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Book of the Cat-Mabel Humphrey · Three Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens

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Speaker 1: Section one of the Book of the Cat. This is
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Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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Speaker 1: For more information or the volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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Speaker 1: Recording by phone, The Book of the Cat by Mabel Humphrey.
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Speaker 1: Snowball and Ebony down at my feet on the red tiles,
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Speaker 1: in front of a roaring great fire set a great
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Speaker 1: black cat and a soft white angorre pussy. They are
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Speaker 1: named Ebony and Snowball, and are as different in nature
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Speaker 1: as they are in color, but are devoted friends for
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Speaker 1: all that possibly because of it. For where Snowball is timid,
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Speaker 1: Ebony will bravely lead the way, while if Ebony is cross,
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Speaker 1: Snowball will purr and cox and cuddle until he gradually
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Speaker 1: grows peaceful and pleasant again. From the time he was
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Speaker 1: a tiny kitten, Ebony had known no home, and such
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Speaker 1: food as he had was picked up when and wherever
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Speaker 1: he chanced to find it. He had won many and
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Speaker 1: lost few of his many cat battles, but he did
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Speaker 1: not like to fight, and never did it unless obliged to.
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Speaker 1: Snowball had never struck or received a blow in all
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Speaker 1: of her carefully guarded life. She was a finely bred
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Speaker 1: angora that had taken many prizes at the cat shows,
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Speaker 1: while her meals, far from being irregularly picked up, had
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Speaker 1: always been brought to her on a silver tray, as
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Speaker 1: regularly as the sun rose and considerably oftener. One bright
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Speaker 1: cold November afternoon, Snowball was wandering restlessly around, looking for something, anything,
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Speaker 1: some excitement. As she passed the dressed in saucer filled
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Speaker 1: with rich cream, she sniffed, and when she caught sight
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Speaker 1: of her silk cushioned basket, she fairly switched her tail.
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Speaker 1: Even the favorite spot on the warm hearth failed to allure. Outside,
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Speaker 1: the wind blew the few remaining leaves from the trees
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Speaker 1: in tempting swirls to the pavement, but she could not
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Speaker 1: play with them. She was shut indoors for fear she
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Speaker 1: might be stolen or stray. Stray, she would run away
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Speaker 1: as soon as she found the chance. As she wandered
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Speaker 1: into the broad hall, some one opened the front door
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Speaker 1: to pass through it, and Miss Pussy saw and seized
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Speaker 1: her chance. Like a flash. She darted down the steps
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Speaker 1: and up the street, never stopping until she was well
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Speaker 1: out of sight of the house. Then she paused and
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Speaker 1: looked curiously around. Close under the railing of a shabby
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Speaker 1: area not many blocks from Snowball's home, she spied three
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Speaker 1: rough coated, gaunt cats greedily drinking from a dish of
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Speaker 1: sooty skim milk. The saucer was thick and cracked, and
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Speaker 1: worse yet, had not been washed since it contained boiled onions,
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Speaker 1: But to the pampered runaway it seemed far more desirable
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Speaker 1: than the cream she had left untasted in her own
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Speaker 1: dressed in china plate, as she edged slowly toward them,
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Speaker 1: the three waves paid no attention to her, beyond giving
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Speaker 1: a warning growl or two, which Snowball, not understanding that
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Speaker 1: she could be unwelcome, mistook for their usual way of speaking.
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Speaker 1: With a friendly prof of greeting, She drew near and
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Speaker 1: lapped daintily at the strongly flavored milk. Was it hunger
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Speaker 1: or the feeling of liberty and comradeship that made a
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Speaker 1: taste so good and made her, for one short instant
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Speaker 1: perfectly happy. Then a stinging blow on one ear, followed
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Speaker 1: immediately by a sharp slap on the side of her
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Speaker 1: head from the big grain cat, sent her reeling dizzily
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Speaker 1: away from the dish. She recovered herself and turned in
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Speaker 1: abject terror. Her one thought to escape from this uncalled
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Speaker 1: for abuse, but directly in her path stood the black
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Speaker 1: and white cat with lashing tail and flaming eyes. Another
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Speaker 1: turn and she was again confronted by the gray crouching angrily,
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Speaker 1: ready for another attack. Snowball's heart seemed to stand still,
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Speaker 1: and she shut her eyes and waited for the end. When,
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Speaker 1: with one bound, the black cat stood between her and
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Speaker 1: her enemies. He began battle instantly, and so vigorously that
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Speaker 1: it was impossible to stand before the whirlwind of flying
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Speaker 1: claws and snapping teeth that he seemed to have become.
