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text-align: left; text-indent: -1em; - padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; } - .c017 { vertical-align: top; text-align: right; } - .c018 { font-size: 0.6em; } - .c019 { margin-left: 1.39%; margin-top: 1em; font-size: 85%; } - .c020 { margin-top: 1em; text-indent: 1em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; } - body {width:80%; margin:auto; } - .tnbox {background-color:#E3E4FA;border:1px solid silver;padding: 0.5em; - margin:2em 10% 0 10%; } - h2 {font-size: 2.5em } - .blackletter {font-family: "Old English Text MT", Gothic, serif; } - - - h1.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 190%; - margin-top: 0em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - h2.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 135%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - page-break-before: avoid; - line-height: 1; } - h3.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 110%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - h4.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 100%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - hr.pgx { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<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> </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> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </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 & 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 & Company</span></div> - <div>Boston 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'> </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 & 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'> </p> -<p class='c011'> </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 & Co.</i></div> - <div><i>Boston, U. S. A.</i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<p class='c009'> </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'> </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'> </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'> </p> -<div class='figcenter id008'> -<img src='images/i011-bottom.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<p class='c010'> </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'> </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> </p> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<p class='c010'> </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'> </p> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PUSSY-CAT TOWN***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 63458-h.htm or 63458-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/3/4/5/63458">http://www.gutenberg.org/6/3/4/5/63458</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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