THE CAT: 



that crossing the room? What is there good to 

 eat in box, or bundle, or basket? The ruling pas- 

 sion of a kitten is curiosity, and in this regard he 

 is uncommonly like a child. " When a cat enters 

 a room for the first time," says Rousseau in 

 " Emile," " he prowls into every corner, he cannot 

 rest until he has made himself familiar with his 

 surroundings. So does a young child behave when 

 he is beginning to walk and talk. So does he ques- 

 tion the unknown world he is entering." 



There is no more intrepid explorer than a kitten. 

 He makes perilous voyages into cellar and attic, 

 he scales the roofs of neighbouring houses, he 

 thrusts his little inquiring nose into half -shut 

 doors, he lays up for future use a store of useful 

 observation, he gets himself into every kind of 

 trouble, and is always sorry when it is too late. 

 It is amazing to see a kitten climb a tree. Up he 

 goes from bough to bough, higher and higher, as 

 though bent on enjoying the view from the top. 

 He does not ask where this delightful adventure is 

 taking him. He pays no heed to the diminishing 

 size of the branches, and it is only when they sway 

 beneath his weight that he realizes the impossibility 

 of mounting any further. Then fear gripes his 

 heart, and he mews appealingly for help. Some- 

 body must hasten with a ladder to his rescue; 



21 



