The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1903-02-27
BILDAD THE sHUHITE.
How His Mother saved Him From
the Hungry Alligator.

How His Mother Saved Him From
the Hungry Alligator.
He began by being just very small,
eyeless, nameless kitten, with short
wiry black tail at one end Of his fat
white body and two stiff black cars at
the other He appeared in the hayloft
of the barn that belonged to Teddy
Teddy, whose mamma lad way of
reading Bible stories to her small boy
after he was tucked into his rockaby
at night, decided after much delbera-
ton to call him "Bildad the Shuhite.p
About a month after the advent Of
the kittens Teddy and his family
moved across the river to the village to
live. When everything else had been
carried over to the new home TEDDY
and the stable boy went back in the
rowboat for the precious cat family
Now all this happened in the land
where oranges, figs and bananas grow,
where little green alligators blink on
the sand III the sun. Teddy had grown
quite used to all these things, even the
allieators, which after all, were rather
small atfairs-the biggest of them only
three or four feet long and not at all
fierce indeed they had never been
known to modest any one. But however
well hammered they may be toward
men there is one thing no alligator
can resist that is the sight or sound of
kitten. When the boat put off from
shore there was no alligator in sight
but when half way across Bildad grew
frightened and set up terrible new
ing, there was a splash from the far
Their bank and old father alligator him
self was seen heading straight for the
little skiff
Teddy squeezed Bildads head under
his short jacket The man rowed with
all his might, but the alligator gained
on them steadily. Throw it overt
called the man from his end of the
boat II won't not!'' yelled Teddy,
white with fright and ready to cry, but
clinging fast to Bildad. The rough
blunt nose of the alligator pierced the
water only a short distance. behind the
stern of the boat where Teddy sat
with the mother cat scared but silent
Oh the seat beside him. The shore was
only few yards off, but the man was
afraid to risk it. Dropping the oars,
with one huge stride he reached for
poor Bildad and flung him into the
water. Like an arrow his mother
sprang after him, and so true and swift
was her aim that she reached the
water at almost the same spot and mo-
ment as her hapless kitten. Selling
him by the back of the neck she put
out with all her long, lank might for
the nearest point of shore and reached
! it-Teddys heart was in his mouth
only about three seconds before the
stiff skinned, awkward alligator. who
had instantly changed his course in
pursuit of the mewing kitten. Up the
nearest tree scrambled the dripping
mother cat, with the skin of Bildads
neck still tight between her teeth, un-
til, beyond the reach of man and beast
she dropp d him in the crotch of limb
and began to lick her own muddy fur
as if nothing unusual had happened
Landing a little below, Teddy and the
man waited till the old alligator grew
! tired of blinking up at the cats in the
tree above him and went home, at last
without his dinner. Then they coaxed
them down and carried them home in
triumph.
Whether it was because of this ad
venture that she did not like the So
ciety she found in the village Teddy
could not decide, but for some reason
the mother cat soon disappeared and
was never seen in Teddy's home again
Bildad held the fort alone, growing in
years.