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Speaker 1: Soon his opponents retired with inglorious haste, and he was victor.
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Speaker 1: Snowbell was saved. In the silence that followed, Snowball caut
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Speaker 1: opened an eye and peeped around Peace and her deliverer,
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Speaker 1: again lapping at the puddle of blue milk that was
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Speaker 1: spreading from the overturned saucer across the broken flagstones. He
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Speaker 1: saw the timid glance and moved a little to one
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Speaker 1: side with a gesture of friendly invitation. Gratefully, she crept
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Speaker 1: to his side. The black and white noses bobbed buzzily
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Speaker 1: up and down together, as the pink tongues darted in
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Speaker 1: and out, and the milk rapidly disappeared. That afternoon, Snowball
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Speaker 1: brought a bonny home with her, and seemed so fond
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Speaker 1: of him that I could do no less than asked
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Speaker 1: him to stay. And for the first time they sat
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Speaker 1: in their now usual resting place, down at my feet
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Speaker 1: on the warm red tiles. How do I know about
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Speaker 1: a rescue? Ah, that's quite a story too, not to day, dear.
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Speaker 1: End of section one, recording by phone, Section two of
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Speaker 1: the Book of the Cat by Mabel Humphrey. This liperfox
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Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Recording by phone. Scat
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Speaker 1: said a greedy old tramp of a cat. I declare,
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Speaker 1: I heard someone say Scat. Of course I might run,
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Speaker 1: but twould spoil all this fun. And I don't see
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Speaker 1: much reason in that. End of section two recording by phone,
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Speaker 1: Section three of the Book of the Cat by Mabel Humphrey.
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Speaker 1: This liperfox recording is in the public domain. Recording by phone.
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Speaker 1: Kittens will be kittens. The kittens are playing a sort
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Speaker 1: of follow the leader in and out of their comfortable
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Speaker 1: box of stroll, while Missus Tabby Cat sat patiently by,
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Speaker 1: only occasionally glancing at them to make sure that all
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Speaker 1: three were safe. Things were very comfortably arranged for the
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Speaker 1: little family of pussies out in the barn, and the
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Speaker 1: only possible danger to the cat babies was the Saint
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Speaker 1: Bernard dog's drinking dish, which was set down into the
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Speaker 1: barn floor very near the wall and kept filled with water.
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Speaker 1: One of the grooms had arranged it one idle afternoon,
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Speaker 1: more for his own amusement than for any real need.
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Speaker 1: So to place it, mir trilled mother Cat warningly as
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Speaker 1: Frisker wobbled over towards her greatest dread that dreadful water.
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Speaker 1: Do stay near me, kittens, then you won't tumble in
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Speaker 1: and get drowned. Mure answered the three kittens in three
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Speaker 1: different keys. Don't worry about us, We're all right fully.
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Speaker 1: The nosed kitty rose gaily on her tottery hind legs
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Speaker 1: for an instant and cuffed playfully at her mother's ear,
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Speaker 1: then started across the barn floor as fast as a
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Speaker 1: fat three weeks old kitten cantumble, followed at once by
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Speaker 1: Frisker Kaliko saw them go, and, anticipating a frolic, at once,
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Speaker 1: made up her mind to be in it. She lifted
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Speaker 1: her heavy little head and started eagerly toward her stronger sisters.
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Speaker 1: But the progress was slow, for Kaliko was feeble, and
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Speaker 1: the weak little legs would slide apart, while her tail
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Speaker 1: waved wildly from side to side in the effort to
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Speaker 1: keep her balance. She was a strong minded, small pussy,
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Speaker 1: though weak in body, and she kept steadily on as
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Speaker 1: she drew near her goal. She felt very strong and proud.
