36 THE HISTORY OF TIP-TOP. 



Did you ever see a cat play with a bird or a mouse ? 

 She sets it down, and seems to go off and leave it ; but 

 the moment it makes the first movement to get away, 

 pounce ! she springs on it, and shakes it in her mouth ; 

 and so she teases and tantalizes it, till she gets ready to 

 kill and eat it. I can't say why she does it, except that it 

 is a cat's nature ; and it is a very bad nature for foolish 

 young robins to get acquainted with. 



" O, where is he ? where is he ? Do find my poor Tip- 

 Top," said Jamie, crying as loud as he could scream. " I '11 

 kill that horrid cat, I '11 kill her ! " 



Mr. and Mrs. Robin, who had come home meantime, 

 joined their plaintive chirping to the general confusion ; 

 and Mrs. Robin's bright eyes soon discovered her poor 

 little son, where Pussy was patting and rolling him from 

 one paw to the other under the currant-bushes ; and set- 

 tling on the bush above, she called the little folks to the 

 spot by her cries. 



Jamie plunged under the bush, and caught the cat with 

 luckless Tip-Top in her .mouth ; and, with one or two good 

 thumps, he obliged her to let him go. Tip-Top was not 

 dead, but in a sadly draggled and torn state. Some of 

 his feathers were torn out, and one of his wings was 

 broken, and hung down in a melancholy way. 



" O, what shall we do for him ? He will die. Poor 

 Tip-Top ! " said the children. 



