Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-16

IT'S hard to hunt and watch and wait
And then discover you're too late.
Black Pussy.
Black Pussy was out hunting. Black
Pussy dearly loves to hunt. 1t isn't
that she needs food. She doesn't. No
cat was ever better fed than Black
Pussy. She hunts for the sheer love
of hunting. Every day she goes hunt
ing. Sometimes she hunts mice: some
times she hunts birds; sometimes she
hunts squirrels. This morning she
was hunting Chipmunks. Yes, sir, she
was hunting Chipmunks. She knew
that Striped Chipmunk and Mrs. Chip
munk had raised family That
meant that there we're several Chip
hunks living along the old stone wall.
one OF those young Chipmunks,"
thought Black Pussy. "They haven't
had time to become as wise as their
father and mother. suppose they can
move just as quickly, but an old hunter
like me ought to be able to surprise
one or two of them"
So Black Pussy stole along the ton
of the old stone wall. Every few stems
she crouched and looked ahead: and
all the time the tip of her tail was
moving back and forth, back and forth.
disappear between the stones of the
old wall just ahead of her. She moved
quickly to that place and there she
crouched ready to spring should that
Chipmunk come out where 1t went IN.
But though Black Pussy was very, very
patient, 1t was all in vain.
Now, as she crouched there, Black
Pussy noticed a little black lump on q
stone of the old wall only a little dis
lance from her. 1t looked like lump
OF coal. That Is, it was as black as a
lump of coal. Black Pussy didn't pay
any particular attention to it. She
merely wondered where that black
thing had come from and why she had
never seen it before Then she CEN
tered her attention on the place where
she thought she had seen a Chipmunk
go in. Black Pussy's patience was
wasted. No Chipmunk reappeared.
Finally Black Pussy got to her feet
and began to move along the top of
Is the way OF cat, but she saw
nothing to interest her especially. Just
ahead of her was the little black lump
on one OF the stones of the old wall.
1t was right where Black Pussy had
first noticed 1t. She paid no particular
attention to it. She was within easy
jumping distance of it when that little
UldCk lump suddenly came 10 lie and
something black disappeared down in
the old wall. Just too late Black Pussy
realized that something alive had fooled
her; but what it was she didn't know.
Now, Impy the black Chipmunk-for,
of course. 1t was Imp-had seen Black
Pussy all the time. He had sat there
perfectly still, pretending to be a black
stone or piece of coal. All the time
he was learning. He was STUDYING
Black Pussy. Striped Chipmunk had
warned him about her. So he had
known who she was as soon as he saw
her. Now he knew how she hunted
i've fooled her." chuckled Impy.
"She was hunting for Chipmunk, all
right, but she didn't know this one
when she saw it. I've learned one
thing anyway"
What is that?", asked his father
Striped Chipmunk
Impy chuckled again. 'I've learned"
said he, that the most foolish thing
Chlpmunk can do, when he knows an
enemy has seen him, is to put his head
out Of the same hole that he goes into
/ dare say that Black Pussy Is watch
ing for me right now and If should
poke my head out where came In,
she would catch me-"
Right" said Striped Chipmunk APP
provingly. Quite right, my son. You
are learning fast. Now we'll 60 see
what Black Pussy is doing"