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Speaker 1: One or two surprising sit downs and a very hard
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Speaker 1: bump on the pink nose in no way dampened her enthusiasm,
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Speaker 1: but alas the fowl that always follows pride, dampened both
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Speaker 1: enthusiasm and her whole wee self for a time, just
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Speaker 1: as she was becoming quite reckless, almost prancing with feet
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Speaker 1: stepping at least half an inch from the floor, there
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Speaker 1: suddenly yawned directly in front of the astounded kitten, the
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Speaker 1: six inch cousin of the drinking dish. She toppled, her tail,
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Speaker 1: gave a single wild twirl, and she splashed heels over
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Speaker 1: head into two inches of water. Missus Tabby, who had
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Speaker 1: been anxiously watching the unsteady promenade, sprang to the basin
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Speaker 1: at once, and leaning down, tried to pull Kaliko out
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Speaker 1: by the nape of the neck. To the frightened and
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Speaker 1: shivering kitten that had, upon touching bottom at once gained
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Speaker 1: its feet, This would have been quite as unpleasant as
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Speaker 1: the cold water that was now chilling her through and through,
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Speaker 1: so she protested in shrill wails, though she was too
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Speaker 1: heavy for the little mother to lift. Still, Missus Tabby
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Speaker 1: would not give up and try to claw her kitten
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Speaker 1: out with sudden dabs as she took the fish from
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Speaker 1: the brook. This was more than any kitten could stand,
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Speaker 1: and Kaliko reveled openly. She spat at her worried mama.
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Speaker 1: Of course, she did not know any better, for she
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Speaker 1: was only a kitty. The water might be cold, but
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Speaker 1: at least it did not hurt, while her nose and
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Speaker 1: ears smarted sharply from her mother's well meant scratches. Then
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Speaker 1: mother cat grew desperate and lost her head completely, circling
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Speaker 1: round and round her baby, now coaxing Kaliko to jump out,
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Speaker 1: as if I wouldn't if I could, thought, the kitten,
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Speaker 1: now crying piteously after what seemed to Tabby an a
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Speaker 1: each but was really less than five minutes, the groom,
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Speaker 1: who had really been the innocent cause of all this trouble,
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Speaker 1: sauntered in and put an end to it by lifting
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Speaker 1: Kaliko tenderly out. Gently. He dried the little trembling thing
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Speaker 1: and sat her down in her comfortable box once more,
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Speaker 1: where missus kat at once cuddled down close beside her.
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Speaker 1: Suddenly spying her sisters again, she made a fresh start,
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Speaker 1: only to be stopped by a well directed slap from
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Speaker 1: her mother's swift pall. Mew mew, snapped, missus kat you
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Speaker 1: just sit still for a while. I've had worry enough
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Speaker 1: for one day, and I will not help you out again.
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Speaker 1: I don't want you to, sniffed Kaliko, rubbing her still
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Speaker 1: smarting nose thoughtfully. Tabby sighed as the kitten made yet
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Speaker 1: another start for her sisters, but wisely let her go.
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Speaker 1: Did you, however, she groaned, But then kittens will be kittens.
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Speaker 1: End of section three. Recording by phone Section four of
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Speaker 1: the Book of tact by Mabel Humphrey. This Liberpox recording
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Speaker 1: is in public domain. Recording by phone, A feline fantasy, Oh, Maria,
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Speaker 1: tom Ria, tom Ria. The two voices grow fervent, rose
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Speaker 1: higher till their serenade's sweet interruption did meet from a
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Speaker 1: bootjack that took a quick flyer. End of section four,
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Speaker 1: Section five of the Book of the Cat by Mabel Humphrey.
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Speaker 1: This liber Fox recording is in public domain. Recording by
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Speaker 1: phone A night on, I've a very great longing for
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Speaker 1: a sweet, juicy robin. What do you say to catching one?
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Speaker 1: Or two? You old moon gazer? Whitey gave mister twinkletoes
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Speaker 1: Black a playful chuck under the skin, skipped gleefully across
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Speaker 1: the moonlit roof and back, and sat down sociably by him.
