plump. Her father secretly made her a cradle and he and the babe's
mother came often to see their child. Every one called her Honig-je', or
Little Honey.

Now about this time, cats were brought into the country and the children
made such pets of them that some of the cows seemed to be jealous of the
attentions paid to Pussy and the kittens. These were the days when cows
and people all lived under one long roof. The children learned to tell
the time of day, whether it was morning, noon or night by looking into
the cats' eyes. These seemed to open and shut, very much as if they had
doors.

The fat pussy, which was brought into the house where Honig-je' was,
seemed to be very fond of the little girl, and the two, the cat and the
child, played much together. It was often said that the cat loved the
baby even more than her own kittens. Every one called the affectionate
animal by the nickname of Dub-belt-je', which means Little Double;
because this puss was twice as loving as most cat mothers are. When her
own furry little babies were very young, she carried them from one place
to another in her mouth. But this way, of holding kittens, she never
tried on the baby. She seemed to know better. Indeed, Dub-belt-je' often
wondered why human babies were born so naked and helpless; for at an age
when her kittens could feed themselves and run about and play with their
tails and with each other, Honig-je' was not yet able to crawl.

But other dangers were in store for the little girl. One day, when the
men were out hunting, and the women went to the woods to gather nuts and
acorns, a great flood came. The waters washed away the houses, so that
everything floated into the great river, and then down towards the sea.