The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1883-03-03
rURS ABetr rs FAIR PLiY.g


Freddy was very fond of cats, especially kit
tens. At least he said he was, and he ought to
have known. But am afraid that IL the cats,
and especially the kittens, had been asked, III
eat-talk, what they thought of rrelhlgs they
would all have meow d IN concerts and wi D.
out one dissenting voice: He il Il MONSTERF'
Freddy's papa hQd. private conv elton that
his son was going to be the great inventor Of
lineage, SO far the Inventions had all been,
IN one way or another, connected with cats.
There had been a thrashng-machinc and
churn and II woOd-sawiug machine, all to be
worked by cat-power; the working models
only required from one to four cats apiece,
but the al mach mes, Freddy said, would
need "a million cats apiece, except the churn;
q thousand and one would do for that"
Freddy came into his mothers room one
and saying:
tails like this, TO a para-el bar, would beat
the best horse-rake that ever was made; you
must hang EN- 50 that they can just reach to
Mrs. Hurst, Freddy's mamma, pounced upon
him as If he had been a mouse ami she had
been IA cat, cXclalminy with tears in her eyes
o Freddy You cruel, cruel boy! P0t
that poor little kitten down instantly, and go
and stand on one loot in the corner as long as
you possibly can, upon your honor!'
1t was not against the rules to talk, so when
ne had stood tor hNe minutes, he said:
Mamma, do you suppose Arethusa felt like
this when carried her by, the tail?'
''She felt much worse said his mother,
gravely. Her head felt just as yours feels
when YOU stand on it too long, and her tail
ached with your pinching and the weight OF
"Wcll, III try to remember" said Freddy,
thougstluly; but their tails look like
''If there were such thi ngs as giants without
ears replied his mother, they would prob.
ably think that your ears were meant for
handles hand ana go eiarrynE you arouna by them
II don't know" said he II never tried it,
and Just then he tottered and "tiopped," as h.
fha aypIl and. bn mo
suilty out of the corner and went for his
kiss, which meant that the punishment was
over.
Perhaps YOU will think that the cats had a
vacation, at least for the rest of that day? oh,
indeed!
II was after dinner ana Mrs Hurst was writ
She was Just telling Freddy's aunt, in this
letter, that she really thought Fred ly under
by his experiments, and that she hoped to have
no more trouble about it, when Il wild AID un-
earthly howl, such as only Freddy knew how
| to give, made her drop her pen and III sh across
! the yard towards the howl.
Freddy was hanging from the apple-tree not
| by his neck, but by mis- wrist, which he had
| somehow caught in a shp-knot of his own
making. The other end Of the rope was Sc
! cureiy fastened to the bOugh. His feet almost
! touched the ground, so Mrs. Hurst easily lifted
| him enough 10 loosen the knot aud free him;
! she feared ut Iirst that his wrist was either
! broken OrSprained, but att L 1, el ne 1t gently
| and carefully, she decided that it was only
rubbed and bruised, and was about TO conduct
| him to the arnica bottle, when a ptlful me
| OWL Just above her head made her look
suddenly up, and there was one of the No.
| happy kittens tied nto what looked like a
small 1shlng-net and vainly struggling to free
| herself.
Mrs. Hurst mounted an old chair which
| stood under the tree, detached the net with tW Q
| vigorous pulls. aud then sat down ON the
ground with the whole thing in her lap, and
| gently released the imprs oned kitten which
had been fastened in by laCing the two edges
of the net together and in her struggles had
caught her claws in the most uncomfortable
"Its her hammock, mamma" explained
! Freddy, forgetting to cry any more; and
didn't tie her; l only tied the hammock sc
that she shouldn't jump out when L swung
her."
''Al say to you about yonr cruelty to tn
h s mother, sorrowfuly. $50 instead of pun
ishng you any more, think Unjust send tnen
all away. Come in and have your wris
| bathcd now, before it begins TO swell; am
then wish you to stop playing for an houl
and go somewhere quite alone and think
Now this made Freddy feel very forlorn anC
| fOrsaken. He wv, b. the grave, hart look upoI
her face, that he had made her e unhappy
| so hc went out of the room without word
| Old Nancy, the cook, was in the tcuen pan
! try beating Maryland biscuit and singing like
II whole camp-meet ng; so Freidy decide,
upon the kitchen for the thinking ground. Ia,
humping and singing would keep him from
feeling utterly lonesome and deserted.
He thought it would be easier TO think if b.
sa his thoughts aloud, so he began;
Frederick Hurst! aren I you very mucl
ashamCd2 You ought to he. I'm glad yoI
p n he'd your wrist Now you know how thu
cats tail felt. Perhaps II felt worse, because
It's sOfull of joints. What will you do il "a
the cats go away2 think will go on think
ing laid down on this shelf Mammu did no
say must stand up to do It. It's only en- TX
en,feed n the bag; it's quite nice FIR pI
low. And IN I've very careful and not put IN
feet in the frying-ran. It's nice and warn
here, ana | Ike to hear the kittle ny.
sounds Little Ike purrng. lerhaps it's
purrMg."
And that was the last of Ere dy's thinking
for he was fast asleep. But he did not know
it. 1t seemed 10 him that the stove ha
changed into a long, black sofa. aud the kettl
into the cat Douglas. And presently the Who'll
family of cats, from Lady Blanche down {
the smallest kitten, came in, one after tn
other, and sat sOlemnly down in a row, an
each one stared at him so hard that he bega
toteelVery uncomfortable. Presently Dougla
spoke,
enemy is at last in our power, and | have
suggestion to make to you. 1t seems To N
that he would be suitably punished were ca
what he has done TO us-that is, as nearly q
possible, for unfortunately, he has no tai
Are you all agreed to thisT
And the whole ten answered solemnly, an
in ono new: ave are ali agreed"
They all rose from the sofa as they spok'
and Freddy sud ienly observed that he, hin
self, was no taller than the smallest kitten ha
been, that the kite was exactly as tall as /
usually was, and that the other kitten and II
cats were tall in proportion.