The Nomad of the Nine Lives | Page 2

uneasy manner in which
she looked about her, and started and trembled as people came to look
at us. Once, if I remember correctly, she tried to bite a small boy who
would persist in picking me up by the tail. Her claws showed also and
she took good care of us in many like emergencies. She continued to be
uneasy, and one day when Mr. Carver, the butcher, had stepped out on
business, she took us one by one in her mouth, lifting us carefully by
the nape of the neck, and carried us back into the cellar again.

It was dark and cold and we did not like it very well, but mother
cuddled us up in her warm embrace and tried to make us feel that it was
best for us to be away from people. When Mr. Carver came back and
saw the empty box he came down into the cellar and scolded poor
mother, saying, "Now, old lady, I want you and the kittens to stay
upstairs, for I am going to give them away; besides, I want you to kill
the mice which are getting into everything up there. You may keep one
of your children, however, for we need two cats here."
Mother looked worried, but followed as he carried us up again. We
remained there after that and grew larger and more attractive, so that
one by one my brothers and sisters were given away, with the exception
of Tom's father (who stayed at home and lived on the fat of the land, to
a good old age).
Our childhood was bright and happy, for mother taught us many things
and brought us up well. I remember that there was a door leading from
the rear of the store into a garden. Sunny days mother would take us
out and give us lessons in natural history. She taught us not to kill or
maim song-birds, but said that we could kill and eat field mice or little
blind moles, although we never saw any of them. She warned us that
bees and wasps were too heating to the blood, and not to eat them, but
if very hungry, a grass-hopper was not to be sneezed at; positively no
toads, however. How we played in the garden, chasing the elusive
sunbeams, rolling over and over, and learning to box and jump! It all
came to an end too soon, however, for one day a very neat little girl
came in and said that her father, who was janitor in a grammar school,
wanted a kitten, because the mice were getting the best of him.
She picked me up and I knew at once that I should like her, as she was
so gentle (some children are very rough and squeeze one so hard).
Mr. Carver parted with me unwillingly, for, as he expressed it, "I was
the smartest one in the bunch." I said good-by to mother with tears in
my 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 realized. In my early days at the meat market I used