek the peace and
-safety of Purrington, but this pair
-looked very different from most
-of the arrivals. The refugees
-who joined the Purrers were
-more than likely to come with
-“lean and hungry look,” like Cassius.
-Indeed Tommy Traddles,
-who had often sat on a big volume
-of Shakespeare during his
-youth, and who thus had learned
-to know the poet well, named one
-of these strangers Cassius for that
-reason. But this pair of cats
-arriving now were glossy, sleek,
-plump, and most elegant to behold,
-and the Purrers wondered at them
-as they waved their paws, making
-them welcome and signalling them
-to enter the gates of the city.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The Maltese cat came up to
-the Purrers with a jaunty air.
-He was strikingly like Ban-Ban,
-with the same short, Maltese-kind
-of nose and the same up-and-coming
-air which the Founder wore,
-but the Purrers and Lois and
-Rob thought he was not quite as
-beautiful in figure.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The white cat accompanying
-him hung back shyly. She had
-a less delicate face, more chubby
-than Kiku-san’s, but she had his
-gentle air.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Gentlemen, your servant,” said
-the Maltese cat, bowing to the
-Purrers with an impressive air,
-and expressing himself in a manner
-which at once betrayed the
-fact that he had lived with a family
-where English classics were
-read aloud. “My name is Ods
-Bobs, gentlemen; it is a name as
-old as the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
-This lady is called Lady
-Blanche. We lived in the same
-house in town; one of us had
-been brought up by one old
-maiden sister, the other by the
-other. Lady Blanche and I were
-looking forward to being married
-and living happily ever after,
-looking forward to spending our
-lives together to their end, just as
-we had spent them together thus
-far from kittenhood, when—imagine
-our horror!—I learned
-that the person who had brought
-me up intended sending me away
-to her brother’s little girl, while
-Lady Blanche stayed on with her
-protector! It was not possible
-to submit to such a fate! We
-made up our minds to run away;
-of course to run away together.
-And where were we so likely to
-run as to Purrington, of which
-we had heard such glowing accounts
-from other cats? So we
-came; here we are! Will you
-receive us among you?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Gladly,” cried all the Purrers.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Isn’t that the very strangest
-thing, that another Maltese cat
-and this little white lady should
-come here just when we are taking
-away Ban-Ban and Kiku-san?”
-whispered Lois to Rob. “It looks
-as if they had come to take their
-places,” she added, as Rob nodded
-his assent to her question.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Then we will gladly stay,”
-Ods Bobs went on. “But one
-thing more. We were to have
-had a pretty wedding on the day
-after to-morrow—no end of
-guests were invited. We can get
-on without the guests and the
-prettiness, but we should like a
-wedding, and to set up housekeeping
-for ourselves at once.
-Can we be married here?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The Purrers looked at one
-another, puzzled. There had been
-no demand for such a thing before,
-and they were at a loss how
-to answer. Then they looked at
-Rob for a suggestion.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I think the mayor can marry
-them,” Rob began, slowly, but was
-interrupted by Bidelia’s little excited
-mew as she ran over to
-throw her paws around Lady
-Blanche’s neck, who was blushing
-till the tip of her pink nose was
-rosy red.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“The mayor!” cried Bidelia.
-“Tommy Traddles—the very
-thing! We’ll give you the loveliest
-wedding, my dear! Come,
-Laura! Come, all lady Purrers,
-and the kittens! We must gather
-quantities of catnip and make
-garlands for the hall. And order
-all the ribbon there is at the shop.
-Won’t you come with us, Lady
-Blanche; we shall want to ask
-you something every five minutes.
-Why, you’re not much older than
-my girls!”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I’m nine months old,” said
-Lady Blanche, through her
-blushes.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Puttel and Dolly Varden are
-six months old—I’m only
-eighteen months old myself. We’ll
-have a lovely wedding! I wish
-my husband was here, but he
-won’t come for a month. He
-went to the country with the
-family he owns very early this
-year, and hasn’t got back. Come
-along, my dears,” said Bidelia,
-hurrying away.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The Purrers had never seen
-Bidelia so excited, and the gentlemen
-of the place looked at
-one another, feeling very useless
-indeed, as the ladies ran off, attended
-by all the kittens.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I think we ought to offer to
-help them,” said Lois. “Rob,
-Ban-Ban, Kiku-san dearie, let us
-go after them and ask Bidelia if
-we can’t help trim the hall.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>It seemed queer to ask such a
-small cat as Bidelia if she couldn’t
-make use of them in some way,
-but the children were getting used
-to queer things, and to taking the
-lower place with cats, as mere
-mortals should.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Bidelia said if they would wait
-until the kittens came back with
-the catnip, which they had gone
-to gather in the Public Gardens,
-she would be willing to let them
-help twist the garlands and hang
-them around the hall. Bidelia
-took the lead in these arrangements,
-as she was most fitted to
-do, by reason of her youth and
-taste, as well as her experience.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“How often we shall talk over
-these wonderful happenings in
-Purrington after we get home,
-you and I, and our two Blessings,”
-observed Lois, as they waited for
-the catnip.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“We shall not talk to you—or
-rather you won’t understand
-us—between our visits to Purrington,”
-Ban-Ban reminded her.
