3. One evening, as the lady of the house was sitting at the fire before the candle was lit, Patch came into the room with a live mouse, and began to play with it. 4. The mouse watched his chance and ran into the bedroom, the door of which stood open. Patch followed, but could not catch him. 5. Pretty soon the cat came out of the bedroom in a great hurry. She went to the lady and mewed, and then went to the candle and back several times. The lady thought the cat acted queerly, and at last she got up and lit the candle. 6. Patch started off for the bedroom, and looked back and mewed, as if asking the lady to come also. The lady took the candle and went in to see what was the matter. 7. The cat at once went up to a curtain, put up her paw as far as she could reach, and touched it. The lady shook the curtain, and down dropped the mouse, which Patch caught at once. Mousey had run up the curtain out of reach, and so Patch went and got the lady to come and help her catch it. _TOMMY AND THE CHICKENS._ [Illustration] 1. Tommy was a famous mouser, and he kept the house clear of rats and mice. He would catch birds, but he never ran after the chickens. 2. The hens were shy of him at first, but they became used to him and would scratch just the same while he was about. One day he was taking a nap on the grass, and the chickens mounted upon his back and head, as you see in the picture. 3. This was too much for Tom; so he got up and went upon the porch to finish his nap, where the chickens would not disturb him. LESSON V. _HOW THE CAT MOVES._ [Illustration] 1. Now, Jessie, look at your kitty’s feet and see if you can tell us how she can catch mice and birds so easily. 2. I will try. Pussy has long and sharp claws, but they are drawn back into her foot, so I cannot see them. 3. The bottoms of her feet are covered with a thick skin, so that it does not hurt her to walk over stones and rough places. 4. When I feel of her feet, I find that the bottoms are soft, so that kitty is able to move about without making a noise. 5. When she is hunting, she creeps along so quietly that the mouse does not hear her until she is so near that she can spring upon it. [Illustration] 6. Then her sharp nails come out, as you see in this picture, and the little mouse is caught by his coat and cannot get away. 7. I see that the nails upon her hind feet are not so sharp as those on the front ones. She does not catch mice with her hind feet, and so only the nails of her fore feet need be very sharp. 8. When pussy runs up a tree, her sharp nails hold on to the bark, and she uses her hind claws as well as the fore ones. This is what I read in a book a little while ago about a cat’s claws, and I thought it very strange: