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Ten Kittens - G. A. Puckett · Bully and Bawly No-Tail (the Jumping Frogs)

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Speaker 1: Preface of Ten Kittens. This is a LibriVox recording. All
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Speaker 1: LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information
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Speaker 1: or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read by
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Speaker 1: James R. Hedrick. Ten Kittens by G. A. Puckett. Preface.
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Speaker 1: The stories of the ten kittens told in this book
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Speaker 1: are true to life. They have been gathered from here
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Speaker 1: and there over the country. All the kittens have lived
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Speaker 1: and played their little parts in the life history as
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Speaker 1: told in each chapter. The purpose of this collection of
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Speaker 1: stories is to create more interest and love for kittens
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Speaker 1: on the part of our boys and girls. If these
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Speaker 1: stories help someone to be kinder to little kittens, then
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Speaker 1: their author's purpose will not have been in vain. End
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Speaker 1: of preface, Section one of Ten Kittens by G. A. Puckett.
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Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Mac. The
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Speaker 1: story of Mac begins in a rescue league in Albany,
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Speaker 1: New York, where he was born. The story was very
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Speaker 1: interesting to me, as the lady who owned Mac told
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Speaker 1: me about him. I will try to tell you about
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Speaker 1: the unusual circumstances in this kitten's life. Mac was a
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Speaker 1: tiger Persian kitten, but was afflicted with a disease called mange.
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Speaker 1: When he was very small. His mother had a very
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Speaker 1: bad case of the mange, but instead of being cruelly treated,
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Speaker 1: her mistress took her to the Rescue League where she
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Speaker 1: could be well cared for. While under the treatment. In
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Speaker 1: this league, which was a home for sick, afflicted, and
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Speaker 1: homeless kittens, Mack was born. A short time after his birth,
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Speaker 1: he and his brothers and sisters became afflicted with the
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Speaker 1: disease of the mother. When Mac was six weeks old,
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Speaker 1: the mother and all the kittens except Mack were chloroformed.
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Speaker 1: Because of their awful condition with the disease, Mack was
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Speaker 1: left an orphan kitten with no home but the quarters
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Speaker 1: of the rescue league. One day, a kind lady went
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Speaker 1: to this league, and from all the kittens there, she
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Speaker 1: selected Mac to go and live in her home. This
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Speaker 1: was very kind of the lady because Mac needed a home.
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Speaker 1: Let us not forget this example when we see a
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Speaker 1: homeless or hungry kitten. It would be easy for many
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Speaker 1: people to make kittens happy in this way. The lady
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Speaker 1: who took Mack had a little daughter who became attached
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Speaker 1: to the kitten, and in a few weeks they were
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Speaker 1: the best of friends. By the time I Mac was
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Speaker 1: one year old, he had learned many tricks and was
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Speaker 1: very obedient. When he wanted someone to open the door,
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Speaker 1: he would stand on his hind feet and put both
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Speaker 1: front feet around the doorknob and try to open the
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Speaker 1: door or attract attention. It was a good thing that
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Speaker 1: Mac learned to do this. One night, he was left
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Speaker 1: in the kitchen to sleep. The little girl of the home.
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Speaker 1: Mac's little mistress was asleep in another room which opened
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Speaker 1: into the kitchen. About two o'clock that morning, the girl's
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Speaker 1: mother heard Mack rattling the doorknob and meowing with all
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Speaker 1: his might. She knew that something was wrong, so she
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Speaker 1: went to the kitchen to see why he was calling
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Speaker 1: so much. When she opened the door, she saw that
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Speaker 1: the kitchen was on fire, and the blaze had almost
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Speaker 1: reached the door of the little girl's room, where Mac
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Speaker 1: was calling for help. His fur was scorched a little,
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Speaker 1: but he was not seriously burned. The mother said that
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Speaker 1: five minutes more and the blaze would have been beyond
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Speaker 1: control and would have made its way into the little
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Speaker 1: girl's bedroom. She feels that Mac saved her daughter's life
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Speaker 1: by calling for her to open the door. When the
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Speaker 1: lady and her daughter moved from Albany, New York to Chicago,
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Speaker 1: they did not leave Mac behind. He moved with them
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Speaker 1: as one of the family and lived for a long
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Speaker 1: time in a boarding house in the big city. There
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Speaker 1: are so many kittens that do not get to travel
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Speaker 1: over the country, neither do they get to live in
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Speaker 1: boarding houses. Almost any kitten is satisfied to have a
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Speaker 1: good place to sleep and plenty to eat. There is
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Speaker 1: another thing most kittens like, and that is kind treatment.
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Speaker 1: They like to be petted and loved, as well as
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Speaker 1: being cared for with home and food. After leaving Chicago,
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Speaker 1: Mack moved to Kansas City with his kind man mistress.
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Speaker 1: For some time he lived in this city, but at
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Speaker 1: last he moved to Maple Park, just east of the
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Speaker 1: city on the interurban line to Excelsior Springs. It was
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Speaker 1: there he lived and spent many happy days out there
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Speaker 1: in the open, away from the crowded streets of the
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Speaker 1: big cities. Mac caught grasshoppers as his favorite pastime in
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Speaker 1: the fields. This he enjoyed very much, and it was
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Speaker 1: also good exercise for him. When the lady's husband would
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Speaker 1: sit down to read the evening paper in the big
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Speaker 1: Morris chair. Mac would always sleep on one of the
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Speaker 1: arms of the chair. At meal time, he would sit
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Speaker 1: in a high chair at the table and eat just
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Speaker 1: what was given to him. He would not offer to
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Speaker 1: get on the table nor bother anything in the kitchen.
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Speaker 1: One day, another kitten came into the home to live,
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Speaker 1: but he was not so careful to keep out of
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Speaker 1: the food not intended for him. When he would try
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Speaker 1: to get into anything or stand up against the cabinet
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Speaker 1: or table, Mac would box his ears and make him
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Speaker 1: get away. Mac had been trained from his baby days
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Speaker 1: to keep off the table or cabinet and to keep
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Speaker 1: out of the food which did not belong to him.
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Speaker 1: The years passed by in Max's life until he became
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Speaker 1: a very old cat. He never forgot his early training
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Speaker 1: and the many little tricks which he had been taught
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Speaker 1: to do. Of course, his mistress thought more of him
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Speaker 1: after he saved the little girl from the fire, but
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Speaker 1: he always had a favorite place in everything. At the
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Speaker 1: ripe old age of fourteen years, Mack died. His life
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Speaker 1: had been useful, and he had been kind and obedient
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Speaker 1: through all the years. It was a sad day in
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Speaker 1: the home when Mack died. The whole family went to
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Speaker 1: his burial. He was buried Maple Park in a little
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Speaker 1: grave over which many tears were shed. He was loved
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Speaker 1: by all and had helped to make life brighter with
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Speaker 1: the life which he had lived. A beautiful and obedient
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Speaker 1: cat was laid to rest and of Section one, Section
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Speaker 1: two of Ten Kittens by G. A. Puckett. This LibriVox
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Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Snooks Snooks was a
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Speaker 1: very small kitten and lived in a preacher's home. He
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Speaker 1: was well liked by the children in the home. One day,
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Speaker 1: one of the girls became very ill, and for weeks
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Speaker 1: everyone had to be very quiet. The kitten liked to
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Speaker 1: be in the house and robbed with the children, but
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Speaker 1: during those weeks of sickness he had to stay outdoors.
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Speaker 1: One day a young man called at the house on
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Speaker 1: an errand, and as he turned to leave, he noticed
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Speaker 1: the kitten asleep in a chair on the front porch.
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Speaker 1: He told one of the children that he would like
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Speaker 1: to have the little ball of gray and blue, and
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Speaker 1: to his surprise, the little girl gave it to him.
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Speaker 1: The first ride the kitten ever had in an automobile
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Speaker 1: was that afternoon when the young man started home with
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Speaker 1: the little gift. Kittens do not like to ride as
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Speaker 1: dogs do, so this kitten was afraid and had to
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Speaker 1: be kept from jumping out while the car was running.
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Speaker 1: The kitten soon made friends in the new home and
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Speaker 1: was named Snooks. This name was given him by his
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Speaker 1: new mistress because a pet chicken she once had was
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Speaker 1: named Snooks. He was trained in many ways during the
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Speaker 1: early months in this new home, and could be trusted
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Speaker 1: alone in the house, for he would not climb upon
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Speaker 1: the table or bother anything. Nearly all cans are afraid
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Speaker 1: of water, but Snooks likes to get into it and
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Speaker 1: play by splashing it with his feet. He also likes
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Speaker 1: to take a bath, for he will not offer to
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Speaker 1: scratch or bite, but stands in the bathtub while his
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Speaker 1: mistress washes him. Sometime during each day, Snooks has a
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Speaker 1: big rop from room to room. He has learned to
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Speaker 1: run fast and then jump on little rugs and slide
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Speaker 1: on the floor many times a day. These rugs have
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Speaker 1: to be straightened and put back into place. On cold nights,
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Speaker 1: he is allowed to sleep in the house on a
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Speaker 1: little bed which is all his own. This he greatly enjoys.
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Speaker 1: But little does he realize that many poor kittens which
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Speaker 1: have no homes have to sleep out in the cold.
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Speaker 1: Many times they go to bed on the cold ground,
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Speaker 1: and their little ears freeze because they cannot keep warm.
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Speaker 1: One of the greatest delights of this kitten is to
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Speaker 1: play with a little rubber ball, which was bought for him.
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Speaker 1: He will chase it from room to room, like playing
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Speaker 1: with a mouse. He makes it roll by striking it
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Speaker 1: with his feet or jumping at it. One day, the
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Speaker 1: ball rolled under the pantry door, and the mistress heard
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Speaker 1: Snooks me owing, but did not go to see what
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Speaker 1: he wanted. Soon, he came to the living room and
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Speaker 1: me out again, and then started back toward the kitchen,
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Speaker 1: still me owing. The mistress followed, and Snooks led her
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Speaker 1: to the door of the pantry and looked under as
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Speaker 1: much to say, I have lost the little ball. Will
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Speaker 1: you get it for me? She opened the door and
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Speaker 1: found the ball, and the kitten went on playing again,
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Speaker 1: perfectly satisfied. On another day, a victrolla was brought into
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Speaker 1: the house where Snooks lived, and at first he was
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Speaker 1: afraid of the music, but soon showed signs of interest.
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Speaker 1: He would sit and listen and like to watch the
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Speaker 1: records go round and round. He would walk all around
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Speaker 1: the machines, smell and looking as though trying to find
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Speaker 1: where the music and voices were coming from. At this writing, Snooks,
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Speaker 1: the little blue and gray kitten is alive and well.
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Speaker 1: He lives in a college town, but has never gone
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Speaker 1: to college. He is satisfied to eat three times a day,
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Speaker 1: and every day he plays with the little ball, which
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Speaker 1: he enjoys so much. He is now about one year
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Speaker 1: old and is going to be a large cat when grown.
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Speaker 1: Let us hope that he will always have a good
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Speaker 1: home and be well and playful. End of Section two,
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Speaker 1: Section three of Ten Kittens by G. A. Puckett. This
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Speaker 1: LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Dump this is
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Speaker 1: a very peculiar name for a kitten, but kittens often
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Speaker 1: have peculiar names. Dump could not be called a beautiful kitten,
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Speaker 1: but his good nature and playfulness made him attractive and likable.
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Speaker 1: His mother must have thought him pretty, for she petted
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Speaker 1: him so much by smoothing his fur with her tongue.
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Speaker 1: I have not yet told you the color of this kitten.
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Speaker 1: And I'm sure you are wondering about it. You might
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Speaker 1: say he was very pretty. His fur was a bluish
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Speaker 1: gray and white, and his face was white almost all over.
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Speaker 1: He was just a common kitten, But you know, the
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Speaker 1: common kittens are smart and many times as good in
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Speaker 1: disposition as the thoroughbreds. Dump was very playful and would
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Speaker 1: do many cute things. One thing that he did, and
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Speaker 1: seemed to like most of all, was playing hide and
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Speaker 1: seek in the house. He would get behind the door
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Speaker 1: and wait for his little mistress to come, and then
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Speaker 1: he would jump out at her, as though he meant
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Speaker 1: to frighten her. Of course, she had jumped at him
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Speaker 1: in the same way many times, and in this way
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Speaker 1: had taught him the game of hide and seek. One
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Speaker 1: afternoon in the summertime, the little girl thought of something
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Speaker 1: to do which Dump had not thought. It was this.
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Speaker 1: The girl had a nice little Kodak which her uncle
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Speaker 1: had given her, and she thought of taking Dump's picture.
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Speaker 1: Not very many kittens are fortunate enough to have their
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Speaker 1: pictures taken. The little kitten had never posed for a picture,
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Speaker 1: and of course thought it was great fun, that is,
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Speaker 1: if he thought of it at all. Anyway, they both
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Speaker 1: went into the yard and the little girl placed Dump
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Speaker 1: on the gate post. He seemed to know the purpose
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Speaker 1: of being placed there, for he sat still in the
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Speaker 1: warm sun, just like he was really posing for the picture.
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Speaker 1: It was a good picture, too, and the girl has
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Speaker 1: the little picture yet, although she is grown now and
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Speaker 1: has a home of her own, and another kitten takes
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Speaker 1: Dump's place. Dump always slept in the window during the summer,
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Speaker 1: between the screen and curtains. He would almost answer his
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Speaker 1: little mistress with a little mew, and she called him.
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Speaker 1: He knew when it was time for his meals, as
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Speaker 1: his master worked downtown in a meat shop, and when
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Speaker 1: he would go to the house for his meals, Dump
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Speaker 1: would meet him at the door and beg for meat.
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Speaker 1: When the yard was mowed and the grass piled up
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Speaker 1: in one big pile, the kitten would run to it
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Speaker 1: and hide himself from his little mistress. This was great
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Speaker 1: fun for both. They loved each other very much, and
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Speaker 1: where one went around the yard or in the house,
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Speaker 1: the other was to be found two. Dump never cared
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Speaker 1: to play with other kittens and would not be very friendly.
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Speaker 1: One of the neighbors had a big cat next door,
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Speaker 1: but Dump would never let him come through the yard
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Speaker 1: fence if he saw him. He must have been a
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Speaker 1: little selfish, but probably it was because he loved his
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Speaker 1: mistress more than other kittens. Many times Dump would go
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Speaker 1: to the woodshed and watch for mice. He nearly always
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Speaker 1: caught one, and he loved to play with it for
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Speaker 1: hours at a time before eating it. One hot summer day,
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Speaker 1: he played too long, and it cost him his life,
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Speaker 1: for he became overheated and died in just a little while.
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Speaker 1: The little girl did everything she could for him, but
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Speaker 1: could not save his life. Dump's little body was buried
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Speaker 1: back of the cave, beside the graves of two little
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Speaker 1: bantam chickens and a little goldfish and of section three,
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Speaker 1: Section four of Ten Kittens by Ga Pucket. This LibriVox
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Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Mitch Mitch was a
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Speaker 1: beautiful Persian kitten and lived in Kansas City, Missouri. City
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Speaker 1: kittens do not have such large playgrounds as kittens on
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Speaker 1: the farm. For many times they are kept in the
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Speaker 1: house almost all the time. There are many dangers for
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Speaker 1: kittens outside in big cities, too. Someone may steal them
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Speaker 1: and take them away from their homes, or they may
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Speaker 1: get run over by the cars and big trucks. A
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Speaker 1: little girl whose name was Mitchell gave the kitten to
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Speaker 1: the lady who told me this story. The family called
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Speaker 1: him Mitchie for a while after the name Mitchell, some
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Speaker 1: of them thought that name too long, so they shortened
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Speaker 1: it to Mitch, and that became the name of this
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Speaker 1: beautiful Persian kitten. The mistress kept a large fruit basket
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Speaker 1: on the dining table, and when there was no fruit
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Speaker 1: in it, Mitch used it for a bed. He learned
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Speaker 1: to run toward the table and with one jump he
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Speaker 1: land right in the basket. Then he would curl up
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Speaker 1: for a long nap and be perfectly satisfied for hours.
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Speaker 1: He always liked to get into boxes, and when the
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Speaker 1: dresser drawers were left open, he would get into them.
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Speaker 1: It did not make much difference to Mitch just what
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Speaker 1: it was for. He could feel contented in anything. One day,
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Speaker 1: a member of the family brought something home in a
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Speaker 1: paper sack, and taking the articles out, laid the sack
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Speaker 1: on the bed. In a few minutes, Mitch was curled
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Speaker 1: up in the sack, fast asleep. The lady's husband worked
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Speaker 1: at night, or about half the night, and when he
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Speaker 1: came home about midnight, Mitch would always meet him at
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Speaker 1: the head of the stairs ready for a rump. He
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Speaker 1: loved to play with the man's watch chain, but one
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Speaker 1: day it was a costly play. The watch was left
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Speaker 1: on the dresser with the chain hanging over the edge,
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Speaker 1: and Mitch decided to romp with it a little while.
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Speaker 1: Of course, he did not know the watch might fall
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Speaker 1: and break. In some way, he got his claws fastened
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Speaker 1: in the chain and jerk the watch to the floor.
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Speaker 1: Mitch did not mean to break the watch, but it
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Speaker 1: cost about seven dollars to have it repaired. Mitch could
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Speaker 1: not repair the broken watch, and he had no way
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Speaker 1: of paying the debt except by love an affection for
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Speaker 1: his master. Mitch was like Snooks in the other story.
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Speaker 1: He liked water and liked to play in it. He
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Speaker 1: was very careful about keeping clean, and would go to
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Speaker 1: the lavatory and put his feet in the water and
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Speaker 1: then wash his face. One faucet in the bathtub leaked
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Speaker 1: a little, and Mitch found that he could get a
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Speaker 1: drink there. In some way, he learned that he could
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Speaker 1: strike the fawcet with his feet and turn on more water.
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Speaker 1: One day, some member of the family had prepared a
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Speaker 1: half tub of water for a bath, and about the
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Speaker 1: same time Mitch decided that he wanted a drink. He
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Speaker 1: went over to the bathtub and as usual, jumped right
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Speaker 1: over into the tub, but this time he landed in
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Speaker 1: all the water. You should have seen him scramble to
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Speaker 1: get out, for he was terribly frightened. One day, the
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Speaker 1: lady and her husband moved away from the city to
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Speaker 1: a farm, and of course Mitch went along and became
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Speaker 1: a country kitten. I am sure that he liked to
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Speaker 1: be on the farm where he could get out into
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Speaker 1: the big outdoors and catch lots of mice. About a
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Speaker 1: year passed and the family moved back to the city,
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Speaker 1: but Mitch was left on the farm with the family
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Speaker 1: who moved on the place. Evidently he did not like
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Speaker 1: his new friends or else decided to go back to
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Speaker 1: the city, for he disappeared one afternoon and has not
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Speaker 1: been heard of since. If you should see Mitch anywhere,
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Speaker 1: it would be kind of you to tell him that
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Speaker 1: the fruit basket is on the table in the city
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Speaker 1: waiting for him. His mistress, too, will be very glad
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Speaker 1: to hear from him, or have him return to his
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Speaker 1: former home, and of section four, Section five of ten
20:31
Speaker 1: Kittens by Ga Pucket. This LibriVox recording is in the
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Speaker 1: public domain. Thomas Thomas is another very peculiar name for
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Speaker 1: a kitten. He was a groceryman by trade, as he
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Speaker 1: lived in a grocery store for seventeen years. Like so
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Speaker 1: many kittens, Thomas was astray that came to the store
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Speaker 1: in search of food. The proprietors of the store, two brothers,
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Speaker 1: were kind to hungry and friendless kittens. They allowed the
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Speaker 1: kitten to live in the store, and not many days
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Speaker 1: after he arrived, they named him Thomas. At night, he
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Speaker 1: slept in the basement of the store. He always kept
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Speaker 1: the store free from mice, as he was a good mouser.
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Speaker 1: He was well cared for, too, as he had plenty
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Speaker 1: to eat of everything that he liked, which the store furnished.
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Speaker 1: Because of kind treatment and plenty to eat, the kitten
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Speaker 1: grew very rapidly and made a large cat. When fully
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Speaker 1: grown many months before his death. He weighed thirteen or
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Speaker 1: fourteen pounds and was always fat and sleek. So many
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Speaker 1: poor wretched cats that have no home could be more
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Speaker 1: like Thomas, if people would give them a home and
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Speaker 1: treat them kindly. A kind deed, though done for a kitten,
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Speaker 1: is not thrown away. Thomas had a favorite place to sit,
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Speaker 1: which was on one of the counters near the front
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Speaker 1: window of the store. In this way he made many friends.
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Speaker 1: He was of a lovable disposition and kind to everyone.
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Speaker 1: He could have numbered these friends by the score, as
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Speaker 1: all the customers had a kind word or a pat
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Speaker 1: for him. Many people would stop at the window and
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Speaker 1: look at him because he was so large and beautiful.
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Speaker 1: His fur was gray and striped, and he made a
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Speaker 1: very pretty ornament as well as a good advertisement for
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Speaker 1: the store. The playground for Thomas was in the basement
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Speaker 1: of the store building. He had many a rop there,
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Speaker 1: but one rop cost him his beautiful gray coat. Near
22:47
Speaker 1: the basement stairs there was a large oil can or
22:51
Speaker 1: tank that had a large top which could be removed
22:54
Speaker 1: when the tank was filled with oil. One of the
22:58
Speaker 1: employees had left this top off and Thomas stepped into
23:02
Speaker 1: the hole while walking across the tank. The tank of
23:06
Speaker 1: coal oil did not make a very good swimming pool
23:09
Speaker 1: nor bathtub. It was lucky for Thomas that he got
23:13
Speaker 1: out alive. The oil caused all the fur to come
23:17
Speaker 1: off his body and This left him without a coat.
23:20
Speaker 1: The only fur left was a little at the end
23:24
Speaker 1: of his tail. Someone said that his smooth body looked
23:28
Speaker 1: like that of an elephant. Thomas was ashamed of this
23:32
Speaker 1: condition and would not appear in the main room of
23:35
Speaker 1: the store. His meals had to be taken to the
23:38
Speaker 1: basement for him, and even then he would not come
23:41
Speaker 1: into the light any more than necessary. For three or
23:45
Speaker 1: four weeks he remained in the dark corners of the
23:47
Speaker 1: basement until a new coat of fur was well started.
23:52
Speaker 1: The new coat was even brighter and prettier than the
23:55
Speaker 1: old one, so Thomas did not lose so much after all.
24:00
Speaker 1: One of the brothers of the store seemed to be
24:02
Speaker 1: more attached to Thomas than the other. The cat noticed
24:06
Speaker 1: this and showed his appreciation in many ways. When this
24:10
Speaker 1: brother would go to his meals, Thomas would get on
24:14
Speaker 1: the front counter and watch and wait for him to return.
24:17
Speaker 1: He could see up the street for a whole block
24:20
Speaker 1: the way his kind master would return, and he would
24:24
Speaker 1: watch him all the way. For seventeen years, Thomas lived
24:29
Speaker 1: in the grocery store after being taken in as a
24:31
Speaker 1: homeless kitten. The man who owned the store never regretted
24:36
Speaker 1: that they had shown kindness to a dumb animal and
24:39
Speaker 1: furnished a home for a cat that had many times
24:42
Speaker 1: repaid them for all the care and expense he had
24:46
Speaker 1: been to them. Many new friends and acquaintances had been
24:50
Speaker 1: made because of Thomas on the front counter. New customers
24:54
Speaker 1: had been added to the already long list. The store
24:58
Speaker 1: contained no mi to disturb anything, and everyone seemed happy
25:03
Speaker 1: because Thomas was always happy. During all those days, he
25:08
Speaker 1: never spent more than two nights outside the store building.
25:11
Speaker 1: He always attended to his own business, and was satisfied
25:15
Speaker 1: to stay at home and romp in the basement playground.
25:19
Speaker 1: At last, he died of old age, and for many
25:22
Speaker 1: weeks afterward people would look on the counter for the
25:26
Speaker 1: old friend of former days. There were many regrets expressed
25:31
Speaker 1: when the news went out that Thomas was dead. A
25:34
Speaker 1: life of good fellowship and love had not been lived
25:38
Speaker 1: in vain. End of section five, Section six of Ten
25:50
Speaker 1: Kittens by GA Puckett. This LibriVox recording is in the
25:54
Speaker 1: public domain. Tiger, perhaps you have read or heard of
26:00
Speaker 1: tramp kittens. Sometimes they are called little beggars. No doubt
26:05
Speaker 1: you have seen such kittens along the roads or on streets.
26:09
Speaker 1: Sometimes they will go for miles in search of food
26:12
Speaker 1: and home. In cities and towns, they will go from
26:15
Speaker 1: house to house or to the stores in search of
26:18
Speaker 1: scraps of food to eat. Many times, these kittens are
26:22
Speaker 1: afraid of boys and girls because they have been abused
26:25
Speaker 1: and often driven away with rocks and clubs, but they
26:29
Speaker 1: would like to be treated kindly. Tiger was one of
26:33
Speaker 1: these tramp kittens. In his young days, he had been
26:36
Speaker 1: cast out from his home as an undesirable kitten. Days
26:41
Speaker 1: and nights he wandered around in the town in which
26:43
Speaker 1: he had been left, but no one seemed to care
26:46
Speaker 1: for a homeless kitten. Sometimes he was able to find
26:50
Speaker 1: enough to eat, but many nights he slept in an alley,
26:54
Speaker 1: cold and hungry. One morning, this tramp kitten was sitting
26:58
Speaker 1: on the back porch of a drug store, very hungry.
27:02
Speaker 1: His little body was wasting away. While sitting in the
27:06
Speaker 1: warm sunshine on the porch. He went to sleep, but
27:10
Speaker 1: was soon awakened by someone opening the back door. Instead
27:14
Speaker 1: of being kicked off the porch with a warning not
27:16
Speaker 1: to return, he was surprised to hear kind words and
27:20
Speaker 1: to feel a warm hand stroking his dirty fur. The
27:25
Speaker 1: kind words and tender strokes came from a young boy
27:28
Speaker 1: whose name was Frank and whose father owned the store.
27:32
Speaker 1: In a few minutes, Frank had a little bit arranged
27:35
Speaker 1: by the stove in the store, and the tramp kitten
27:38
Speaker 1: was soon fast asleep. A little later he was awakened
27:42
Speaker 1: by Frank, who had brought scraps of meat from the
27:45
Speaker 1: meat shop, and this the hungry kitten enjoyed very much.
