AUNT ESTHER'S RULES. 



T N the last number I told my little friends about my 

 * good Aunt Esther, and her wonderful cat Juno, and 

 her dog Pero. In thinking what to write for this month, 

 my mind goes far back to the days when I was a little 

 girl, and use.d to spend many happy hours in Aunt Es- 

 ther's parlor talking with her. Her favorite subject was 

 always the habits and character of different animals, and 

 their various ways and instincts, and she used to tell us 

 so many wonderful, yet perfectly authentic, stories about all 

 these things, that the hours passed away very quickly. 



Some of her rules for the treatment and care of animals 

 have impressed themselves so distinctly on my mind, that 

 I shall never forget them, and I am going to repeat some 

 of them to you. 



One was, never to frighten an animal for sport. I recol- 

 lect I had a little white kitten, of which I was very fond, 

 and one day I was amusing myself with making her walk 

 up and down the key-board of the piano, and laughing to 

 see her fright at the strange noises which came up under 

 her feet. Puss evidently thought the place was haunted, 

 and tried to escape ; it never occurred to me, however, 

 that there was any cruelty in the operation, till Aunt Es- 



