XXVIIANOTHER HOME
Oneday soon after Brownie’s death Dorothy and Teddy came over with Judy, their little Maltese kitty, all nicely cuddled up in a covered basket, and asked mistress if she would keep her till they returned from the Lake Shore.
“You know we promised to have some one take care of the kittens during our vacation,” said Dorothy, “and we couldn’t think of anybody that would do it better than you.”
Mistress seemed very much pleased at this. She praised the children for remembering their promise so well and told them that Judy might stay. Then she added, “But who is going to take care of Punch?”
“We intend to take him along,” said Teddy; “we would take Judy too, but mamma thinks two cats will be too much trouble.”
“Oh, no,” said mistress, “you must either take both, or leave both. If they are separated so longthey will become estranged, and then they will no longer live together peaceably.”
“Then you will have to keep Punch, too,” said Dorothy.
“Rather than have them separated, I will do so,” said mistress, “but you must bring their basket and cushions, so they will have some familiar objects to attract them to this place.”
So Teddy went home and fetched Punch and the cat furniture, and while he was gone I had a little chat with Judy. She did not remember me at first, and acted quite saucy for a while. But when I told her that I was her mother, and how I had nursed her and Punch, and raised them to be the handsome cats they were, she snuggled up to me and said, “Oh, yes; now I remember: you used to wash us, and bring us mousies to play with; and I remember also the beautiful lullaby you used to sing to us:
Rockaby, hushaby, Pussy, my dear,The dogs are all chained and there’s nothing to fear!
Rockaby, hushaby, Pussy, my dear,The dogs are all chained and there’s nothing to fear!
Rockaby, hushaby, Pussy, my dear,
The dogs are all chained and there’s nothing to fear!
“Oh, how we did want our dear mother that first night in our new home! We just cried and cried till we finally dropped asleep.”
When Teddy returned, mistress fixed up a cozy corner for our little summer boarders, as she called Punch and Judy, in the kitchen.
That same evening the landlord called on mistress, and I heard him talk in a very upbraiding way about so many cats on his premises; and finally he said in a lofty and scornful tone: “You must either get rid of them, or leave the house.”
On the very next evening the trunks and boxes were brought down from the attic, and mistress and Guy started to packing as if they were going on another journey.
One morning a few days later we cats were all taken to the attic, where we stayed for a long time.
I was just raising another family, and I wondered what was going to be done with me. But soon after lunch time mistress came with a large covered wicker basket into which she put me with my kittens on a nice soft pad. Peeping through the cracks of the basket I could see her put Toddy, Punch and Judy into the laundry bag, and when we were all fixed up Guy came to fetch us down-stairs. There I discovered the moving van, all loaded, and Guy, who is very strong, mounted the wagon with us. Budge had the honor of ridinga-wheel with mistress, tied securely into the Switzerland bag.
And now methinks I hear some of you say “but what became of poor sickly Daisy, and homeless Bunny?” I am happy to tell you that before we left our old home both were cared for; Daisy with her little kitty went to the beautiful and happy land where sickness never comes, and where there is a home for every cat; and Bunny and her kittens were all provided with good homes through the kindness of their friends Don and Teddy.
It was a very short ride on the moving van to our new home, and when we halted it was in front of a beautiful white cottage with a spacious vine-covered porch. Mistress met us at the door, and we were taken into a quiet room where we found some salmon already prepared for us on our own plate. Budge was there, too, acting rather shy, and going around smelling of everything with his mouth wide open. But presently Guy brought our pads and cushions from off the wagon and fixed up a comfortable place for me and my babies first, and then for the other cats.
For a time it was very noisy down below, and Punch and Judy were terribly afraid; but after awhile Guy came up and took us outdoors and showed us all around. The moving van had gone, and mistress was putting the things in order. Looking across the back fence I saw a big corn-field, and some vacant lots, so I knew we should not lack for play-room; and indeed we soon found that the corn-field was an admirable place for a game of hide-and-go-seek.