-“You understand us a little when
-you’re at home—you often can
-tell what we want—but we
-can’t talk together like this outside
-of Pussy-Cat Town.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I’ve been trying to think of
-everything I want to say to you
-before we leave here to-night,”
-Kiku-san added.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Oh, how horrid!” cried Lois,
-who had forgotten this rule, and
-had been looking forward to long
-talks with Kiku after they were
-tucked away for the night.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“It will only make us enjoy
-our visits to Purrington the more,”
-said Rob, wisely. And then the
-kittens came bringing the catnip,
-and they all fell to work weaving
-the slender leaves and blossoms
-into wreaths and garlands.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>In a short time the hall was
-beautifully hung with green, and
-the odour that filled it would have
-made one of those calico cats,
-stuffed with batting, turn a
-somersault. When the hall was
-trimmed Bidelia, never stopping
-to admire her own handiwork, ran
-off with her kittens at her heels to
-make her own toilet and her
-children’s, and to summon the
-wedding guests.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Not a Purrer was lacking to
-the “large and fashionable gathering
-which filled the hall,” as <i>The
-Weekly Mews</i>, Purrington’s paper,
-stated when it appeared on the
-following Saturday.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>’Clipsy played beautifully on
-his fiddle as the bridal procession
-approached. Rob remembered
-having once seen a picture of a
-Puritan wedding, in which the
-bride was represented as riding
-on a splendid snow-white bull.
-So the Purrers, acting on this
-hint, had got Brindle to allow
-Lady Blanche to ride to her wedding
-on Brindle’s back, and the
-effect of the very small snow-white
-bride clinging to big Brindle’s
-ridge-poled back was most impressive.
-The groom walked at
-the cow’s side, strutting along as
-proud as a cat, a duke, and a
-peacock, all rolled into one—and
-well he might be, for the
-Lady Blanche was lovely.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Tommy Traddles stood on the
-platform waiting the bridal procession.
-It entered the hall, preceded
-by Puttel and Dolly Varden,
-in immense white bows, as
-bridesmaids, and following them
-came Nugget, also in a white bow
-bigger, far, than his head, scattering
-catnip blossoms before the
-happy couple’s softly falling, padded
-feet.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>It was a most beautiful sight,
-and a deep purr rolled around the
-hall as the Purrers gazed admiringly
-at this first wedding in
-Purrington.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Rob had drawn up the marriage
-service, which was brief and
-simple.</p>
-
-<div id='i265'  class='figcenter id002'>
-<img src='images/i265.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
-<div class='ic009'>
-<p>“<i>It was a most beautiful sight.</i>”</p>
-</div>
-</div>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Do you promise, Ods Bobs,”
-Doctor Traddles asked, “to keep
-this cat provided with mice all her
-life? To protect her from dampness,
-crossness, and all other
-things she wouldn’t like, just as
-far as you can? And to love
-her until she is white, not with
-this beautiful young whiteness
-she has now, but with the whiteness
-of old age?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I promise,” said Ods Bobs,
-in a deep voice.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“And do you, Lady Blanche,
-promise to nurse and lick this cat
-if he gets ill, to keep his house,
-and cook his mice and his catnip
-as he likes them, and to love him
-always, and not to spit at him, or
-scratch him ever, but be a good
-wife until you die?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I promise,” mewed Lady
-Blanche so faintly that Tommy
-Traddles had to bend down to
-hear whether she said: “I promise,”
-or “I prefer mice.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>But as her response was the
-right one, Tommy Traddles
-straightened himself and said,
-turning to the audience: “I now
-marry these cats! Lady Blanche,
-give Ods Bobs your paw to hold;
-Ods Bobs, take Lady Blanche’s
-hand. You are now cat and cat,
-cat and wife. Keep your promises
-and be happy for life.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>The Purrers purred together
-the gay tune into which ’Clipsy’s
-fiddle at once broke, and the procession
-left the hall as it had
-entered it, only in retiring Nugget
-did not walk backward, nor behind
-his sisters, but strutted out
-ahead of the bride and groom,
-and of the bridesmaids, as proud
-as Ods Bobs himself.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I’m afraid we ought to start
-for home,” said Rob, regretfully,
-as the Purrers prepared to escort
-the bridal party to the newest
-house in town, which, fortunately,
-had not been rented, and so was
-ready for their use.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“And take Ban-Ban and Kiku-san?”
