The Slum Cat 
Dogs, big and little and dreadfully close. The 
basket was lifted, and Slum Kitty had reached 
her country home. 
Every one was officiously kind. They wanted 
to please the Royal Cat, but somehow none of 
them did, except, possibly, the big, fat cook 
that Kitty discovered on wandering into the 
kitchen. This unctuous person smelt more like 
a slum than anything she had met for months, 
and the Royal Analostan was proportionately 
attracted. The cook, whenshe learned that fears 
were entertained about the Cat staying, said: 
“Shure, she ’d ’tind to thot; wanst a Cat licks 
her futs, shure she ’s at home.’’ So she deftly 
caught the unapproachable royalty in her apron, 
and committed the horrible sacrilege of greasing 
the soles of her feet with pot-grease. Of 
course Kitty resented it—she resented every- 
thing in the place; but on being set down she 
began to dress her paws and found evident sat- 
isfaction in that grease. She licked all four 
feet for an hour, and the cook triumphantly 
__. announced that now “shure she ’d be apt to 
shtay.” And stay she did, but she showed 
a most surprising and disgusting preference 
52 
emai ati 
