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Show BLACKIE GETS EVEN WITH GOLDIE. Goldie was a little girl five years old. She was called Goldie because of her golden hair. Blackie was a strong, fat kittenfi about three months old. He had been brought to Goldie by her Uncle Tom, who had bought the funny little fellow from a cat peddler. "He'll do for Goldie to play with," Uncle Tom had said, without ever asking Blackie if he would like being the property of a very mischievous little girl. So Uncle Tom had paid a dollar for Blackie and had carried him that day to Goldie, and Goldie was much pleased at having a live toy. Her dolls, her Teddy bear, her Xoah's ark animals, were all so stupid; never moving of themselves, andhav-ing andhav-ing to be put into position by Goldie herself. So she found Blackie very amusing. On the third day after Blackie's arrival in ths home of Goldie, the little four-footer and longtailer found himself very unhappy. First of all, he missed his nice, warm mother, against whose side he had slept so comfortablj'. Next, he found himself looking look-ing in vain for his sisters and brothers with whom he had played so merrily. And many, many other recollections of the very recent past flitted through little Blackie's mind as he was wooled and pulled about by his new mistress, little Miss Goldie. "Ah, you are such a bad kitten!" cried little Miss Goldie, squeezing poor Blackie till me mewed pitifully. "Why do you want to get out of my arms, you ugly fellow? Aren't you having a good time? Oh, I know what I'll do I'll put one of Dolly's dresses on you. Oh, how very, very funny you will look. You'll look like a live nigger doll, with your funny black face." Then Goldie ran to her playroom and got one of Dolly's dresses. But she hadn't given poor Blackie a chance of escape during the time she was going up and downstairs; no. she had lugged (that is the only word that describes the manner of Goldie's carrying Blackie) the poor, uncomfortable kitten with her, squeezing his poor body till he suffered suf-fered real pain. Once again on the big back porch, Goldie pro-' cecded to dress Blackie in the doll's dress. And the poor fellow soon found himself in a garment very tight about the neck and arms (Blackie's front legs served for the purpose of arms when in a dress). In vain he mewed and mewed, begging to be taken out of his tortuous clothes. Goldie had no pity, and kept hold of the poor Blackie, scolding him for mewing, and slapping him occasionally over the ears, all of which made Blackie very miserable indeed. You know a cat has feelings just like a human being's, but cannot express his pain or joy in words. So poor Blackie had to suffer and suffer, suf-fer, his heart almost breaking. The next day Goldie conceived the idea of dressing dress-ing Blackie up'in a doll's dress again, for her little friend, Fred Scott, had vome to play with her, and she meant to let Fred wool and pull and tease poor Blackie in his uncomfortable clothes. But Blackie had been thinking all the night before, and had arrived ar-rived at this conclusion: A cat has his rights, and one of them is comfort; another one, liberty. And why should he, Blackie, submit to the tortures inflicted in-flicted upon him by Goldie? Xo, he would fight back, he would. If ever again she tried to put those horrid clothes upon him he would protect himself; he would use his claws and teeth. What else were claws for? So, the following day, when Goldie got the doll's dress and began to put it on Blackie, the determined little fellow sprang at her face and dashed both paws' across it. One went slap across Goldie's nose, leaving a tiny, bloody streak marking the claw's progress. The other paw stroked her chin, leaving a trin streak of blood to the one over the nose. Goldie, screaming with fright arid pain, threw Blackie to the ground and ran in the house to tell her mother. Fred, also afraid of Blackie, having been a witness to the scratching, ran after Goldie, intending to testify to Blackie's terrible conduct. And Blackie was now at liberty to go where he pleased, and he pleased to run with all possible speed to the alley. Arriving there, he found a snug barrel, turned on its side, full of straw, and into it he crept. Half an hour later Goldie and Fred came to the alley hunting for him. calling "Kitty, kitty, kitty!" But Blackie kept very still and the children went away without so much as suspecting sus-pecting that he might be in the barrel. That night Blackie crept forth and found a garbage barrel in the alley, from which he got a pretty good supper. Then he traveled on, and when morning came had entered the yard of a nice old lady who had no children about the place, and who, seeing Blackie, fed and petted him and made him know he was welcome to live in her house. And as soon as Blackie found there were no children about he decided to stay and pay for his board and keep by cotching the mice in the cellar. And to this day which is a year since Blackie found the happy home with the old lady he has remained and grown into a genuinely fine mouser. and his present mistress thinks he is the finest cat in the world, and treats him as though he were human, for she knows that cats feel the same as do people. |