27:51
Speaker 1: When Frank's father came in that morning, he was led
27:53
Speaker 1: back to the stove where the kitten was sleeping and
27:56
Speaker 1: asked if it might live in the store. The father scented,
28:00
Speaker 1: and by noon the little boy and the little beggar
28:03
Speaker 1: kitten had made friends for life. I'm going to name
28:08
Speaker 1: him Tiger, said Frank that evening, as he was telling
28:11
Speaker 1: his mother of the newfound friend. Why name him Tiger,
28:15
Speaker 1: Frank asked his mother. Because he looks like a tiger,
28:18
Speaker 1: answered Frank. His body has stripes all over it, just
28:22
Speaker 1: like the pictures of tiger's in my books. As the
28:26
Speaker 1: months rolled by, Tiger became more and more at home
28:29
Speaker 1: in the store. His little master fed him every day,
28:32
Speaker 1: and soon he was fat and sleek. He grew very
28:36
Speaker 1: fast and became the pet of the store force. He
28:40
Speaker 1: was taught many tricks, and it seemed that he always
28:44
Speaker 1: tried to do what he was told. By Frank's continual training,
28:49
Speaker 1: Tiger became a little circus performer. Frank would clasp both
28:53
Speaker 1: hands and then hold out his arms in front of him,
28:56
Speaker 1: forming a circle through which Tiger would jump back and fourth.
29:01
Speaker 1: Another thing which attracted much attention from the employees and
29:04
Speaker 1: customers was that Tiger would try to get into any
29:08
Speaker 1: kind of box left open or set out for him.
29:12
Speaker 1: He never forgot this, and after becoming a full grown cat,
29:15
Speaker 1: he would try to get into little boxes. Sometimes Frank
29:20
Speaker 1: or one of the clerks would give him a small
29:22
Speaker 1: pasteboard box and tell him to lie down in it.
29:26
Speaker 1: He would turn round and round in it until the
29:29
Speaker 1: sides were mashed, and then he would lie down on
29:32
Speaker 1: the flat piece of the box. Sometimes they would give
29:36
Speaker 1: him a very small pill box and he would try
29:39
Speaker 1: to get into it. He would walk all around it
29:43
Speaker 1: and at last would lie down on top of it.
29:47
Speaker 1: As the years went by, Tiger became the pet of
29:50
Speaker 1: all who knew him. His master grew to be a
29:53
Speaker 1: young man with The close friendship with the kitten always existed.
29:58
Speaker 1: Tiger never failed to receive good meals and kind treatment.
30:03
Speaker 1: One evening, while Tiger was lying in the alley, one
30:07
Speaker 1: of the clerks called him, but he would not answer.
30:10
Speaker 1: The man almost had to whip him to get him
30:13
Speaker 1: back into the store. This was very unusual. The clerk
30:18
Speaker 1: noticed the changed attitude and spoke to others about it.
30:22
Speaker 1: During the night, the fire alarm was given and news
30:25
Speaker 1: soon spread that the drug store was burning. Frank thought
30:29
Speaker 1: first of Tiger and of his desire to remain outside
30:32
Speaker 1: the store. That evening, the fireman arrived too late to
30:36
Speaker 1: enter the building, although it was not entirely destroyed. The
30:41
Speaker 1: next day, Tiger was found on top of the office
30:44
Speaker 1: desk near a rear window. He had suffocated in the smoke,
30:49
Speaker 1: but the flames had not touched his body. Such was
30:53
Speaker 1: the end of life for the obedient and faithful Tiger.
30:59
Speaker 1: End of section six, Section seven of Ten Kittens by G. A. Puckett.
31:11
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Sammy, It
31:18
Speaker 1: is very interesting to know why pets are called the
31:21
Speaker 1: same names as people, not only cats and dogs, but birds, horses, cows,
31:27
Speaker 1: and other pets are given the names of people. Many times,
31:31
Speaker 1: these names are given because of fondness for the pets
31:34
Speaker 1: and love for those after whom they are named. The
31:38
Speaker 1: lady who told me this story of Sammy also told
31:41
Speaker 1: me why she called him this name. She had met
31:46
Speaker 1: a very attractive young man while visiting in another town,
31:50
Speaker 1: and when she came home she did not forget the
31:53
Speaker 1: new acquaintance. In a few days after she returned from
31:56
Speaker 1: the visits, someone gave her a little kitten, which she
31:59
Speaker 1: named Sammy for him. She never learned whether the young
32:03
Speaker 1: man felt honored because of this, but the kitten was
32:06
Speaker 1: well cared for. Sammy was a beautiful Maltese kitten, but
32:11
Speaker 1: his young mistress did not know where he was born,
32:14
Speaker 1: nor anything about his mother, sisters, nor brothers. He seemed
32:18
Speaker 1: like an orphan kitten and was given the best of care.
32:22
Speaker 1: In a little while, he was satisfied in the new
32:25
Speaker 1: home and seemed to be perfectly happy. As the months
32:30
Speaker 1: rolled by, Sammy and his mistress became very fond of
32:33
Speaker 1: each other. One day something happened which changed the course
32:38
Speaker 1: of events. The young lady made another acquaintance, this time
32:43
Speaker 1: of a young man who had gone into business in
32:46
Speaker 1: her hometown. Sammy was afraid of all strangers and would
32:50
Speaker 1: not play with any of the boys in the neighborhood,
32:53
Speaker 1: and would not make friends with any of the young
32:56
Speaker 1: men who called on his mistress. When the nice life
33:00
Speaker 1: looking businessman began visiting the young lady, Sammy also became
33:03
Speaker 1: acquainted with him. From the first visit, he seemed to
33:07
Speaker 1: like the new acquaintance, and soon they were close friends.
33:11
Speaker 1: When the young man called at the home, Sammy would
33:14
Speaker 1: always meet him at the gate and accompany him to
33:17
Speaker 1: the front door. When his mistress would allow him to
33:21
Speaker 1: do so, he would go into the house so that
33:24
Speaker 1: the young man might pet him. Sammy was never trained
33:28
Speaker 1: to catch mice and was never given one to eat.
33:32
Speaker 1: It is often a good thing to have a cat
33:34
Speaker 1: that will catch mice, but sometimes it proves very fatal,
33:37
Speaker 1: as mice are often poisoned and thrown out or die
33:42
Speaker 1: where kittens can find them. Sammy was not allowed to
33:46
Speaker 1: eat meat either, especially raw meat. Feeding raw meat has
33:50
Speaker 1: proven very costly to many valuable cats, as it has
33:55
Speaker 1: made them a vicious or cross disposition. The mistress of
33:59
Speaker 1: Sammy was very careful to cultivate in him a kind
34:03
Speaker 1: and obedient disposition. In the yard of the home, there
34:07
Speaker 1: was an old tree in which Sammy spent many happy
34:11
Speaker 1: hours in the warm sunshine. Not many feet from the ground.
34:15
Speaker 1: The tree forked, and this made a very desirable place
34:19
Speaker 1: to get out of the reach of dogs and to
34:22
Speaker 1: rest or sleep. This had been a favorite resting place
34:26
Speaker 1: for Trilby, a kitten that had lived in the home
34:29
Speaker 1: long before Sammy was born. The lady said that both
34:33
Speaker 1: kittens had used the old tree for a resting place,
34:36
Speaker 1: and that she had often regretted that she had not
34:39
Speaker 1: taken their pictures. I am sorry too, as I would
34:43
Speaker 1: like to have shown you the picture of Sammy in
34:46
Speaker 1: this book, but we will have to imagine how peaceful
34:50
Speaker 1: he was as he slept in the warm sunshine. One
34:54
Speaker 1: beautiful autumn day in September, the young man, whom Sammy
34:58
Speaker 1: loved and who had been going to the home very often,
35:02
Speaker 1: went to take Sammy's mistress away. Sammy was pleased to
35:06
Speaker 1: have the young man there, although he did not understand
35:10
Speaker 1: why so many people were there and what it all meant.
