bailey] nil: WHITE RAT AS A PET 87 



To William it was remarkable that an animal would make 

 siu-h a roundabout journey to accomplish a purpose that it might 

 have attained by taking a leap of five inches from the run-way 

 to the cage. "Why dbn't it look and see where it is?" he would 

 ask repeatedly. I answered his question as best I could and then 

 suggested that he place the end of the run-way still closer to the 

 cage. He put it but four inches away. The rat failed to notice 

 the change. Then he placed it two inches away. This time the 

 spell of the long trip over the sticks and ladders was broken, and 

 the rat, pausing for a moment, as if wondering whether it could 

 really be true, hopped briskly to its cage and in three seconds 

 hopped back again. The word excitement scarcely describes 

 its action just at this time; it seemed overjoyed. I suppose it 

 was cruel to continue experimentation at this juncture, but in a 

 few moments I suggested to William that he draw the run-way to 

 one side, and find out if the rat would resume the long journey 

 again. He did so. The rodent stood at the edge of the cage 

 for a while and then, without further ado, turned around, and ran 

 over toward the ironing board. Five minutes later the long trips 

 over the run-way were in full swing again. 



The deepest tragedy that ever came to William and his little 

 brother came to them about three months after the above experi- 

 ments were made. One day they went to get their pet and found 

 that it was gone. The door of its cage was wide open, and the 

 floor about the cage was splashed with blood. Tufts of silky 

 white fur, much like that of the rodent, were scattered about 

 even-where, and a number of scratches on the door of the cage 

 evidenced a struggle that had taken place a short while before. 

 The little boys, realizing that their pet had been wounded and 

 probably killed, cried bitterly. No trace of the assassin or of the 

 rat could be found anywhere, although a search was kept up all 

 afternoon. Later in the day, however, a large gray cat appeared 

 on the lawn, and stealthily made its way toward the play-house. 

 Then everything became clear. In the absence of the children, 

 the cat had evidently entered the play-house, and, seeing the rat, 

 had clawed its cage-door open, and then had killed it. 



"Why did it do it?" Junior, the younger child, sobbed piteously. 

 I tried to explain to him that the cat was not really responsible 

 for the grief that its act had caused. But I doubt if the little 

 fellow understood me. 



