Raising a Family 167 
bring him back, unless Guy or mistress happened 
to be there. 
One day I heard mistress say to Guy : “ These 
kittens seem to be strong in their bodies but 
weak in their limbs, they topple over when they 
attempt to walk.” 
“ They need to exercise their limbs more,” said 
Guy. “ They ought to have a larger place to move 
around in.” 
Then mistress spread an old comfortable on the 
floor in a sheltered corner of her room, and placed 
a market-basket in the middle of it, in the bottom 
of which was a bag full of stones to keep it from 
falling over when the kittens should climb up on 
the side of it. Mistress then put the kittens on the 
comfortable, and in an instant they began hobbling 
around and in and out of the basket. I lay on the 
comfortable with them, and watched them with great 
pleasure. Whenever one got far enough away 
from the “ gym ” ( as Guy called the basket ) to feel 
lonesome, he would whine ; but at my call would 
follow the direction of my voice, and promptly re- 
turn. By degrees they became so independent that 
they would walk clear to the edge of the thick 
comfortable, tumble over the “ embankment,” and 