35:15
Speaker 1: A few days after the couple were married, they moved
35:18
Speaker 1: into a little cottage in another part of town. And
35:21
Speaker 1: took Sammy along to live with them in this new home.
35:25
Speaker 1: He seemed perfectly satisfied and never tried to go back
35:29
Speaker 1: to the old home again. He spent many happy days
35:32
Speaker 1: in this home, and every evening he would go down
35:36
Speaker 1: the street to meet his new master. The young couple
35:40
Speaker 1: became very much attached to Sammy and gave him the
35:44
Speaker 1: best place in almost everything. Have you ever heard of
35:49
Speaker 1: a spoiled kitten? Sammy was like some children who are
35:52
Speaker 1: allowed to have their way, for he became a spoiled
35:56
Speaker 1: kitten later in life. On another day, many months after
36:01
Speaker 1: the beautiful autumn wedding day, a little baby came into
36:04
Speaker 1: the home to live. Sammy did not know what to
36:07
Speaker 1: think of a baby crying and to see everyone making
36:11
Speaker 1: over the new daughter. In those days, he felt somewhat
36:15
Speaker 1: neglected as he was not petted as much as usual,
36:19
Speaker 1: but he soon became attached to the little one in
36:22
Speaker 1: the crib. He seemed to love the baby as much
36:25
Speaker 1: as anyone else, and at last he became so jealous
36:30
Speaker 1: that he would try to protect her when anyone would
36:32
Speaker 1: lift her from the crib. He would almost fight the
36:36
Speaker 1: young father or mother to keep them away, as he
36:39
Speaker 1: seemed to think that they should not fondle her. He
36:43
Speaker 1: must have been afraid that they would hurt his little playmate.
36:46
Speaker 1: Although the baby never got to play with Sammy except
36:50
Speaker 1: to coop at him from the crib, he became so
36:54
Speaker 1: cross and so jealous that he had to be given away.
36:59
Speaker 1: The father saw a man in town one day who
37:01
Speaker 1: lived in the country, and he told this man about
37:05
Speaker 1: Sammy and how good he had been until he became
37:09
Speaker 1: jealous of the baby. Sammy was given to this man
37:12
Speaker 1: and he went to live on a farm. I have
37:16
Speaker 1: wondered how much he missed the baby, but probably the
37:19
Speaker 1: farm life attracted his attention so much that he did
37:23
Speaker 1: not grieve very long over the change. He lived to
37:28
Speaker 1: be seven or eight years old and proved to be
37:30
Speaker 1: a valuable cat on the farm. He never got to
37:34
Speaker 1: see his little baby mistress again, but after she grew older,
37:38
Speaker 1: she was told of Sammy's fondness for her. She is
37:42
Speaker 1: now three or four years older than Sammy was when
37:46
Speaker 1: he died, but of course she can remember nothing about him,
37:49
Speaker 1: except as the parents have told her. Sammy is buried
37:54
Speaker 1: on the farm not far from Liberty, Missouri, and those
37:57
Speaker 1: who knew and loved him, will never forget that story
38:00
Speaker 1: of his life and of section seven Section eight of
38:12
Speaker 1: Ten Kittens by Ga Puckett. This LibriVox recording is in
38:16
Speaker 1: the public domain. Betty Betty is of the Persian breed
38:22
Speaker 1: of cats, like Mitch and Mack in two other stories
38:26
Speaker 1: of this book. She lives at Winwood Lake, just east
38:30
Speaker 1: of Kansas City and has a good home and a
38:33
Speaker 1: kind mistress. She is of a lovable disposition. Her father
38:38
Speaker 1: is the famous white Tzar of Kansas City, and her
38:42
Speaker 1: mother is of good stock. Betty has not traveled over
38:46
Speaker 1: the country like Mack in the other story, but she
38:49
Speaker 1: is satisfied to live in a comfortable home with her mistress.
38:54
Speaker 1: She has no time for traveling anyway, because she has
38:57
Speaker 1: to be at home with her family of kittens. I
39:01
Speaker 1: am not sure she is perfectly satisfied, though, because three
39:05
Speaker 1: of her kittens are far from home today. The day
39:09
Speaker 1: that Betty's first babies were born was very gloomy, and
39:13
Speaker 1: by night a storm was gathering, which broke from the
39:17
Speaker 1: clouds in all its fury. Later in the night, the
39:21
Speaker 1: trees were howling in the wind, and the thunder and
39:24
Speaker 1: lightning caused Betty and her mistress much fear. The lady
39:29
Speaker 1: had gone to bed that night before the storm came on,
39:32
Speaker 1: and Betty was in the corner of the room with
39:35
Speaker 1: her new babies. When the noise of the storm was heard,
39:39
Speaker 1: Betty ran to the bed, but in a few seconds
39:42
Speaker 1: she went back to the box to be with the kittens.
39:46
Speaker 1: She kept this up, going back and forth for several minutes.
39:50
Speaker 1: At last the lady told her to bring the kittens
39:53
Speaker 1: to the bed. It seemed that she knew what her
39:56
Speaker 1: mistress had said, for she went to the box in
39:59
Speaker 1: the corner three times, each time taking a kitten to
40:03
Speaker 1: the bed. After three kittens had been placed on the bed,
40:06
Speaker 1: Betty took a long breath and seemed almost exhausted by
40:11
Speaker 1: jumping back and forth so many times. The lady told
40:15
Speaker 1: her that she had left one kitten in the box,
40:18
Speaker 1: so again she went to the corner, this time getting
40:20
Speaker 1: the fourth kitten. After a second attempt, she jumped upon
40:25
Speaker 1: the bed and then cuddled down to sleep, regardless of
40:28
Speaker 1: the raging storm. She had been used to sleeping on
40:32
Speaker 1: the bed, but was not satisfied to sleep there that
40:35
Speaker 1: night and leave the four kittens in the box in
40:37
Speaker 1: the corner of the room. This act of Betty's showed
40:41
Speaker 1: the mother love for her babies. The four kittens grew
40:45
Speaker 1: to be beautiful pets. There were three brothers and one
40:49
Speaker 1: sister in Betty's family. One of the brothers was taken
40:53
Speaker 1: to the state of Michigan and one was sent to Abilene, Kansas.
