The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1877-05-11
Miscellaneous
Turning into Cats.

Once there was law that, on certain
day, when the meeting-house bell rang for
noon, everybody should turn into cat
Some people don't believe this is true ;
but you ask the children and the barn-swal-
lows
Well, and so you may be sure it was
great fun to sit up on The big granite'rock
on the side of Deer Hill and see them turn
just where they were and whatever they
were doing at that very minute
The minister's son had come into the
study, with his hat in his hand, and said
"Shall Cornelius and I, sir take our
scythes, sir, aud go out aud NOV little
while, sir?"
And then Mr.. Fadyou's fool caught hold
of the bell.rope
Mr.. Fadyon's fool knew some things rs
well as anybody aud he knew how to ring
the bell exactly when the suu-dial and the
noou-mark and his grandmother's eight
day clock said it was noon.
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, and 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
she was Aunt Patty, and they grew short
and stubby, and whskers began to start,
and her ears pricked up as though she
heard something, and then, quicker than
YOU could say "scat !" she was a spotted cat
CHASING Deacon Davis's hens, that were try
ing 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 cathode, and
up in the back chamber where she plowed
about aud shifted in all the dark corners
and behind the old tea-chests and bar
Tels.
When she was Aunt Patty she always had
,mistrusted whether or no Mrs. Deacon Ds-
Wis hadn't some cobwebs and poke.holes
out Of sight, for all that she kept everything
looking neat as wax ON the outside.
And then the ministers sou jumped with
one spring on the ministers shoulder, and
began to bite the ministers hair and claw
OF bis 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
dignified, good deal astonished ; and 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 great black cat, with white
spot on bis throat and white face and four
white feet, sitting in the study chair, snap
ping at the flies, with one paw on volume
of Jonathan Edwards sermons.
1t was great change for the minister
But as for Mrs. Deacon Davis, she didn'i
seem to need to alter hardly a bit. Hel
eyes were the mildest skim-milk before
much more faded than an old cats eyes
and her hsir was pale bu fl and sort Of fur
ry. And she had a way of rubbing herself
against the side of her chair as she talked
alone in kind of purr. purring tone. She
stopped work for the first time in her life
though, and taking her yellow paws out o.
the wash-tub, went to chasing dandelion'
down.
r But as soon as ten clocks anywhere ir
town struck one at the same second, all thu
cats turned back to people again; and yor
ought to have seen how surprised they wer,
: to catch themselves doing such odd things,
Aunt Patty was rummaging through thu
minister's wife's bureau.drawer among hel
best clothes; and, bad as that looked in
cat, it looked a thousand times worse il
Aunt Patty, with Uncle Rodney's hat still
on her head and a hoe under her arm.
Mrs. Deacon Davis was curled up asleeI
in the rocking. chair, and she rubbed hel
eyes and put her hands in the wash-tut
again, and didn't know anything had hap
pened. She wouldn't believe it now if yor
should tell her. Only, when her clock
struck one lit was always little slow, she
felt,grieved to see few cats hairs on he
chsir.cushion, and to find she had lost 5;
much good time right out ofthe heart o
the day. ''But them" she thought, 'm,
nap has rested me up completely, and will
such poor health as enjoy, do suppos
need it. And, all is, must work tn
smarter to make up"
The minister looked most astonished t
3 find himself playing with large brown
limp rat. ut is very extraordinary Mos
remarkable said he. "Glorana p' he con
tinued, turning to the black serving.maid
who was swinging herself down from tn
cherry tree, where, moment before, sh
had been black kitten, chasing squirre
"Gloriana you may take this dead anima
and bury the creature in the garden.
will act as fertilizer"
And then he began to walk up and dow
the footpath, from the door to the gate, wit
his hands bt hind him, and to think over tn
heads of his next sermon.
- On the whole, it was funnier when tn
cats became people than when the peopl
became cats they were so surprised an
shocked to find where they were and whs
they were doing.-S. Nicholas for april
The other day a son of the Emerald Isl
entered drug store, and taking a bottl