The Tale of Miss Kitty Cat

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Tale of Miss Kitty Cat, by Arthur Scott Bailey

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Title: The Tale of Miss Kitty Cat Slumber-Town Tales
Author: Arthur Scott Bailey
Illustrator: Harry L. Smith
Release Date: April 15, 2007 [EBook #21078]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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Produced by Joe and Grace Longo

THE TALE OF MISS KITTY CAT

SLUMBER-TOWN TALES (Trademark Registered)
BY ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
AUTHOR OF SLEEPY-TIME TALES (Trademark Registered) TUCK-ME-IN TALES (Trademark Registered)
BY ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
THE TALE OF THE MULEY COW THE TALE OF OLD DOG SPOT THE TALE OF GRUNTY PIG THE TALE OF HENRIETTA HEN THE TALE OF TURKEY PROUDFOOT THE TALE OF PONY TWINKLEHEELS THE TALE OF MISS KITTY CAT

[Illustration: Miss Kitty Cat Chased Old Dog Spot. Frontispiece]

SLUMBER-TOWN TALES (Trademark Registered)
THE TALE OF MISS KITTY CAT
BY ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
Author of "SLEEPY-TIME TALES" (Trademark Registered) AND "TUCK-ME-IN TALES" (Trademark Registered)
ILLUSTRATED BY HARRY L. SMITH
NEW YORK GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS
Made in the United States of America

COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY GROSSET & DUNLAP

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
A TERRIBLE PERSON II DOG SPOT'S PLANS III CHASING MISS KITTY IV A TENDER NOSE V SPOTS AND SPECKLES VI BEECHNUT SHUCKS VII TWO IN A TREE VIII NINE LIVES IX THE STOLEN CREAM X A CREAMY FACE XI THE WRENS' HOME XII JOLLY ROBIN'S NEWS XIII AN UNWELCOME GUEST XIV CATCALLS XV MOUSETRAPS XVI A MIDNIGHT MEAL XVII THE EAVESDROPPER XVIII KIDNAPPED XX STRANGE QUARTERS XXI A LONG JOURNEY XXII IN THE PANTRY XXIV THE FLOUR BARREL XXV A SECRET XXIV FIVE IN A BASKET

ILLUSTRATIONS
MISS KITTY CAT CHASED OLD DOG SPOT Frontispiece
MISS KITTY CAT LOOKED CALMLY AT RUSTY WREN
MISS KITTY CAT SEES MOSES MOUSE BALANCE A BIT OF CHEESE ON HIS NOSE
MISS KITTY CAT GUARDS HER KITTENS

THE TALE OF MISS KITTY CAT

I
A TERRIBLE PERSON
THE rats and the mice thought that Miss Kitty Cat was a terrible person. She was altogether too fond of hunting them. They agreed, however, that in one way it was pleasant to have her about the farmhouse. When she washed her face, while sitting on the doorsteps, they knew--so they said!--that it was going to rain. And then Mrs. Rat never would let her husband leave home without taking his umbrella.
As a rule Miss Kitty Cat didn't look at all frightful. Almost always she appeared quite unruffled, going about her business in a quiet way and making no fuss over anything. Of course when old dog Spot chased--and cornered--her, she was quite a different sort of creature. Then she arched her back, puffed her tail out to twice its usual size, and spat fiercely at Spot. He learned not to get within reach of her sharp claws, when she behaved in that fashion. For old Spot had a tender nose. And no one knew it better than Miss Kitty Cat.
Around the farmhouse she was politeness itself--when there was anybody to observe her. If her meals were late she never clamored, as Johnnie Green sometimes did. To be sure, she might remind Mrs. Green gently, by plaintive mewing, that she had not had her saucer of milk. But she was always careful not to be rude about it. And though Miss Kitty liked a warm place in winter, she never crowded anybody else away from the fire. She crept under the kitchen range, where no one else cared to sit. And there she would doze by the hour--especially after she had enjoyed a hearty meal.
On summer nights, however, when she loved to hunt out of doors, Miss Kitty Cat was far from appearing sleepy. She roamed about the fields, or crept through the tree-tops with a stealthy tread and a tigerish working of her tail. Folk smaller than Miss Kitty never cared to meet her at such times. They knew that she would spring upon them if she had a chance. So they took good care to keep out of her way. And if they caught sight of her when she had her hunting manner they always gave the alarm in their own fashion, warning their friends to beware of the monster Miss Kitty Cat, because she was abroad and in a dangerous mood.
Johnnie Green liked Miss Kitty. Often she would come to him and rub against him and purr, fairly begging him to stroke her back. Unless he pulled her tail at such times she kept her claws carefully out of sight and basked under Johnnie's petting.
If he had been her size and she had been his, Miss Kitty Cat might not have been so harmless. She might have played