_Chorus_

("He was then a happy, happy Pussy-cat!")

"I really blush to say
How idly I would play
With my tail or silly spool upon the floor--
Till one unlucky day
Three children came to stay--
After that I wasn't happy any more."

_Chorus_

("No, _indeed_, he wasn't happy any more!")

"They drove me nearly wild,
My temper, once so mild,
They spoiled--the truth of that you'll say is plain--
So I ran away to sea--
'Tis a pirate's life for me,
And I'll never be a Pussy-cat again!"

_Chorus_

("No, _he'll_ never be a Pussy-cat again!")


You may be sure that Rudolf and Ann did not join in the burst of
applause which greeted the end of Captain Mittens' song. Peter would
have been glad to, for he was too young and foolish to understand how