When we returned into the house mistress had fitted up three nice comfortable corners for us in the kitchen, one for Punch and Judy, one for Budge and Toddy, and a nice big one for me and my babies. In the library there was a window-seat just like the one we had had on Poplar Avenue.
On the same day a young lady came whom mistress called Bettie. We thought at first she was a visitor, because she was so kind and gentle to us cats. But we soon learned that she was the housekeeper.
I have heard it said that the reason so many people leave their cats behind when they move into another house is because they believe it brings bad luck to move one.
It don’t seem to be so with our mistress; for each time she has moved so far as I know she hastaken with her to the new house from three to seven cats, and each time it has been to a finer and bigger house than she had before. And now we even have a housekeeper. I should think it is more likely to be the other way: bad luck comes to people who cruelly desert helpless and dependent creatures and leave them unprovided for.
On the other hand, the notion prevails among some people, as I have heard, that it is good luck to have a cat follow you. Of course, it may be presuming too much for a cat to give her opinion so freely; but it seems to me that this good luck will only come to people who will take a kind interest in a poor stray, and who will try to find out where she belongs, or else procure another home for her.
Our new house was on Elmwood Place, and we found to our great delight that our next door neighbors were Miss Wallace, and her little Nellie that she told us about that day on the boat. Nellie is a white cat, but why this should make her think she is any better than we colored cats, I cannot understand. She would sit for hours on her window-sill, and hump her back and hiss every time one of us came in sight; so we very soon concludedthat as for Nellie we wouldn’t waste any time trying to be neighborly.
Toddy, Mrs. Smith’s Particular Friend“Toddy, Mrs. Smith’s Particular Friend”
“Toddy, Mrs. Smith’s Particular Friend”
“Toddy, Mrs. Smith’s Particular Friend”
Our neighbor on the other side is a little King Charles spaniel “Bosie,” which is short for Bo-Peep. If we happened to be out when he took his exercise he would nearly bark himself hoarse. But we soon gave him to understand that he was not big enough to scare us.
Across the street at Mrs. Smith’s lived “Patsy,” a water spaniel, who always came over at meal-time. If he had not been sold and taken away I dare say mistress would have been obliged to change the location of our dinner plate, for Patsy’s nose would almost cover the entire dish, and when he had eaten all he wanted there never was a mouthful left. Still we were sorry to lose Patsy, for he was more like dear old Dennis than any dog I have ever seen.
After Patsy went away, Toddy became Mrs. Smith’s particular friend. He told me he liked it over there because of the beautiful porch, with its plants and rugs and cushions; and also because Mrs. Smith was always there; whereas our own house seemed to be deserted all day long.
Punch and Judy were obliged to stay in thebasement all day, because mistress feared they might go away in search of their home. I really don’t think it was necessary to keep them indoors because they would stay where their basket is when once they got used to the place; but, of course, mistress did not want to take any chances. Poor Punch and Judy! They complained bitterly at having to be housed in during that beautiful, sunshiny weather. We used to peep in at the basement windows, and it was pitiful to see how they would shift their position so as to get the full benefit of the sun’s rays that for a little while during each day meagerly brightened their gloomy abode. To be sure, mistress left them a nice lunch each day, and balls and spools to play with; and she tied strings in various places to tempt them into amusing themselves. But a homesick cat does not care much for these things. We were all right glad when Teddy came to take them back to their home, and I hope that hereafter when they go to the Lake Shore they will take Punch and Judy with them.
Among our new neighbors were Marjory and Doris, two dear little girls who often came over with their doll buggies to take my kittens out toride; and after a nice outing they would generally sit on the porch and hold the kittens on their laps a while. Doris’ little brother George used to come over too, and sometimes he would try to hold a kitten on his lap, but the poor little thing would slide right through between his legs, which always made George feel very badly, and caused him to cry.
One evening George’s mother called, and mistress told her about the children’s play with the kittens, and how George cried because he could not hold one in his lap. At this Mrs. Gafney laughed heartily. “That explains,” said she, “why George teases me so much lately to dress him up in Doris’ clothes and make a girl of him.”
So you see we have found some very delightful neighbors in our new house.