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Speaker 1: Before that, leisurely pussy turned his head to look scornfully
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Speaker 1: at the youthful I almost said speaker, but as all
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Speaker 1: of their conversation is in cat language, perhaps mewer would
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Speaker 1: be more exact. You foolish kitten, who ever caught a
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Speaker 1: robin in December, my dear boy, Twinkletoe's tone made Whitney
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Speaker 1: think he was anything but a dear boy. When you've
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Speaker 1: lived three years as I have, Whitey was just ten
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Speaker 1: months old, you'll know December when you are feel it,
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Speaker 1: it's apt to be cool and snow a horrid stuff.
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Speaker 1: It is white sticks to your feet, you know, wet.
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Speaker 1: The fussy mister Black shook a dainty paw at the
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Speaker 1: very thought, while Whitey listened eagerly so that the next
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Speaker 1: time he would know how December felt. There's one thing
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Speaker 1: nice about it, added Twinkletoes. The nights are long, and
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Speaker 1: one has time to sing and sing. One could. Why
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Speaker 1: can't one, Twinkie, asked Whitey hopefully. Oh we might try,
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Speaker 1: but uh well, but Jack's you know, hair brushes, old shoes.
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Speaker 1: But it's very good exercise, this dodging, you said, singing,
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Speaker 1: corrected Whitey, rather puzzled. He did didn't know, but never
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Speaker 1: having sung on roofs, it was new and sounded thrilling.
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Speaker 1: Come on, he urged. Let's They started in, and their
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Speaker 1: voices rose into awful sleep destroying discords. Real louder and
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Speaker 1: more bansheelike grew the noise till the expected missiles began
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Speaker 1: to arrive. Twinkletoes. Black was an expert dodger and skipped
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Speaker 1: gracefully from place to place, avoiding the brushes and bottles
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Speaker 1: that dropped from the windows of the tall apartment house
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Speaker 1: next door. Whitey had retired silent after the first old
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Speaker 1: slipper landed heavily on his tail, but he was admiring
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Speaker 1: mister Black's prowess with his whole heart. Nevertheless, he was
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Speaker 1: glad when the excitement was over with the song, and
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Speaker 1: they settled down by the chimney once more. The crisp
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Speaker 1: air made him hungry, and again his thoughts turned birdward.
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Speaker 1: Let's get some sparrows, then, he said, as if there
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Speaker 1: had been no interruption since birds were spoken of the
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Speaker 1: early bird, you know, and it will be early if
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Speaker 1: we set up much later. I never saw an early
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Speaker 1: bird myself, but I suppose there are such things. I
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Speaker 1: prefer a morning nap after these nights on haven't much
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Speaker 1: use for the early birds. Usually, to hear Whitey talk,
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Speaker 1: one would have thought he spent every night singing to
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Speaker 1: the moon. This was his first Not a bad idea
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Speaker 1: for a youngster, said Twinkletoes pleasantly. The two edged a
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Speaker 1: little nearer the warm bricks and waited, purring A bumbly
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Speaker 1: de wat to pass the time. Just look at that moon,
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Speaker 1: sighed Twinkletoes, still musically inclined, got whiskers or something, hasn't it,
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Speaker 1: asked Whitey, staring curiously at the illuminated clock face where
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Speaker 1: he sat. The moon was hidden by the chimney and
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Speaker 1: invisible to him, And it's sitting down on the tower,
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Speaker 1: stretching his neck excitedly that he might better see what
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Speaker 1: made it act. So he caught sight of the real
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Speaker 1: moon and instantly subsided into the meekest pussy that ever
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Speaker 1: round the roof. I I don't understand December moon's very well,
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Speaker 1: he apologized, So I see twinkled Toes replied, but how
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Speaker 1: about your early birds? Hallo, Your moon's whiskers say that
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Speaker 1: it's after five o'clock, and that's not early for birds,
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Speaker 1: Now that I think of it, I don't believe they
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Speaker 1: get up till later, at least in December. Whitey was tired.
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Speaker 1: This was the last straw early birds, he snorted, early
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Speaker 1: fiddlesticks after five o'clock just shows how much cat may believe,
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Speaker 1: and he started home. Mister Twinkletoes followed lazily, observing calmly.
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Speaker 1: I think the early nookman will be good enough for me.