-cried a Purrer. All the
-cats suddenly remembered their
-sorrow, which the events of the
-past few hours had made them
-almost forget.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Isn’t it strange—and nice—that
-Ods Bobs and Lady Blanche
-have come on the very day we go,
-and that they are white and
-Maltese, like Bannie and Kiku?”
-hinted Lois, comfortingly.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“There are no friends like old
-friends; there can be but one
-Ban-Ban and Kiku-san,” mewed
-the cats in chorus.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“So there can’t,” agreed Rob,
-heartily. “But we’re going to
-bring this one Ban and Kiku
-every week to see you. Don’t
-you think we ought to have just
-one cat, when we love all cats so
-much? And don’t you think it
-ought to be this one, one for each
-of us, that we took care of and
-loved from the time they were
-kittens?”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Oh, it’s all right, Rob, it’s all
-right,” cried the cats, eagerly,
-afraid Rob was offended. “We
-owe you even our best Purrer
-and our Founder—but we are
-sorry enough to let them go.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Say good-bye, friends,” cried
-Ban-Ban, brightly. “Ods Bobs,
-you’ll have to try to look still
-more like me, so they won’t miss
-me! Good-bye, Wutz-Butz; keep
-the town safe! Good-bye, ’Clipsy,
-you fine fellow! Good-bye,
-Tommy Traddles, and good luck
-to your mayoring! Good-bye,
-kind Madam Laura, and good-bye,
-clever, charming Bidelia!
-Good-bye, three kittens, Puttel,
-Dolly, Nugget—keep your mittens;
-remember you are <i>three</i>
-little kittens! And we shall
-never be gone long. Good-bye.”</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Kiku-san silently took each
-paw in turn as it was proffered
-by the Purrers. He was much
-moved, but did not for a moment
-lose sight of the fact that where
-Lois was he must be. The children
-kissed every cat in the city
-between the ears, and renewed
-their promises to protect Purrington.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Then the party of four passed
-out of the city gates.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“I hope you will never be
-sorry, Ban,” said Rob. Ban-Ban
-looked up in his face.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>“Mew,” he said, and Rob remembered
-that, until their return,
-this was all that Ban-Ban and
-Kiku-san would say to Lois and
-him.</p>
-
-<p class='c010'>Looking back, the children and
-their cats saw gathered on the
-walls of the city all the Purrers,
-just as they had seen them
-when they arrived. Again they
-were singing, and though as Rob
-and Lois walked down the road
-they could no longer understand
-the words of the song,
-Ban-Ban and Kiku-san understood
-them, and they were these,
-sung to the air of “My Lady
-Lou:”</p>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c019'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line'>“We watch two shadows wav’ring down the roadway—</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Our Bannie-Ban and Kiku-san;</div>
-      <div class='line'>How heavy on our homeless hearts their load lay</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>When they showed us where the home road ran!</div>
-      <div class='line'>We could not look upon our dear ones going,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Our eyes would burn, our hearts would yearn,</div>
-      <div class='line'>But that we’re comforted in knowing</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>We shall watch when they return.</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c000'>
-    <div><i>Chorus</i>;</div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='lg-container-b c019'>
-  <div class='linegroup'>
-    <div class='group'>
-      <div class='line in2'>“Good-bye, Ban, we’re lending you;</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Good-bye, dear Kiku-san, we’re sending you</div>
-      <div class='line'>But for a little space, then turn your gentle face</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Toward Pussy-Town, where love awaits.</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Here we’ll live in joy and peace,</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>But you will bring us joy’s increase,</div>
-      <div class='line'>And when these children come, they’ll hear our loud purrs hum</div>
-      <div class='line in2'>Through Purrington’s wide open gates.”</div>
-    </div>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='nf-center-c0'>
-<div class='nf-center c005'>
-  </div>
-</div>
-
-<div class='pbb'>
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
- <hr class='pb c005' />
-</div>
-<p class='c010'>&nbsp;</p>
-<div class='tnbox'>
-
- <ul class='ul_1 c005'>
-    <li>Transcriber’s Note:
-      <ul  class='ul_2'>
-        <li>Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
-        </li>
-        <li>Typographical errors were silently corrected.
-        </li>
-        <li>Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant 
-        form was found in this book.
-        </li>
-      </ul>
-    </li>
-  </ul>
-
-</div>
-<p class='c010'>&nbsp;</p>
-
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-<p>&nbsp;</p>
-<hr class="pgx" />
-<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PUSSY-CAT TOWN***</p>
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author	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-02-04 08:28:08 -0800
committer	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-02-04 08:28:08 -0800
commit	6cf1dca62707e64934734b6865e12be032a5cf0e (patch)
tree	5c6393de5c07113153b34fcedda594851c01bd4a
parent	1c8b9206098708d25cdc923b7d8453c8f890cbe5 (diff)