40:57
Speaker 1: The third brother, named Jack, went to France with the
41:01
Speaker 1: captain and his wife during the war. Only this one
41:05
Speaker 1: of the brothers went to war, it seemed that it
41:07
Speaker 1: would be right for Betty to have a blue star
41:10
Speaker 1: for Jack. The sister, blue Bell, is still at home
41:13
Speaker 1: with her mother. The father of Bluebell and the three
41:17
Speaker 1: brothers is Blue Eyed Billy, another famous cat of Kansas City.
41:24
Speaker 1: Blue Bell is not alone now because Betty has more
41:28
Speaker 1: babies in the home. The father of these two younger
41:31
Speaker 1: kittens is called John, and he seems to love them
41:34
Speaker 1: as much as Betty does. He will get into the
41:38
Speaker 1: box and wash their faces just like the mother cat.
41:42
Speaker 1: Betty does not forget Bluebell as her first baby. She
41:46
Speaker 1: is almost two years old now, but Betty washes her
41:49
Speaker 1: face and ears every day just like she did when
41:53
Speaker 1: blue Bell was a little kitten. Betty is very fond
41:56
Speaker 1: of going down to the lake and catching crawfish for
42:00
Speaker 1: the kittens. She will sit near the water until a
42:03
Speaker 1: crawfish comes in sight near the edge, and then with
42:06
Speaker 1: one grab she has it. She always catches them by
42:10
Speaker 1: the back so they cannot pincher with their sharp pinchers.
42:15
Speaker 1: Another of her favorite pastimes is gathering the eggs. Betty
42:19
Speaker 1: goes with her mistress every morning and looks into all
42:23
Speaker 1: the nests. If she finds eggs in the nests, she
42:26
Speaker 1: will wait until her mistress takes them out. If she
42:29
Speaker 1: looks into a nest and finds no eggs, she goes
42:32
Speaker 1: on to the next. In this way, Betty helps her
42:35
Speaker 1: mistress every morning. Betty always knows when Saturday comes because
42:40
Speaker 1: her mistress goes to town on that day. Betty expects
42:44
Speaker 1: a treat of good meat on Saturday. When the lady
42:47
Speaker 1: gets home from town. Betty always goes to the handbag
42:51
Speaker 1: and smells for meat. If she finds none, she will
42:54
Speaker 1: go back to her box and lie down greatly disappointed.
42:59
Speaker 1: If she nalls the meat, then she sits upon her
43:02
Speaker 1: hind feet begging for it and is not satisfied until
43:06
Speaker 1: she and the kittens have the special Saturday treat. When
43:11
Speaker 1: the lady goes to the mailbox for mail, Betty always
43:14
Speaker 1: desires to go along. She climbs the post and looks
43:18
Speaker 1: into the box when her mistress opens it, but she
43:21
Speaker 1: has never learned to carry the mail to the house.
43:25
Speaker 1: Betty still lives at Windwood Lake, and with the help
43:28
Speaker 1: of John, she is carefully rearing a family of three
43:32
Speaker 1: beautiful and obedient kittens. End of section eight, Section nine
43:45
Speaker 1: of ten Kittens by Ga Pucket. This LibriVox recording is
43:51
Speaker 1: in the public domain. Jimmy Jimmy was a drug store
43:58
Speaker 1: cat following the same occupation as Tiger in the story
44:02
Speaker 1: called Tiger. One of the clerks in the store found
44:05
Speaker 1: him in the alley one morning while burning some old boxes.
44:09
Speaker 1: The kitten was poor and hungry and seemed to be
44:12
Speaker 1: homeless and friendless. He was a stranger in the neighborhood,
44:16
Speaker 1: and no one ever came to the store to claim him.
44:19
Speaker 1: He was lost and lonesome when picked up, and seemed
44:22
Speaker 1: very glad to find a friend. He was only a
44:25
Speaker 1: stray kitten, and no one knew of his mother nor
44:28
Speaker 1: where he was born. This seems sad, but with Jimmy
44:32
Speaker 1: it gave him a distinguished place later in life, which
44:36
Speaker 1: I will tell you about in this story. In a
44:40
Speaker 1: little while, Jimmy was growing and happy in the new home.
44:44
Speaker 1: He had made friends with all the clerks in the store,
44:47
Speaker 1: and especially with the proprietor. They became devoted friends for life.
44:52
Speaker 1: Even money could not separate them, as a large sum
44:56
Speaker 1: was offered for him, but his master loved him more
44:59
Speaker 1: than mine. Some of the clerks taught him to jump
45:03
Speaker 1: through hoops, or through their arms, or over their feet.
45:07
Speaker 1: On one of the counters in the drug store there
45:10
Speaker 1: was a large clock which became the resting place for Jimmy.
45:14
Speaker 1: When told to go and get on the clock, he
45:17
Speaker 1: would obey instantly and then look around at those watching him,
45:21
Speaker 1: as though he was proud of the feet. One day,
45:25
Speaker 1: his master took a picture of him as he sat
45:27
Speaker 1: on the clock, and he seemed to pose for it.
45:31
Speaker 1: The picture is now in the desk of the drug store,
45:34
Speaker 1: although Jimmy has been dead three years. When I asked
45:38
Speaker 1: Jimmy's master for the facts about this story, he turned
45:41
Speaker 1: to the desk and showed me the picture. While we
45:45
Speaker 1: were speaking of the kitten's life, a man came into
45:48
Speaker 1: the room who used to know and love Jimmy. He
45:52
Speaker 1: was asked if he knew the picture, and when he
45:54
Speaker 1: looked at it, he exclaimed, that's Jimmy. This shows how
45:59
Speaker 1: much he was loved and that he was well known.
46:03
Speaker 1: Like Thomas of the grocery store in the other story,
46:06
Speaker 1: Jimmy had scores of friends and is remembered by many
46:10
Speaker 1: citizens in the town in which he lived. During one
46:14
Speaker 1: of the cat shows in Convention Hall in Kansas City
46:17
Speaker 1: a few years ago, Jimmy was also on exhibition. He
46:22
Speaker 1: attracted much attention. Although he was not a thoroughbred and
46:26
Speaker 1: was only a stray, his fur was striped like a tiger,
46:31
Speaker 1: and in the show he received first prize as the
46:34
Speaker 1: best tiger cat shown. He also won first prize as
46:39
Speaker 1: a stray, but to receive the premium, his master had
46:42
Speaker 1: to take three witnesses before a notary public and make
46:46
Speaker 1: affidavit that Jimmy was found in the alley and that
46:50
Speaker 1: no one knew of his birth or his pedigree. After
46:54
Speaker 1: receiving these prizes, Jimmy's master thought more of him than ever.
46:59
Speaker 1: He attracted much attention in his hometown too. When the
47:03
Speaker 1: news went out that Jimmy had won first at Tiger
47:06
Speaker 1: and stray. New friends went to the store to see him,
47:10
Speaker 1: and he too, became a good advertisement for the store.
47:15
Speaker 1: One day, a physician's wife from another town went into
47:19
Speaker 1: the drug store and saw Jimmy sitting on the old clock.
47:23
Speaker 1: She soon made his acquaintance and became attached to him.
