Minnie's Pet Cat
Page 1
Produced by Julia Miller and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book wasproduced from scanned images of public domain materialfrom the Google Print project.)
Transcriber's Note
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. A list of correctionsis found at the end of the text. Oe ligatures have been expanded.
MINNIE PLAYING WITH FIDELLE. Page 10.]
MINNIE and her PETS.
BY MRS MADELINE LESLIE
MINNIE'S PET CAT.]
MINNIE'S PET HORSE.
BY
MRS. MADELINE LESLIE, AUTHOR OF "THE LESLIE STORIES," "TIM, THE SCISSORS-GRINDER," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
BOSTON: LEE AND SHEPARD, SUCCESSORS TO PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO. 1864.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by
A. R. BAKER,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District ofMassachusetts.
ELECTROTYPED AT THE BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.
TO MY YOUNG FRIEND,
HENRY FOWLE DURANT, JR.
=These Little Volumes=
ARE AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED
BY THE AUTHOR,
IN THE EARNEST HOPE THAT THEY MAY INCREASE IN HIM THAT LOVE OF NATURE AND OF RURAL LIFE WHICH HAS EVER EXERTED SO SALUTARY AN INFLUENCE IN THE FORMATION OF THE CHARACTERS OF THE WISE AND GOOD.
MINNIE AND HER PETS.
Minnie's Pet Parrot. Minnie's Pet Cat. Minnie's Pet Dog. Minnie's Pet Horse. Minnie's Pet Lamb. Minnie's Pet Monkey.
MINNIE'S PET CAT.
CHAPTER I.
THE LOVING PUSS.
Fidelle, Minnie's second pet, was a beautiful tortoise-shell cat.
She was an elegant creature. Her fur was of moderate length, of pureblack, white, and reddish orange. Her eyes were large, bright, andaffectionate in expression. Her form was delicate, and her motionsactive. In character, she was the most attached, graceful little puss Iever knew.
The moment Fidelle heard Minnie's voice, she walked to the door, and wasready to welcome her, rubbing her glossy sides against the child's feet,and making little soft notes of pleasure.
Sometimes Minnie had the headache, or was tired, and lay upon the sofa;when she did so, Fidelle loved to jump up and walk softly over thelittle figure until she came to her mistress's face, when she quietlylay down near by, or sometimes licked her hand lovingly. She never didthis to Mrs. Lee, or any other member of the family.
Fidelle was an active puss, and often went bird-catching, or mousingduring the night; but generally, when Minnie opened the door of herchamber in the morning, there was Fidelle ready to receive her.
During the warm weather, it was Minnie's habit to take an early strollwith her father through the grounds, or to accompany him to the nursery,garden, and orchards, when he went to give orders to the men who workedfor him.
On such occasions, Fidelle was always on hand, sometimes running alongby her side, and then skipping to the top of a tree, or gamboling onbefore her.
When Minnie was very small, she often used to hug the kitten so tightlyas, no doubt, to cause the little creature pain; and then, in runningaround the room after it, the young miss used to catch it by the tail;but Fidelle never resisted, nor, if hurt, revenged herself. She seemedto understand that Minnie loved her, and that it was her duty to submitquietly to all the caprices of her young mistress.
One day, when the child was about four years old, a rude boy came, withhis mother, to visit her. Seeing Fidelle frolicking about the room,highly delighted with a ball of thread, into which she had got herdainty little feet entangled, Wallace caught the cat by the tail, andheld her by it in the air.
Minnie screamed with all her might, as she flew to the rescue of herpretty pet.
"Go right away, you ugly boy!" she cried out. "Poor Fidelle! darlingkitty! I won't let you be hurt so."
Puss remembered the insult and abuse. Whenever she saw Wallace comingtoward her, she hid herself behind the sofa; and once, when he camesuddenly upon her, she gave him a long, deep scratch on his hand.
Minnie never after liked this boy; and once, when Mrs. Lee was intendingto invite his mother to repeat her visit, the child begged earnestlythat Wallace might be left at home, saying, "He is so cruel to Fidelle,I can't bear to have him here."
I told you, in the other book about Minnie's pet parrot, that she usedoften to ride with her mother in the afternoon. There was nothing sheliked better than to take Fidelle and Tiney out with her. SometimesMrs. Lee allowed this; but when she was intending to make calls shefeared the pets would be troublesome.
Fidelle was greatly disappointed when she could not go. She would ask aswell as she knew how, and I dare say some of her mews were promises tobe good; but Mrs. Lee knew best when it was proper, and was obliged tobe firm.
Kitty then used to stand at the door, watching her mistress, as shejumped into the carriage, returning her "Good by, dear Fidelle," bylittle soft purrs.
When the carriage was out of sight, Puss seated herself at the window towatch for their return. Whether it was one hour or two, she almostalways sat patiently, sometimes indulging herself with a nap, but nevergetting so sound asleep that the first rumble of the wheels did notawaken her.
As soon as the carriage began to roll up the avenue, Kitty was allexcitement, looking from the window, and moving her tail back and forth,then with a spring bounding to another window, where she could see themalight. If the door happened to be shut, she cried piteously until letout, when she ran quickly and jumped on Minnie's shoulder, purring asloud as she could, to express her joy.
A lady was once visiting at the house, who said she liked dogs,especially such splendid great ones as Leo; but she couldn't see anything agreeable or intelligent in a cat.
"There are some wonderful accounts of the sagacity of cats," remarkedMr. Lee, smiling at Minnie's quick flush of indignation. "If my littledaughter will bring me that book we were looking at yesterday, I thinkI can soon convince you that they are certainly not wanting inintelligence."
"They are capable of strong attachments," said Mrs. Lee, as the childrose and left the room, followed closely by Fidelle. "I think none ofMinnie's pets show more real affection for her, nor more gratitude forher kindness."
"Is this the book, father?" inquired the little girl, putting ahandsomely bound volume into his hand, and looking very bright and rosy.
"Yes, child, this is it."
"I thought it was, by the picture of the cats."
The lady looked surprised; and presently asked, earnestly, "Can't youread, Minnie?"
Vivid blushes spread all over the child's face, as she softly answered,"No, ma'am."
"We have our own views on that subject," said the gentleman, smiling, ashe drew his only daughter tenderly to his side. "She will learn fastenough when we put her to her books. At present, our only desire is tosee her enjoy herself, and lay in a good stock of health."
"Why not do both, Mr. Lee?" asked the lady. "My little Marie Louise isonly four, and she can read almost as well as I can. She is learning towrite, too, and really pens a letter very prettily."
"I dare say," added the gentleman, gravely, after giving his wife acomical look; "your daughters are all geniuses, which, I am happy tosay, Minnie is not. She is only an obedient, affectionate, practicallittle girl," giving her a tender caress.
"But come, we were discussing, not the child's merits, but t
he cat's."
"True; and now for your account of them."
Mr. Lee turned over the leaves of the book, thanking God that his dear,conscientious, simple-hearted Minnie was not artful, disobedient, andaffected, like the child of their visitor, even though the latter mightbe ever so learned a miss; and presently came to the chapter on domesticcats, from which we shall quote a few incidents.