THE CAT AND THE CANARY. 201 
to meat. Moreover, she would not eat her meals unless the dish were placed near her mistress, 
and if this wish were not gratified, always sniffed contemptuously and turned away. She was 
an enthusiastic mouser, but her greatest talents were displayed in the capture of sparrows. 
She was accustomed to creep quietly into the garden, and to seek concealment under the 
thickest foliage that she could find. Being thus hidden from the watchful eyes of the 
little birds which flock in such numbers and with such easy impertinence to the suburban 
gardens, Pret would imitate the chirping of the sparrows with such wonderful success 
that she repeatedly decoyed a heedless sparrow within reach of her spring, leaped upon 
it, and carried it off in triumph to her mistress. While engaged in this singular vocal 
effort, she used to contort her rhouth in the strangest manner, forcing her lower jaw so 
far from side to side, that it appeared every moment to be in danger of dislocation. On 
such oceasions the distortion of the features was so great as to make her absolutely 
ugly. 
She was one of the most playful Cats that I ever knew, and, even to the very last 
hours of her existence, would play as long as she had power to move a limb. Although 
the mother of several families, she was as gamesome as a kitten, and delighted in getting 
on some elevated spot, and dropping a piece of paper or a handkerchief for the purpose 
of seeing it fall. More than once she got on a chest of drawers, and insinuating her 
supple paw into a drawer that had been left slightly open, hooked out every article of 
apparel that it contained and let them drop on the floor. 
When any one was writing, Pret was apt rather to disconcert the writer. She always 
must needs try her skill at anything that her mistress did, and no sooner was the pen 
in motion than Pret would jump on the table, and seizing the end of the pen in her 
mouth, try to direct its movements in her own way. That plan not answering her 
expectations, she would pat the fresh writing with her paw, and make sad havoc of the 
correspondence. 
Clever as Pret was, she sometimes displayed a most unexpected simplicity of 
character. After the fashion of the Cat tribe, she delighted in covering up the remnants 
of her food with any substances that seemed most convenient. She was accustomed, 
after taking her meals, to fetch a piece of paper and lay it over the saucer, or to put her 
paw into her mistress’ pocket, and extract her handkerchief for the same purpose. These 
little performances showed some depth of reasoning in the creature, but she would some- 
times act in a manner totally opposed to rational action. Paper and handkerchiefs 
failing, she has been often seen, after partly finishing her meal, to fetch one of her 
kittens, and to lay it over the plate, for the purpose of covering up the remaining food. 
When kitten, paper, and handkerchief were all wanting, she did her best to scratch up 
the carpet and to lay the torn fragments upon the plate. She has been known, in her 
anxiety to find a covering for the superabundant food, to drag a table-cloth from its 
proper locality, and to cause a sad demolition of the superincumbent fragile ware. 
Some of her offspring have partaken considerably of their mother’s soft fur and gentle 
nature, but none of them are so handsome as their parent. One of her kittens, called 
“Minnie,” was removed, and conveyed to another household, where was a young canary 
which I had bred. The Cat and the bird were formally introduced to each other, 
and for a time all went well. One day, however, the kitten, then three parts grown, was 
seen perched on the top of the wires, her paw being thrust into the cage. At first, the 
Cat seemed to be engaged in an attack upon the bird, but on a closer inspection it 
appeared that Minnie was simply playing with the little bird and was stroking its head 
with her soft paw, the canary seeming to comprehend the matter, and to be rather pleased 
with the caresses of the velvet paw than alarmed at the proximity of its natural 
enemy. ; 
After a while, Minnie herself became a mother, and I conveyed herself and kitten 
to her former home. Although she had not seen the house since her early kittenhood, 
she recognised the locality at once, and pulling her kitten out of its basket, established 
it in her accustomed bed on the sofa. One of her offspring is now domiciled in my 
own house, and there was rather a quaint incident in connexion with its departure. 
Minnie knew perfectly well that her kitten was going away from her, and after it had 
