THE CAT AND THE PUPPIES. 55

the cat and the pigeon, whatever your ages or stations in life.

The big boy or girl may be able to assist and protect the —

little ones, and these may render many a service in return.

 

THE CAT AND THE PUPPIES.

I HAVE a longer story than the last to tell, of a cat which
undertook the nursing of some puppies while she already
had kittens of her own. It happened that her mistress had
a valuable little black spaniel, which had a litter of five
puppies. As these were too many for the spaniel to bring
up, and the mistress was anxious to keep them all in life, it
was proposed that they should be brought up by hand. The
cook, to whom the offer was made, hinted that this would
be a difficult thing to do; but as the cat had lately kittened,
she proposed that some of the puppies might be given to her
to bring up. Two of the kittens were therefore taken away,
and the same number of puppies was put in their place.
What Puss thought of the matter has not been made known,
or whether even she discovered the trick that had been
played her; but she instantly began to bestow the same
care on the little puppies that she had done on her own
offspring, and in a fortnight they were as forward and play-
ful. as kittens would have been, skipping about, and bark-
ing lustily, while the three puppies nursed by their own
mother were whining and rolling about in the most help-
less way.

Puss had proved a better nurse than the little spaniel.
She gave them her tail to play with, and kept them always

 

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