The Project Gutenberg eBook, Kittens and Cats, by Eulalie Osgood Grover

I AM THE QUEEN

KITTENS AND CATS

A First Reader

BY
EULALIE OSGOOD GROVER
AUTHOR OF “THE SUNBONNET BABIES’ PRIMER,”
“THE OVERALL BOYS,” ETC.

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
BOSTON · NEW YORK · CHICAGO · DALLAS · SAN FRANCISCO
The Riverside Press Cambridge

COPYRIGHT, 1911
BY EULALIE OSGOOD GROVER

PICTURES COPYRIGHTED BY THE ROTOGRAPH CO.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO REPRODUCE
THIS BOOK OR PARTS THEREOF IN ANY FORM

The Riverside Press
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

TO FRITZ
WHO LOVES KITTENS AND CATS AS MUCH AS YOU AND I DO

CONTENTS

KITTENS AND CATS

THE QUEEN

I am the Queen of all the Kittens.

I am the Queen! the Queen!

Come, all you kittens and cats.

Hear what I have to say.

To-morrow I give a grand party.

The party will be in my palace.

You are all invited from the biggest to the littlest, from the oldest to the youngest, from the blackest to the whitest.

So wash your paws and shine your fur.

Forget your naughty tricks and do not one of you dare be late to your Queen’s party.

To-morrow at one o’clock.

IT IS MY PARTY

GRANNY GRAY

I am Granny Gray.

I am very, very old, but I am going to the Queen’s party.

I am grandmother to a great many kittens.

When any of them are naughty their mothers always send for me.

When any of them are sick I always know what to do.

I teach them how to sing.

I teach them how to scratch.

I teach them how to catch mice.

I am very, very old.

They call me Granny Gray.

I AM GRANNY GRAY

GETTING READY

Hark, hark! what is that noise?

No, I cannot play with you now.

I must take my bath.

I must get ready for the party.

I have a new jacket and a new hat to wear.

My pants were new last week, but they are not new now.

I tore two holes in them when I climbed the apple tree in the back yard.

Mother patched them, but someway the patches show more than the holes did.

Perhaps my new jacket will cover the patches. I hope I shall look well dressed.

I AM TAKING MY BATH

I WONDER

I wonder if those horrid patches

Upon my trousers white

Would show as much if they were not

As black as black as night?

READY FOR THE PARTY

Mew! mew! mew! mew!

Come, mother, come quickly!

We are all ready and waiting to start.

Yes, we are all here.

There are one, two, three, four of us.

The carriage is pretty small, but we think we can all get in.

We will be good this time and not push each other out.

But please do come quickly, mother.

It is hard to sit so still.

Mew! mew! mew! mew!

WE ARE ALL HERE

A FULL CART

We are three little cats in a cart

And one underneath on the floor,

The cart is so full we hardly see how

There’ll be any room for more.

TIME TO START

Dear me! my kittens are in such a hurry! They give me no time to dress.

It takes a very long time to shine my fur and to fix my bonnet.

It is a new bonnet. This is the first time I have worn it. I hope it looks all right.

I must practice sitting up straight and proper just for a minute. I want the Queen to know that I am a fine lady.

I hope my kittens will not rough up their fur. If they do I shall have to shine it all over again.

Now we must start.

Where is their father?

I HAVE A NEW BONNET

IS MY HAT ON STRAIGHT

Here I am. Yes, I am the father of those four fine kittens.

They are such beautiful kittens their mother does not even tie ribbons around their necks.

I am glad of that, for I do not like ribbons.

I must go now and take them all to the Queen’s palace. I am sure they will be the handsomest kittens there.

I suppose I shall have to push their carriage.

Come, mother, let us be off. Are my whiskers stiff? Is my hat on straight?

WAITING FOR THE CHILDREN

HIDING

Don’t tell anybody where I am.

I am hiding away from mother.

She wants me to go to the Queen’s party and I don’t want to go.

I don’t like the Queen, she is so grand and dignified.

She frightens me.

I would rather hide in this pitcher all day than go to the Queen’s palace.

Please don’t tell where I am.

You will not, will you?

DON’T TELL ANYBODY

AN INVITATION

I’ve had an invitation

To go to see the Queen,

But I’m a bashful kitten

And I’d rather not be seen.

