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Page 58
"There! Mine is smarter than yours!" said Molly. But White-bib went on
putting his head down, down, down, clear into the milk nearly up to his
eyes, although he looked very frightened and miserable. Then he jerked
it up quickly and sneezed and sneezed and sneezed, such deliriously
funny little baby sneezes! He pawed and pawed at his little pink nose
with his little pink paw until Eleanor took pity on him and came to wash
him off. In the midst of this process she saw the milk, and left off to
lap it up eagerly; and in a jiffy she had drunk every drop and was
licking the saucer loudly with her raspy tongue. And that was the end of
the kittens' first lesson.
That evening, as they sat around the lamp, Eleanor came and got up in
Betsy's lap just like old times. Betsy was playing checkers with Uncle
Henry and interrupted the game to welcome the cat back delightedly. But
Eleanor was uneasy, and kept stopping her toilet to prick up her ears
and look restlessly toward the basket, where the kittens lay curled so
closely together that they looked like one soft ball of gray fur. By and
by Eleanor jumped down heavily and went back to the basket. She stayed
there only a moment, standing over the kittens and licking them
convulsively, and then she came back and got up in Betsy's lap again.
"What ails that cat?" said Cousin Ann, noting this pacing and
restlessness.
"Maybe she wants Betsy to hold her kittens, too," suggested Aunt
Abigail.
"Oh, I'd love to!" said Betsy, spreading out her knees to make her lap
bigger.
"But I want my own White-bib myself!" said Molly, looking up from the
beads she was stringing.
"Well, maybe Eleanor would let you settle it that way," said Cousin Ann.
The little girls ran over to the basket and brought back each her own
kitten. Eleanor watched them anxiously, but as soon as they sat down she
jumped up happily into Betsy's lap and curled down close to little
Graykin. This time she was completely satisfied, and her loud purring
filled the room with a peaceable murmur.
"There, now you're fixed for the winter," said Aunt Abigail.
By and by, after Cousin Ann had popped some corn, old Shep got off the
couch and came to stand by Betsy's knee to get an occasional handful.
Eleanor opened one eye, recognized a friend, and shut it sleepily. But
the little kitten woke up in terrible alarm to see that hideous monster
so near him, and prepared to sell his life dearly. He bristled up his
ridiculous little tail, opened his absurd, little pink mouth in a soft,
baby s-s-s-, and struck savagely at old Shep's good-natured face with a
soft little paw. Betsy felt her heart overflow with amusement and pride
in the intrepid little morsel. She burst into laughter, but she picked
it up and held it lovingly close to her cheek. What fun it was going to
be to see those kittens grow up!
Old Shep padded back softly to the couch, his toe-nails clicking on the
floor, hoisted himself heavily up, and went to sleep. The kitten
subsided into a ball again. Eleanor stirred and stretched in her sleep
and laid her head in utter trust on her little mistress's hand. After
that Betsy moved the checkers only with her other hand.
In the intervals of the game, while Uncle Henry was pondering over his
moves, the little girl looked down at her pets and listened absently to
the keen autumnal wind that swept around the old house, shaking the
shutters and rattling the windows. A stick of wood in the stove burned
in two and fell together with a soft, whispering sound. The lamp cast a
steady radiance on Uncle Henry bent seriously over the checker-board, on
Molly's blooming, round cheeks and bright hair, on Aunt Abigail's rosy,
cheerful, wrinkled old face, and on Cousin Ann's quiet, clear, dark
eyes ... .
That room was full to the brim of something beautiful, and Betsy knew
what it was. Its name was Happiness.
THE END.
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