eyes, for she had been very good to me.

Once she had even defied a dog who came into the store and ventured too
near our box. I still remember how handsome she appeared with her eyes
blazing, her arched back, and her open mouth, hissing and spitting at him.
Her sharp claws could be seen outside of her velvet paws, while we,
terribly frightened, crouched low and kept quiet. The dog ran away as fast
as he could, and never returned to trouble us.

She had taught us how to catch and kill rats and mice in the stillness of
the night, and had given us many an object lesson. Thus, when we left her
we had a knowledge of these things and had also been warned not to steal,
which, living as we did, in a meat market, had been a very hard task. She
had likewise taught us to be careful of our appearance, and especially to
keep clean. This latter she showed us by wetting her paw with her tongue
and washing her face with it, and, moreover, had told us we need not go
over our heads and back of our ears unless it looked like rain (so
considerate of her, for cats, as well as boys, hate to have their ears
washed). Of course she taught us to hate water and always to step over a
puddle; to keep good company or none; and above all things not to stay out
late at night, or walk on back fences. She did not approve of voice
culture, either, but later I shall relate my sad experiences in that
direction.



CHAPTER II


I was indeed glad to find that my ambition to have an education was to be