60 The Book of Bugs. 



the cat when there's all this work to do and the rent's 

 due and the bill from the grocer came in this morning 

 and the baby has to have a new apron." Really, I knew 

 in my heart and soul that I took up my pen again because 

 the cat had snubbed me, and for no other reason. 



Gildersleeves had a dog. Gildersleeves lived across 

 the way, and there were several vacant lots with trees on 

 them. The dog and our Muff had fine times p'aying 

 tag. You'd see a gray streak across the landscape and up 

 a tree, and then Gildersleeve's dog would bark and try 

 to climb the tree on which Muff sat with his tail resem- 

 bling his name. The dog would get tired presently and 

 gape as much as to say, " Ho, hum! " and think a while 

 and say to himself, ; Well, I'll be going on. Time's 

 a-passin' and I can't stay here all day." And he'd amble 

 off, snuffing at the ground and stopping to look away off 

 yonder somewhere. But at the cat, not so much as a 

 glimpse. Cat? What cat? He hadn't seen no cat no- 

 wheres. What cat are you talking about? 



Muff, up in the tree, would put out one paw delicately 

 to come down. A cat goes up a tree beautifully, but its 

 coming down I cannot conscientiously praise. Just 

 about the time Muff would get so far down that he 

 couldn't step himself Gildersleeve's dog would fetch up 

 with an " Oh, sure! Why, that cat back there in the elm. 

 Here I was running off and forgetting all about it." 

 And you'd see Muff, with his tail hard a-starboard, scud- 

 ding for our front fence, which was dog-tight, and there 

 he'd sit just out of reach and taunt: " A-a-ah ! Did you 

 ever get left? " till his breath was re-established, when he 

 was out for another race. I never saw a cat caught by 

 dogs but once, and then they were three to her one and 

 had her in a corner. There \vas no change coming to 

 them out of the transaction, however. The bulldog's nose 



