"I don't," declared Jimmie. "Boys never bring the teacher flowers; that is
unless they don't want to be kept in when there's a ball game. But don't
you like pussy willows, Aunt Lettie?"

"Oh, no indeed," she answered. "I don't like cats of any description."

"But these are only pussy willows," said Alice.

"Oh, they'll turn into cats quickly enough," remarked Aunt Lettie. "There
was a family who once lived next to us, and they had kittens. Why it
wasn't any time at all before those kittens had turned into cats, and land
goodness, how they did howl nights and keep me awake! And I had lumbago
that summer, too! Oh, yes, indeed, kittens are all very well, but when
they turn into old cats they're not so nice."

"Oh, but Aunt Lettie, you don't understand," explained Jimmie, smiling the
least bit. "You see these are only plant pussies. They can't ever become
real cats you know."

"They grow, don't they?" asked the old lady goat, shaking her horns again,
"Don't they grow?"

"Yes," admitted Lulu. "They certainly grow."

"Well, if they're pussies now they'll grow to be cats soon enough, you
mark my words," went on Aunt Lettie quite sorrowfully. "That is unless
they drown in that water," she added quickly.

"Why, no; pussy willows can't drown in water," said Lulu. "We put them
there to keep them fresh. You don't need to worry about those pussy