A Friend in Need 
227 
she smelled the odor, she began to dance around as 
if she could hardly wait till it was ready. When at 
last the plate was handed down to her she stepped 
into it with both paws, and ate as greedily as any 
dog I ever saw. Mistress let her have the dish all to 
herself, and fed the rest of us from a different plate. 
As soon as the poor creature’s hunger was ap- 
peased, without stopping to wash, she went into a 
dark corner behind the cook-stove and lay down to 
rest. While she thus lay there, mistress said to 
Bettie, “ It seems to me the kindest thing we can 
do to this poor creature is to gently put her to 
sleep and end her troubles.” 
“ I think so, too,” said Bettie ; “ no one would care 
to have such an unsightly animal around the house. 
She will never be anything but a hapless vagabond, 
to whom death would be a blessing.” 
But after all the little stranger was allowed to 
spend a few days of real happiness, and when one 
morning we missed her, we knew that she had gone 
to her long resting-place and was saved from further 
sorrow. 
As to the big cat, mistress said she felt sure that 
she must be somebody’s pet, and she told Bettie not 
to let her out under any circumstances. 