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Speaker 1: End of section five. Recording by phone. Section six of
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Speaker 1: The Book of the Cat by Mabel Humphrey. This librifox
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Speaker 1: recording as in a public domain recording by phone Great Panjandrum.
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Speaker 1: The cats had just been punished for trying to catch
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Speaker 1: the canary and were cross because of it. On their
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Speaker 1: way downstairs, Topsy, without meaning to, brushed against Pan, properly
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Speaker 1: named Great Panjandrum because of his superior manner, who promptly
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Speaker 1: spat at her as a return compliment. Topsy boxed his ears,
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Speaker 1: then scuttled off to the living room. Pan stalked into
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Speaker 1: the library, and, choosing catlike the one spot he should
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Speaker 1: have kept away from, curdled up on a handsome book
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Speaker 1: that was lying open on the table, and forgot his
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Speaker 1: troubles in sleep. For some time, Topsy wandered aimlessly from
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Speaker 1: room to room, then preferring pans society to no society
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Speaker 1: at all. She did not feel kindly towards human beings
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Speaker 1: since her late whipping. She leaped lightly on to the
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Speaker 1: table and curled up near him. For fully half an hour,
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Speaker 1: she sat idly with half closed eyes while Pan slept
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Speaker 1: on a perfect picture of innocent slumber. Then his paws
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Speaker 1: began to jerk excitedly, his mouth twitched and the tip
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Speaker 1: of his tail waved like a pennant in a stiff breeze.
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Speaker 1: Topsy eyed him coldly. Now mew He gasped, his paws
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Speaker 1: slipped from the book to the table, and he awoke
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Speaker 1: with a start. Pretty faces you've been making, snapped Topsy,
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Speaker 1: and such talk. Pan seemed surprised. Then he remembered that
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Speaker 1: Topsy had had the worst of the punishment and suddenly
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Speaker 1: felt very forbearing. He'd had a delightful cat nap, and
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Speaker 1: we all know how refreshing those are, I dreamed, he began,
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Speaker 1: then paused impassively for questions. Guess you did, sniffed, Topsy,
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Speaker 1: you acted like it. Pan looked grieved, but remembered it
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Speaker 1: was such a good nappy hand that when cats have trouble,
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Speaker 1: they are apt to be catty, dreamed. He went on,
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Speaker 1: calmly that I had that yellow, squalling thing on the floor,
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Speaker 1: and I was just going to put my paw on
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Speaker 1: its soft feathers when I awoke. He licked his chops
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Speaker 1: dreamily at the thought, my sympathized Topsy at last interested.
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Speaker 1: Come to think of it, Tops, I'm hungry and er
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Speaker 1: er well, you know, mistress doesn't always feed as heartily
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Speaker 1: after em well after, you know. Topsy bobbed the end
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Speaker 1: of her tail understandingly, and Pan grew confidential. I know
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Speaker 1: where's a dish of cream. It's down. The rest of
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Speaker 1: the sentence was whispered so low that I really couldn't
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Speaker 1: tell you what it was. But Topsy understood, and the
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Speaker 1: two hurried away as noiselessly and gracefully yes, and as
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Speaker 1: dignifiedly as only cats can hurry. The desired cream they
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Speaker 1: found on a high shelf in the shed. They were
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Speaker 1: post never to enter this place, so Cook had thought
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Speaker 1: it a safe spot in which to set the cream.
