Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-03-31
BILLY WAS A LIBRARY CAT.
A True Fairy Story.


occupation-one might say his call
ing-was the catching of rats and
mice for the public library.
The public library belonged to the
city, but Billy, it goes without say
ing, belonged to the young lady
librarian. She, of course, lived in the
library a hood deal of the time, and
Billy stayed with her except at night,
when he had to go down stairs to
catch mice and to stay with the
janitor. These times were the bad
times-the others were the good ones,
when he was up stairs with the
young lady librarian.
During the good times he was US
ually in her lap, and when he wasn't
in her lap he was in her arms; when
he wasn't in her arms he was most
often purring at her feet. and when
he wasn't at her feet he was just
as likely as not somewhere very
near. ~!2ril@
The bad times were when she was
every busy" When these came Billy
did all sorts of things to kill time. He
walked over all the books and jump
ed high up on the tops of the book
cases, and he took maps and woke us
every little while to see where the
librarian had gone while he was
asleep and whether she were still
very busy. Then he would go to
sleep again, or else try playing oy
himself. Everybody who has tried 1t
knows that it is no fun to play by
ones self.
One day Billy did all these things,
and as last resort he tried to make
friends with woman who was read.
ing-and she seated him!
1t is very hard to be library cat
sometimes, because you have to keep
very still, and that when you don's
feel like it.
This day the young lady librarian
looked as severe as she could look
she was so very busy! And she
raped, it seemed, great deal with
the blunt end Of her pencil on the
desk and said, 'Silence!"
Billy was in the bottom of the
scrap basket trying to take a nap and
forget all about his troubles when the
librarian started to hunt for letter
she had mislaid She thought she
might have tossed it in there, so she
took Billy out of the scrap basket and
she put him down on his four feet
and gave him little push that meant
go 'way!"
The push didn't hurt Billy, but 1t
hurt his feelings, SO he began to cry.
He really did feel very, very badly
to be treated like that, and he just
had to cry. Don't you know how It
feels?
He cried good deal besides that
to make her feel badly, too, but it
didn't do much good, for what do
you suppose happened?
The young lady librarian looked
around and then she said, George"
George was the janitor's asststant)
George, put that cat QUIT" That's
just what she said.
And George, VINO is a big boy going
on fifteen years, caught Billy in the
act Of making his escape to the top
of very high book shelf, and car
ried him to the cellar door and put
him down in the cellar where it was
black and dark and horrid and where
there was no young lady librarian
not even cross one just for the
sake of company.
Poor Billy!
Well, what do you suppose he did
Why, Of course, he howled a long
time at the door, but you know I did
not mean that. Crying didn't mend
matters. 1t never does. I mean what
do you suppose Billy did after he had
his crying?
No, he didn't crv any more
No, he didn't try to go to sleep.
He did what good many Of us dc
when we can do nothing elese-he
talked to the wall.
He flung his tail backward and
| sideways and waved it to and fro a
good deal to show how provoked he
really was, and then he said to the
walls:
| the librarian at all! 1 think she's just
too horrid for anything! I am not a
cat! I am a nice, precious little kitty
and she is the cat if there ever was
| one!" Usually the wall says nothing
when you tell it such things. 1t is
the safest kind of a conf1dant you car
have, for it never tells anything yor
say and it lets YOU tell it all yor
want to and ease your feelings. The
wall ALWAYS agrees with you, so jusl
here it said:
Eyes, Billy, dear, you're right"
Billy was SO surprised to hear thi:
| that he almost Jumped. Then he sai{
| Just as fast as he could 1T isn't sol
He felt like contradicting anyway
but probably, if you've observed you
own self at all, you know that usual.
you prefer to blame the people 70,
ere angry with. and you don't care t.
have other people do it for you-no
If you really like them; that is, tn,
ones that you're wanting to blame.
mo, she isn't! She is dear and
love her. only 1 am a very, very bat
acat!" Please observe that Billy alst
called himself names that he did no
wish others to use to him. That
sometimes the way with people, AM
it's what you call "a wholesale fran,
Of mind
II am a very, very bad cat" he re
peated, but do truly love her. o Wall
what can I do to show her how sorr.
am for being naughty-to show he
that I love her and that l will b.
good?'
The easiest and the best thing Bill
could have done, and the thing tina
the young lady librarian would hav
most appreciated, would have been tn
simplest thing Of all to do-just t.
keep quiet.
But nobody ever wants to do thai
Every one wishes to atone" by doin
the hardest thing that he can think o
wonder why it is?