Part 5 (1/2)

”Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.”

”Have you looked in the barn?” asked Puss.

”No,” cried the three little kittens.

”Well, that's a good place to look if you've been playing there,”

suggested Puss. So they all ran out to the barn. But just as they entered the big door a little mouse scurried into a hole and a big gray rat ran into the corn bin.

”Look here, little mouse, if you'll tell us whether you've seen any mittens we won't hurt you,” cried Puss. But the little mouse didn't reply.

”My dear Mr. Rat,” said Puss, Junior, speaking into a crack of the corn bin, ”if you'll tell us whether you have seen any mittens we'll promise not to touch you.” But the rat didn't answer.

”They're afraid of you,” said the little black kitty.

”Then you ask them,” whispered Puss, Junior.

”Did you see our mittens?” whispered the black kitty to the little mouse.

”Yes,” replied a squeaky voice. ”I saw some mittens in the tool closet.”

Then the little black kitty ran over to the tool closet, and pretty soon he came dancing out on his two hind legs. ”Here they are! Here they are!” he cried, with a happy purr.

MR. RAT

THE three little kittens found their mittens, And they began to cry, ”Oh, mother dear, see here, see here!

See, we have found our mittens.”

”Thank you,” said the black kitty, as the little mouse peeped out of her house, ”thank you very much for telling us where our mittens were.”

”We promise never to hurt you,” cried the three little kittens.

Puss, Junior, walked over to the corn bin. ”Look here, Mr. Rat,” he said, in a gruff voice, ”as long as you were so mean not to tell us where the mittens were, I won't promise not to catch you.”

”You'd better wait till you get the chance,” replied the rat, looking down from the top of the bin.

”Just wait till we grow up, Mr. Rat,” said the three little kittens, looking very fierce with their whiskers standing out straight from their little fat cheeks and their tails twice their natural size. ”You had better not be too sure of yourself.

”For many a rat who has spoken like that Has been caught when he least was aware.

So you'd better look out what you are about, For we are three kittens who dare.”

”That's the way to talk to him,” said Puss, Junior, admiringly. ”We'll scare him to death, anyway.”

”No, you won't,” said the rat. ”You don't know who I am. I'm the rat 'that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.'”

”Oh, you are, are you?” said Puss. ”Well, what are you doing here?”

”Making a visit,” replied the rat.