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Speaker 1: A strong jump was needed to reach the shelf, but
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Speaker 1: after several attempts, they managed it and lapped, lapped, lapped
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Speaker 1: to their full content. As they sat blissfully purring after
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Speaker 1: this unusual treat, they heard a plaintive meal from the
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Speaker 1: ground close by, and peering down, saw a strange cat
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Speaker 1: that had evidently entered through the open window as they
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Speaker 1: had done. He looked hungry and wistful, while they had
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Speaker 1: just had a delicious meal and were correspondingly pleasant. Now,
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Speaker 1: come on up, it's good, called Pan. Possibly hunger made
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Speaker 1: the leap easier for this newcomer than for the well
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Speaker 1: fed cats. Possibly he was more agile than they, for
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Speaker 1: with one spring he landed by the saucer, and dipping
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Speaker 1: his head eagerly, long and fast, before he once raised
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Speaker 1: his eyes. When he finished, the pink tongue was run
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Speaker 1: out over his lips and whiskers, so that no delicious
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Speaker 1: drop should escape, and he heaved a satisfied sigh. Do
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Speaker 1: you always have such dinners as this? Asked? He Pan
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Speaker 1: turned his head away and pretended to be interested in
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Speaker 1: a black ant that was crawling rapidly up the wall
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Speaker 1: below him. He was a truthful pussy and preferred to
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Speaker 1: change the subject. The stranger was comfortable and sat lazily
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Speaker 1: waiting for the answer. At that moment, Cook went for
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Speaker 1: the cream, and, seeing the cats, started angrily forward, chewing
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Speaker 1: and scutting with great vigor. When, after a wild exit,
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Speaker 1: the cats at last seated themselves up on a high fence,
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Speaker 1: they paused a moment to get their breath again. Then
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Speaker 1: the stranger smiled. He actually grew, I should judge you
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Speaker 1: don't always have such a dinner as that, He spoke pleasantly,
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Speaker 1: But Pan looked sheepish by whiskers. He muttered, his mind's
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Speaker 1: eye still seeing Cook's vulgar flapping apron strings. I should
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Speaker 1: think not thanks, just the same, more, said the visitor,
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Speaker 1: jumping down. Don't mention it, politely answered the host and
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Speaker 1: hostess come again. End of section six. Recording by phone,
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Speaker 1: Section seven of the Book of the Cat by Mabel Humphrey.
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Speaker 1: This librifox recording is in the public domain. Recording by phone.
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Speaker 1: An autumn frolic one gray as dawn, one white as milk,
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Speaker 1: with dainty paul and eyes of flame, and thick coats
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Speaker 1: soft as richest silk. They fly like winds. These pussies
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Speaker 1: gay wheel madly round in dizzy game, then sudden stop
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Speaker 1: in whirling play up off. They follow breathlessly with fawn
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Speaker 1: like grace, the glowing leaves that dance in farewell whirls
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Speaker 1: of plea. The wind dies low in darkening west. The
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Speaker 1: day's orb sets neath purpling clouds. At last the two
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Speaker 1: cat's palls and rest. End of section seven, recording by phone.
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Speaker 1: Section eight of the Book of the Cat by Mabel Humphrey.
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Speaker 1: This Liberpook's recording as in the public domain. Recording by
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Speaker 1: phone tabitha tiger reflects, bless my claws and whiskers. But
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Speaker 1: this suspense is awful here. I have been waiting for
26:07
Speaker 1: the last two hours behind this horrid smelling cheese, and
26:11
Speaker 1: no sign of a mouse yet, And it's just a
26:14
Speaker 1: time for them too. I wonder why housekeepers expect us
26:20
Speaker 1: cats to keep the house free from mice when they're
26:23
Speaker 1: away for the summer. No self respecting cat can eat
26:26
Speaker 1: mice morning, noon and night, and one would have to
26:30
Speaker 1: do so in order to rid the house of them.
26:33
Speaker 1: Why I should turn into a squeaking cheese eater myself.
26:37
Speaker 1: Strange place for cook to leave cheese strikes me, the
26:41
Speaker 1: kitchen table, but it should make a fine hunting ground
26:45
Speaker 1: if I'd only seen it before, I needn't have wasted
26:48
Speaker 1: so much time in front of that hole up in
26:51
Speaker 1: the attic. And I caught only three and a half
26:54
Speaker 1: mice during the whole week. I suppose some boastful cats
26:58
Speaker 1: would call it four. But the first class mouser like
27:02
Speaker 1: myself doesn't have to stretch a tail tail good pun
27:06
Speaker 1: dat ha ha to keep up her reputation. And that
27:10
Speaker 1: little spring mouse really had no more meat on than
27:13
Speaker 1: half a full grown one spring miise certainly are delicious
27:18
Speaker 1: if people only realized it. Much is sweeter and juicier
27:22
Speaker 1: than spring chickens and tender my furry ear chips. It
27:27
Speaker 1: makes my mouth water to think of them. Their only
27:31
Speaker 1: drawback is they're drawing back. The best of them will
27:34
Speaker 1: never come out far enough from the holes for gracious
27:37
Speaker 1: cat tails. What was that it is? There are his whiskers?