NO PARTY FOR ME

How strange it is that some of us want to go to the party, and some do not want to go. Some of us can go, and some cannot go.

I am one who wants to go, and I am one who cannot go.

I have a sick head. It aches. Perhaps I caught too many mice last night.

The doctor has been here. He told me to take this medicine every half-hour.

How I wish I could go to the party!

They surely will have something good to eat there, but I must stay at home and take my medicine.

I HAVE A SICK HEAD

I’M OFF

I’m off for the Queen’s palace.

I’m the only cat in our country who has an automobile.

But I suppose all the fine cats will be having them soon.

It is really great fun to ride faster than any cat or kitten can run.

I would invite you to ride too, but there is room for only one.

So, good-bye!

I’m off for the Queen’s party.

IN MY AUTOMOBILE

BEING WEIGHED

Yes, I am being weighed.

It frightens me to hang in the air like this.

What if I should fall, with my feet tied up in this bag!

I am sure I should be killed!

Can you see how much I weigh?

Nearly two pounds?

You don’t mean it!

Then I am big enough to go to the party all alone, though I am not sure that I want to go.

I think I had rather stay at home and play.

HOW MUCH DO I WEIGH?

THE PARTY

Attention, kittens and cats! The clock strikes one. The Queen’s party has begun.

I am the Commanding Officer of the palace. Attention to what I have to say!

Our Queen bids you welcome.

She waits for you in her throne room.

As you each pass in you must salute her and recite for her a cat tale, a rat tale, or some other tale, long or short, true or not.

But no fears or tears, for our Queen has a fine dinner in her grand dining-room for all brave kittens and cats.

Now who has the best tale?

I’VE A FEATHER IN MY CAP

THE COMMANDING OFFICER

I’m an officer of the Queen;

I’m proud as proud can be,

For I’ve a feather in my cap,

As any one can see.

THE LATEST NEWS

We are here to bring great news, O Queen!

We are here to bring great news!

Do you know—!

Do you know—!

Do you know a balloon

Has gone up to the moon!

The moon has been found

By a great, big balloon.

‘Up in a balloon, boys,

Sailing round the moon, boys.’

Just think of that!

Hurrah for the balloon!

Hurrah for the big moon!

BREAKING THE NEWS

WHAT IS IT

What’s the news of the day,

Good neighbor, I pray?

They say a balloon

Has gone up to the moon.

I’LL SING YOU A SONG

I am a famous singer among kittens and cats. I sing in the kitten choir and in big concerts.

I wear a French bonnet when I sing.

My voice is very soft and very sweet.

I have come here to-day to sing for my Queen.

Purr-r, purr-r, purr-r!

I’ll sing you a song.

Though not very long,

Yet I think it is as pretty as any.

Put your hand in your purse,

You’ll never be worse,

And give the sweet singer a penny.

THE SWEET SINGER

A TALE OF A MOUSE

Listen, O Queen, to this tale of a mouse!

‘Hickory, dickory, dock,

The mouse ran up the clock;

The clock struck one,

And down he run,

Hickory, dickory, dock.’

And we gobbled him up.

So, dear Queen, no mouse shall trouble your party while we two brave cats are here.

TWO BRAVE CATS

WE ARE THE CATS

Oh! we are the cats that caught the mouse.

That ran up the clock so fast.

The clock struck one, and down he run,

And we gobbled him up at last.

A NURSE’S TALE

I’m the nurse who takes care of kittens and cats when they are sick.

Sometimes they eat too much and have the stomach-ache.

Sometimes they fall down stairs and bump their heads.

Sometimes they get their tails bitten by bad dogs.

Then their mothers send for me and I take care of them until they are well.

I always wear a white dress and a white bonnet.

If you ever get sick just send for me and I will take care of you.

A LITTLE NURSE

A FAMOUS MOUSER

I am a famous mouser. I have caught more mice than any other cat.

I can see them afar off.

I can hear them afar off.

I can scent them afar off.

They are all afraid of me.

They scurry away whenever they see me coming.

I wear soft pads on the bottom of my feet so they cannot hear me.

I keep my teeth white and sharp.

My friends call me ‘the Mouse Trap.’

But I know a Kitty who is not a good mouser. I will tell you about her.

This is my story:—