Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-04-04

So "ding, dong /" went the bell, and
it was only Maltese kitten that had
hold of the rope!
Just at that hour, Aunt Patty was
out in her garden hoeing weeds, with
an old hat of Uncle Rodney's tied on
her head; and she began to turn, first
her nose and then her chin. They
were very long and sharp when abe was
Aunt Patty, and they grew short and
snobby, and whiskers began to start,
and her ears prlcked up as though she
heard something, and then, quicker
than you could say " scat!" she was q
spotted cat chasing Deacon Davis's
hens, that were trying to sneak through
the garden fence with the old ROSTERS
spurs on. After soaring them half
out of their feathers, she kept on
through Mrs. Deacon Davis's cat-hole,
and up in the back chamber, where
she prowled about and shifted In all
the dark corners and behind the old
tea-chests and barrels. enlds II Iho
J When she was Aunt Patty she al
ways had mistrusted whether or no
Mrs. Deacon Davis hadn't some cob
webs and poke-holes out of sight, for
all that she kept everything looking
neat as wax on the outside. - ~
And then the minister's son jumped
with one spring on the minister's
shoulder, and began to bite the minis
ter's hair and claw off his glasses, for
he liked rough ways and mischief as
well as any boy, only he had to be
proper because he was the minister's
son.
The minister looked around solemn
and dignifed, good deal astonished !;
aud then his glasses grew rounder and
rounder, and his arms grew slenderer
and slenderer; and then he seemed to
wink all over; and then there was a
great black Cat, with white spot on
his throat and white face and four
white feet, sitting in the study chair,
swapping at flies, with one paw on q
volume of Jonathan Edwards SER
mons.
1t was great change for the minis
ter. But as for Mrs, Deacon Davis,
she didn't seem to need to alter hardly
a bit. Her eyes were the mildest
skim milk before, much more faded
than an old cats eyes; and her hair
was pale buff and sort of furry. And
she had way of rubbing herself
against the side of her chair as she
talked along in kind of purr-purring
tone. She stopped work for the first
time in her life, though, and taking
her yellow paws out of the wash tub,
went to chasing dandelicn down.
But IS soon as ten clocks anywhere
in town struck one at the same second,
all the cats turned back to people
again; and you ought to have seen
how surprised they were to catch
themselves doing such odd things.
Aunt Patty was rummaging the
minister's wife's bureau-drawer among
her best clothes; and, bad as that
looked in q cat, it looked a thousand
times worse in Aunt Patty, with Uncle
Rodney's hat still on her head and a
hoe under her arm.
Mrs. Deacon Davis was curled up
asleep in the rocking chair, and she
rubbed her eyes and put her hands in
the washtub again, and didn't know
anything had happened. She wouldn't
believe it now if you should tell her.
Only when her clock struck one lit was
always little slow, she felt grieved
to see q few cats hairs On her chair
cushion, and to find she had lost SO
mucn good time right out Of the heart
of the day. But them" she thought,
" my nap has rested me up complete
", and with such poor health as [ en-
JOY, I do suppose l needed it. And all
IS, must work the smarter to make
up"
The minister looked most astonished
to find himself playing with a large
brown, limp rat. 'It is very extraordi-
nary Most remarkable p said he.
" Gloriana !" he continued, turning to
the black serving-maid, who was swing
ing herself down from the cherry tree,
where, q moment before, she had been
q black kitten, chasing squirrel.
"Gloriana you take this dead animal
and bury the creature In the garden.
It will act as q fertilizer"
And then he began to walk up and
down the footpath from the door to
the gate, with his hands behind him,
and to think over the heads of his next
sermon.
On the whole, it was funnier when
the cats became people than when the
people became cats; they were SO sur
prised and shocked to find where they
were and what they were doing.-St.
Nicholas.
.m Great Snakes. r......