Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1868-01-01
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A CHRISTMAS STORY



II my mistress would only tell the story--but
she will not--so may as well begin at the time
when was poor, half-starved gray kitten, wan
dering through the lanes and the roofs Of the
rickcty houses n alley. having every day more
kicks and curses than meat milk, living, as ii
were, from paw to mouth without a friend in the
world
One night, chased by the dogs and nearly dis
tracted / darted through an open doorway, never
pausng In my terror, till ! reached the attic.
There, weak. trembling. almost sick Of life, my
dear little mistress found me.
Poor thing, you are rs friendless as !" she
said, taking me in her arms and from that time
we lived in the attic room together. have not
time 10 tell YOU all about IL how poor we we're
how many DAYS there was but crust for us both.
and sometimes not even that, and no fire in the
little old stove, how day after day she sat by the
window sewing and looking anxiously down her
street J did not know why till one morning
the onc-armed postman pass by without so
much as a look at our house, when she put down
her work and cried softly TO herself, saying, " .
Willie brother Willie have you forgotten me J"
Well, You imagine these were sad days.
Sometimes | was tempted to take N the streets
agsin. But | could not leave her, aud then il was
something to be respectable and have home, IL
it was poor one. So ! staid and tried to do
what | could TO comfort the little mistress. Many
night when she awoke sobbng have i curled
down upon her shoulders, purring her to sleep.
i on may tnnk tnai was Nttlt tuOuBu 10 uos Dut
| can assure you it was no easy matter 10 rise in
the middle Of the night with the very marrow
freezing in my bones and sing for half an hour.
Still | did IL willingly for her sake. ] grew
thin that the tortoise shecat, who lives in the big
house around the corner, said
"Wby, how poor your folks must be. Don't
they give you anything to eatp" and he smootbed
his new fur coat, adding you look like half
starved rebel in that old gray coat"
could not tell him Of my little mistress power
ty. so ! said proudly that came of of cats
al gays lean like hounds Aud as for my coat
never did care much for dress Then | ran home
and talked ii over with the Maltese kitten who
lives down stairs and belongs to agood though re-
duced family. That about a week before
Christmas.
Well, Christman eve little mistress wrapped
herself in an old shawl and sat down by the win
dow The street looked so bright that / thought
maybe she wouldn't miss me II went out awhile
So ran off as fast as possible. Such sight
The market was festooned with evergreen, and
there were turkeys and geese all about With saus-
ages aud oh, | can't begin to tell what. Then
the streets were light as day and full of people,
each one carrying something for Christmas. Even
the old miser next door had chicken under his
arm Everybody laughed and said Merry
Christmas till grew almost merry myself And
when the tortoise shell cat along pointing
out the goose they were to have, | actually said
we were to have one. though / am sure I don't
know where thought It was to come from. Then
/ ran home, thinking If the worst came. maybe ]
should get something from the mouse hole which
the Maltese and had been watching for a week
| / found the little mistress Just left her. So
/ jumped up into her lap and rubbed my face
against hers, trying to be comforting possi-
BILE. But the little dark room unlike the
bright, cheerful street that began to grow quite
low spirited, when all at once heard cart stop
before the house, then some one came up the stairs
| and raped at our door. There were two men
1 xVit, t. tahia which fhey ar
ypop the lonE- and letter for the little mistress
She LIT candle and tore It open. Out fell some
money which she did not heed. She read few
lines and then began to laugh and cry together
80 Willie, Wile!r she said, aud catching me
in her arms began to kiss me. Then she kissed
the letter, and running TO the sewing machine
for II was that the two had brought-began
to kiss that Did one see such crazy little
mistressr did not think it strange that she
should kiss me, her only friend. But why she
should kiss the letter or the sewing machine TO
this day cannot tell. Women are SO different
| from cats.
Then she put on her bonnet and shawl and ran
out Of the room. She was gone so long that /
grew alarmed and was just going down to ask the
advice OF the Maltese when she opened the door
The young market man followed her with great
basket. II actually drew tears TO my eyes when
saw him take out a fine fat goose. some bread,
some milk-oh cannot begin to tell you all that
in the wonderful basket
a bone down to the Maltese, and told her that we
had come into a fortune. did not exactly know
how, but if any one inquired, she could saw that
rich uncle in the West Indies had died So /
made over all right and title to the mouse hole.
as she needed it more than |, poor thing.
After that we had bright days. A pretty flow
cred carpet found itself in our room one day, and
a new rocking chair with cushion yes a cushion,
where lie and sleep in the sun. But better than
all was the fire, cracking merrily in the old stove.
| Jared so well that my old grey coat grew quite
tight, and the tortoise cat said
:" thought your race never grew fat ~
"Oh," said |, "a they do as they grow oldr
And the little mstress can't tell you how
happy she became, till now she sings at her work
as merrily as ]. She has new bonnet and a
warm red shawl, glass before which she stands
TO comb out her soft brown hair. and actually
believe this morning she was trying to make a
waterfall. Such roses, too, as are coming upon
her cheeks, especially yesterday morning, when
the young market man gave her bunch Of how-
ers her face grow quite red. And that reminds
me that sometimes | think-but there it is not
becoming in cats to tell family secrets Only if
you should hear of wedding in our family before
long you need not be surprised Springfield
Republicdn.