27:43
Speaker 1: Now an eye ear ah? Now he's coming, yes, right
27:48
Speaker 1: over to this very table. I must keep still now
27:53
Speaker 1: down so close behind the cheese. It's a good thing.
27:56
Speaker 1: I'm not a big cut well, I never that was
28:00
Speaker 1: a close squeak. I got that taill under just in time.
28:04
Speaker 1: Pretty poor memory, I call it to forget one's own tail.
28:08
Speaker 1: If that mouse had seen what There's another and halfway
28:11
Speaker 1: over here. The first one must be close by the
28:14
Speaker 1: table leg though I can't see him. And still another
28:18
Speaker 1: just coming out of the hole, claws and whiskers. If
28:21
Speaker 1: my heart beats like this, I'll never on this table
28:24
Speaker 1: be able to jump straight. Never what more? Four talk
28:30
Speaker 1: about your mouse hunting? Why my paws tremble? So I
28:34
Speaker 1: shall have regular mouse egg in a minute. They're all
28:38
Speaker 1: making for the cheese. I can hear their claws scampering
28:41
Speaker 1: up the wood. One, two, three, where's the last? There's
28:46
Speaker 1: the fourth patter? I should get two, for they are
28:49
Speaker 1: clothes together and eating very intently. Now for it, dear, dear,
28:55
Speaker 1: what a noise that front door does make. Master Hurld's
28:59
Speaker 1: little voice too. Oh my eyes and teeth. Why need
29:03
Speaker 1: they have come just now? Those mice herded too, they've
29:07
Speaker 1: stopped eating. Oh little boy bangs into kitchen and snatches
29:13
Speaker 1: tabitha tiger ecstatically from table. Mice scattered back to hole.
29:20
Speaker 1: Now sh sh scratch, scratch, boo hoo hoo, slap slap.
29:30
Speaker 1: Boy runs away. He spoiled the finest nose ketch of
29:35
Speaker 1: this season, and I had to scratch him. A puss
29:38
Speaker 1: can't stand everything, Gracious cat tills end of section eight.
29:45
Speaker 1: Recording by Phone, Section nine of the Book of the
29:55
Speaker 1: Cat by Mabel Humphrey. This librifox recording is in the
29:59
Speaker 1: public domain. Recording by Phone Dots beetles. Since his fluffy
30:07
Speaker 1: kitten hood, Dot has been afraid of beetles, grasshoppers, crickets,
30:11
Speaker 1: and in fact, any large insect that is rather strange
30:16
Speaker 1: in a kitten, Is it not? But he had one
30:19
Speaker 1: experience which I think excuses his timidity. It was on
30:24
Speaker 1: a warm summer morning that he and his twink now
30:27
Speaker 1: let us say triplet brother Dab. The three kittens were
30:31
Speaker 1: called Dot, Dab and Fluff, for they were too tiny
30:35
Speaker 1: to toddle around under heavier names. Their mistress said, were
30:40
Speaker 1: lying sleepily in their favorite corner of the piazza. To
30:44
Speaker 1: make sure he was missing nothing that a kitten should
30:47
Speaker 1: not miss, Dot opened his drowsy eyes and looked around. Instantly,
30:52
Speaker 1: the drowsy look vanished and was replaced by one of
30:55
Speaker 1: intense interest. For low crawling toward their corner was a
31:01
Speaker 1: many legged, shiny black thing with pinchy, dangerous looking horns.
