Sunshine and Shadow 
87 
And as for cats, I never before thought they were 
good for anything, having been brought up to think 
of them as uncanny creatures, something to be ab- 
horred and dreaded. But as my little boy has 
written Santa Claus to bring him a kitty for a 
Christmas gift, I suppose I will have to give up my 
prejudice.” 
“ It is the superstition of a by-gone age,” said 
mistress ; “ but a happier day is coming, when the 
cat will be given her rightful place as a household 
pet ; and through gentle treatment her nature will be- 
come still more refined and ennobled. Notwithstand- 
ing all that has been said about their selfish dispo- 
sition, my cats have at times shown great consider- 
ation for each other. For instance, once I gave 
them their milk in a narrow dish, where only one 
could lap at a time, and to my great surprise they 
took turns. On another occasion I had prepared 
a plate of meat for them, arranging each cat’s 
portion by itself. Budge and Meow were not 
present, so Toddy ate his portion and left theirs 
untouched.” 
“ That is certainly remarkable,” said Mrs. Cotton. 
“ I shall no longer object to having one in our 
house. But I fear we shall no sooner have become 