47:27
Speaker 1: She was a lover of kittens, and Jimmy, so large
47:30
Speaker 1: and beautiful, seemed to her an ideal kitten. She asked
47:34
Speaker 1: all about him, of his birth, pedigree, disposition, and many
47:39
Speaker 1: other questions. When told that he was only astray, picked
47:43
Speaker 1: up in the alley as a homeless kitten, she seemed
47:46
Speaker 1: to think more of him than ever. Perhaps she had
47:50
Speaker 1: been kind to some homeless kitten sometime in the past
47:53
Speaker 1: and understood what it meant to care for one that
47:56
Speaker 1: needed a friend. She was anxious to have him as
47:59
Speaker 1: her own and let him live in her own home.
48:03
Speaker 1: I am sure that she would have given him the
48:05
Speaker 1: best of care, and that he would have had a
48:09
Speaker 1: good home in which to spend his old age. In
48:13
Speaker 1: a few days, the woman's husband was in town and
48:16
Speaker 1: went to the store and offered twenty five dollars for Jimmy.
48:20
Speaker 1: The proprietor would not sell him for that, and then
48:24
Speaker 1: the physician offered him fifty dollars, but Jimmy's master said
48:28
Speaker 1: that money could not buy him. Such was the love
48:32
Speaker 1: for a kitten that had been so kind and obedient
48:36
Speaker 1: during the many years in the store. About two weeks
48:40
Speaker 1: after the physician had offered the fifty dollars for him,
48:44
Speaker 1: Jimmy in some way got hold of poison and died.
48:48
Speaker 1: He was nine years old at the time of his death,
48:51
Speaker 1: and left many friends who have greatly missed him during
48:54
Speaker 1: these past three years. End of section nine, Section ten
49:07
Speaker 1: of Ten Kittens by Ga Puckett. This LibriVox recording is
49:12
Speaker 1: in the public domain. Pete. To get to the story
49:18
Speaker 1: of Pete, I had to go to a large hotel,
49:21
Speaker 1: and there I found an old gentleman who had lost
49:24
Speaker 1: his wife by death about a year before, and who
49:27
Speaker 1: seemed lonely for her presence. He told all that he
49:31
Speaker 1: could about Pete, but said, if she were only here,
49:35
Speaker 1: pointing to a picture on the wall, she could tell
49:38
Speaker 1: you a fine story of this kitten. She loved cats
49:42
Speaker 1: as no one else on earth, I suppose. He continued,
49:46
Speaker 1: Such deeds are not thrown away, either, although I used
49:50
Speaker 1: to think many of them were unnecessary. One morning, while
49:55
Speaker 1: the good wife was living, they lost their last kitten,
49:59
Speaker 1: and she he had said that they would not try
50:02
Speaker 1: to raise or care for any more. That same morning,
50:06
Speaker 1: Pete arrived at the back door of the home and
50:09
Speaker 1: begged for something to eat. He was invited inside, and
50:14
Speaker 1: that was all that was necessary to make friends between
50:17
Speaker 1: the lady and the homeless kitten. Pete was not so
50:21
Speaker 1: young either at that time, for he seemed to be
50:24
Speaker 1: nearly two years old. The gentleman said that there never
50:29
Speaker 1: was a cat that could fight like Pete. He was
50:32
Speaker 1: not afraid of anything that walked, and could whip any
50:36
Speaker 1: dog that ever came into the yard. When he made
50:40
Speaker 1: up his mind that he did not want any dog
50:42
Speaker 1: or certain cats around the house or yard, it was
50:46
Speaker 1: then that they had to leave. He would sometimes make
50:50
Speaker 1: up with a cat after giving him a good flogging,
50:52
Speaker 1: if the cat was willing to stay long enough to
50:55
Speaker 1: make up. He was an awful fighter, and yet he
50:59
Speaker 1: was of a good disposition around the home. Of all
51:02
Speaker 1: the kittens this lady had and loved and cared for,
51:06
Speaker 1: there was none so lovable and of a better character
51:10
Speaker 1: than Pete. If it had not been for his fighting nature.
51:14
Speaker 1: He would have been an ideal cat in every way.
51:18
Speaker 1: Perhaps the brave spirit he showed helped him to protect
51:21
Speaker 1: himself from cruel dogs and mean cats. For ten years,
51:26
Speaker 1: Pete occupied the best chair in the home for his
51:29
Speaker 1: resting place and bed. He had things his own way
51:33
Speaker 1: because he was loved by all the members of the family.
51:37
Speaker 1: His food consisted of anything and everything that money could buy.
51:42
Speaker 1: He lacked for nothing that would make him contented and happy.
51:47
Speaker 1: When baby kittens were born in the neighborhood, Pete was
51:50
Speaker 1: always one of the first visitors and took charge of
51:53
Speaker 1: the kittens along with the mother cat. He would fight
51:57
Speaker 1: for the baby kittens and protect them with his own life.
52:01
Speaker 1: No mother cat was afraid to leave her kittens in
52:03
Speaker 1: charge of Pete because they all knew his daring spirit
52:07
Speaker 1: and courageous nature. After the death of the kind mistress,
52:11
Speaker 1: Pete missed her very much. He missed her loving caresses
52:16
Speaker 1: and the good meals which she always provided for him.
52:19
Speaker 1: Of course, the other members of the family took good
52:22
Speaker 1: care of him then, but the mistress of the home
52:25
Speaker 1: had been the one he had largely depended upon. She
52:29
Speaker 1: would get up any time in the night and let
52:32
Speaker 1: him in if he came to the door and called.
52:35
Speaker 1: If he was not in the house at supper time,
52:37
Speaker 1: a good meal would be placed back for him. And
52:40
Speaker 1: then during the night, if he came to the door,
52:43
Speaker 1: she would let him in and warm his supper for him.
52:46
Speaker 1: All this he greatly missed, although he was well taken
52:50
Speaker 1: care of. Today, he lives in a boarding school for
52:53
Speaker 1: cats in the city of Chicago, and is visited once
52:57
Speaker 1: each week at least by a daughter of his former mistress.
53:02
Speaker 1: This daughter loves Pete too, and Pete loves her just
53:06
Speaker 1: as much. When she goes to the boarding place to
53:09
Speaker 1: see him, he will come to her and put both
53:12
Speaker 1: front feet around her neck, and try in every way
53:16
Speaker 1: to show his affection. He is now about fourteen years
53:20
Speaker 1: old and weighs sixteen and one half pounds. During March
53:25
Speaker 1: of this year, nineteen nineteen, the old Gentleman received a
53:29
Speaker 1: letter from his daughter in Chicago saying that Pete was
53:33
Speaker 1: well and seemingly contented in the boarding school. It cost
53:37
Speaker 1: two or three dollars a week to keep him there,
53:40
Speaker 1: But this kindness is due to him after such faithful
53:44
Speaker 1: service during all the years. End of section ten. End
53:52
Speaker 1: of ten Kittens by Ga Puckett,