WILD CREATURES OF GARDEN AND HEDGEROW 



a shame to murder them, still, knowing what 

 rats are, I hardened my heart and carried 

 them off to the place where my owls lived. 

 As I tumbled them out of the flower-pot on to 

 the floor of the building a mad idea came to me. 

 Our cat had just had kittens : would she rear 

 a rat with them ? I must add that she had 

 already brought up some rabbits, and another 

 cat had mothered a fox-cub. No sooner had 

 the idea occurred to me than I picked up the 

 topmost of the nine, slipped it into my pocket, 

 and hurried to the house, leaving the rest to their 

 fate. The little rat I had saved was not only 

 small, but blind, feeble, and had as yet but 

 little hair on it, so anything more unlike a 

 kitten it would have been impossible to have 

 offered the cat. 



I found puss with her kitten (the rest of 

 her family having disappeared owing to orders 

 from the head of the family given the day 

 before) in her box in a cupboard in the kit- 

 chen. The remaining kitten was a roly-poly 

 fat creature, with eyes just opening, and was 

 about ten days old, and nothing could have 

 been more unlike than the two little things. 

 I could hardly hope that the cat would be so 

 good, or shall I say so foolish, as to nurse such 



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