The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1871-02-17
KITTY,S LETTER.

She was q graceful, frolicsome, live
Iy little creature, and specially addict
ed to running round after her own tail.
AS she lever could catch 1t, the interest
of the pursuit never abated. For you
see if she had once caught it she would
have found out that it was only herown
tail and ct a wonderful meteor, and
she woulo nave found, moreover, that
her own tail wal not q convenient play
thing. In this respect she was like
some young people 1 know OF, who are
always on the chase after something
that they cannot get, and very soon tire
of everything that they can get.
But | must tell you about k1tty's let
ter. In these days, you know, every
BODY takes to writing. Old ladies and
Young ladies and little girls md little
boys all try their hands, 70 that the
world is in a fair way of knowing Just
how it looks to everybody; and why
should not Pussy have her turnR
At all events, one morning Karl and
Lulu found the following letter tied
round her neck with a blue ribbon.
Did Kitty write it, What did she
write With Did she tie it round her
own neck And where did she get the
ribbonG
Patience, nv dear little folks, how
should 1 know eYerythinga IF Kitty
didn't write the letter, who did, and
how should I know where she got her
ink and paper2 All 1 knew is, that
Karl and Lulu came scampering to
their ami (who perhaps knew more
with the following letter =
Ny DEAR FoIKs N TIE WORLD:
You think you know q good deal, and
perhaps you do, but there is thing
you don't know, and that Is how kittens
feel. People think that neve have
any cares or troubles, because I 80
racketing round so, but a kittens FUR
may often coverd deep sorrow.
In the first place, let me skyou, Karl
and Lulu, how would you like it if a
great giant, six feet high, could catch
you up any minute, and whirl you over
and hang you with yourhead downward
or tumble you over on your back, and
roll YOU round as if you were so much
hayi Well, that is the way / am
treated half the time. Nobody consid-
ers what L like. Nobody ever says,
"Here, Pussy, would you like to be
taken up /" or "Wm you please to let
me2 but they catch me and do all sorts
things to me, without even saying "By
your leave:"
Havn't kittens some rights that child
rem are bound to respect? 1 have
had a hard and suffering life, l can tell
you, frisky as I SEEM The first 1 can
remember 1 was taken, mewing and
screaming, from my dear mother and
given to a lady who wanted o plaything
Tor her dear Billy. Billy used to carry
me round under his arm with my head
hanging down,tM all the blood ran into
it, and I verify thought I should
die. When be felt affection
tionate he used to squeeze me till 1
yelled with pain. He used to pull me
out anddouble me up as if I had been
molasses candy, and when / cried and
scratched, all the comfortI got was that
mamma would say, Dear little Billy,
how afraid I am he may get scratched
A kitten him so that I like to
have him have her, but at the sam
time I am afraid she may hurt him"
Dear little Billy had a temper of his
own, I can tell you. When nurse want
ed to brush his hair, OF when she took
papa's razor away, which he had helped
himself to, then Master Billy would
grow red in the face and throw himself
on the floor and kick and scream like a
little fend.
"Get him the kitten " mamma
would say. where's Billy's kitten Z"
Then I would be caught and given to
him to torment; he wonld throw me
across the floor, pull my tail, strike me,
clutch me round my throat and in other
ways work off his spite on me.
81 do believe, ma'am, he'll kill that
kitten some day" nurse ventured to say.
so, no matter, there are plenty more
if he does" says mamma.
and wish a great big king cat, a hon
cat, might get him and shake and box
him round as he did mel I suppose if
a lion should give Billy to her cubs to
amuse them when they were out of
temper there would be no end of wall
ing and weeping, but for my part I
don't see but it would be a tolerably
fair proceeding. What night had she
to use me for a plaything for her dear
Billy But little Billy was so
convinced that I was made for his
amusement that every day he invented
a new thing to do with me. He put me
in a box with stones and ratified me.
He threw me into a tub of water to see
if I could swim, and kept me
half drowning there till Susan
came and took me out, and then
he held me to the cooking-stove TO dry
7 Ll1--l& T-l@-II H. . l.
ed up. At last he tried to put my eyes
ont with the scissors, and then l made
such long welts in his arm with my
claws that his mamma was frightened.
What a bawling there was to be sure,
what a kissing and crying and consol-
"Poor, dear, darling Billy !
naughty, naughty, wicked kittyl"
I had run with all my might, and got
into the cherry tree. 1 used to run to
c~herry-tree very often before, but
then somebody always climbed it after
me and got me down because Billy
roared and kicked and screamed at such
a rate. But this time the silly old wo-
man was frightened. "That vile kit
she said, "Tu have it drowned.
[ only kept it because it amused Billy,
butt if it is going to act so, III tell Mar
tin to drown it tonight"
go hoi there you are, are you,
madam ~ says ], "Iguess Martin won't
find me I" and so down the cherry
tree l ran, and up the apple-tree, and
jumped on the wall, and raced along
ill I came to your garden, and Jump
ed down in it. There you took me up,
dear little Lului l remember what a
sweet, clean, nice-smelling white apron
that vas that you had on, and since 1
have been with you I have had pretty
good times. Not that things are
perfect. Some days you give me a great
deal to much to eat, and then again
you forget to feed me at all. Sometimes
you worry me with your hugging and
Kissing, and then again you turn me off
shift for myself. Then you don't
ihink to keep water for me, and you
ion't know how thirsty kittens are, and
We can't speak to tell Sometimes I
I'm so thirsty I don't really know what
do. Now ifyoI viii keep a nice lit
lie cup of water for me somewhere, /
hall be so much obliged to you
The girls IN the kitchen have no
proper ideas how to feed a cat. Some
lines they set a great plate, bones and
III. before me and somatimac uban