31:07
Speaker 1: Dot did not altogether like its looks, but curiosity was strong,
31:12
Speaker 1: and calling to Dab, he started for the intruder, keeping
31:17
Speaker 1: safely behind the more venturesome brother. Dab followed, and a
31:22
Speaker 1: slow trot See it's alive, meute Dot excitedly, let's play
31:29
Speaker 1: with it. Me you try it first, Squeat dam Dot
31:36
Speaker 1: cautiously extended a pink paw toward the beetle. It came
31:40
Speaker 1: steadily on, and the paw was hastily withdrawn. Meanwhile, Dab too,
31:46
Speaker 1: had lifted a paw to make a test of the
31:48
Speaker 1: small awesome stranger, but thought better of it. How dare
31:53
Speaker 1: he venture when Dot would not? As the kittens hesitated,
31:58
Speaker 1: a wasp that had been her near alighted on Dot's
32:01
Speaker 1: furry head and rested there for an instant. It would
32:05
Speaker 1: not have harmed him, had not. The beetle become alarmed
32:09
Speaker 1: at a sudden spat from Dab and blundered hurriedly away
32:13
Speaker 1: in another direction. This happened to be directly at Dot,
32:18
Speaker 1: for whose tottering courage the sudden charge was too much.
32:22
Speaker 1: He sprang to one side in his turn, startling the wasp,
32:26
Speaker 1: which promptly stung him with a pained cry. The little
32:31
Speaker 1: kitten dashed wildly from the verandah, and it was several
32:35
Speaker 1: days before he could be persuaded to go on it again.
32:39
Speaker 1: The beetle had been on the piazza, as he had
32:42
Speaker 1: not seen or felt the wasp until it stung him.
32:46
Speaker 1: His kit in mind could only think that somehow the
32:49
Speaker 1: awful black thing had hurt him cruelly. No more piazzas
32:54
Speaker 1: with painful black things for him, Thank you its name,
32:58
Speaker 1: He heard afterwards from Mistress. Now the kittens are almost
33:04
Speaker 1: full grown cats, and the ground is covered with snow.
33:08
Speaker 1: Dot dislikes the snowflakes, but he prefers them to beetles,
33:12
Speaker 1: and the beetles are gone. But even yet he does
33:15
Speaker 1: not quite forget his baby terror. One evening, shortly before Christmas,
33:21
Speaker 1: Mistress Dorothy went in to where her pets sat basking
33:24
Speaker 1: in the warmth of the kitchen stove, carrying with her
33:28
Speaker 1: their usual supply of warm milk. The cats were on
33:32
Speaker 1: their feet at once while the girl mischievously held the
33:36
Speaker 1: milk just beyond their reach, mewing softly beneath their breath.
33:40
Speaker 1: They were surely trying to say please, just as politely
33:44
Speaker 1: as they could. Still, the milk was withheld, and they
33:49
Speaker 1: grew restless. They shifted from one foot to another, working
33:53
Speaker 1: their claws madly in and out. They purred sonorously and
33:58
Speaker 1: walked rapidly around one another. They rubbed sides so vigorously
34:03
Speaker 1: as almost to knock each other over, but never forgot
34:06
Speaker 1: to keep an anxious eye toward the coveted supper. Dorothy
34:10
Speaker 1: at last relented, as they knew she would, and stopping
34:15
Speaker 1: to set the dish down a sprig of holly dropped
34:18
Speaker 1: from her belt just as Dot, turning, gave a particularly
34:22
Speaker 1: ecstatic hump to his back. Suddenly his tail bushed out
34:27
Speaker 1: like a bolster, his eyes fairly bulged, and he jumped
34:31
Speaker 1: clean off the floor. In front of him was the holly,
34:34
Speaker 1: which a quick puff of air through the open door
34:37
Speaker 1: had blown scratching unevenly over the floor, directly at poor Dot.
34:43
Speaker 1: Sh Beetle spat the terrified pussy. He was far too
34:49
Speaker 1: scared to run, fairly stiff with fright for this unknown thing,
34:53
Speaker 1: might it might anything? Laughing so heartily that she was
34:59
Speaker 1: almost helpless, Dorothy snatched up the offending brunch and again
35:04
Speaker 1: placed it at her waist. Then Dot saw his mistake,
35:08
Speaker 1: and as his mistress seated herself, he sprang upon her
35:12
Speaker 1: lap and commenced to play with the bright berries. Very
35:16
Speaker 1: brave he was, since he understood. Dorothy let him pretend
35:21
Speaker 1: he had been playing before, but she really knew that
35:24
Speaker 1: he hadn't been, just as well as you and I know.
35:30
Speaker 1: End of section nine recording by phone. End of the
35:34
Speaker 1: Book of the Cat by Mabel Humphrey