and Fluff and Muff scrambled down to the ground.

Next Dot took two red balls from her pocket. Each ball had a long rubber
fastened to it. It would bounce high without rolling away. Dot put a
ball near each kitten's paws. Just as Fluff and Muff sprang to get the
balls, Dot pulled the rubber. You never saw such surprised kittens! They
sat still and looked with wide-open eyes. These were queer balls indeed
that flew up into the air instead of rolling on the floor. This was
something new and strange.

The next time Dot bounced the balls Fluff and Muff were ready. Up they
jumped, with their paws raised, but the balls sprang out of reach. "The
kittens are trying to be living airplanes, too," said Paul.

Next Dot went to the pen and brought something back. She held it up and
said shyly, "This is Daddy's hat. It used to be the kittens' bed. Now it
is their plaything."

When she had said this she threw the hat on the ground. Quick as a wink
Fluff was on one side of it and Muff was on the other. Then they began
to paw and pull. Fluff pulled one way. Muff pulled the other. It was a
real pulling match. Some of the children cried, "I think that Fluff will
win." Others cried, "Hurrah for Muff."

Just then a queer noise was heard. Can you guess what it was? It was the
brim of Daddy's hat. It had torn all the way around--_rip, rip, rip_.
Off it came so suddenly that both little kittens rolled over backward.

All the children clapped their hands and laughed aloud. This frightened
Fluff and Muff. They scampered to their mother as fast as their little