Fifty times did she wish herself a hundred leagues off! How careful she resolved to be to do nothing that could possibly offend the dog. And so, for the next three or four days, by dint of giving up to him all her best bones, and always jumping up from her cushion whenever he wanted to lie upon it, she managed to get on in halfway peace with his lordship. But unluckily, one morning, puss, finding herself all alone in the drawing-room, and feeling very sleepy--she had not rested for nights from very fear--thought she might as well take the chance of getting a nap. Jumping upon a high footstool near the fire, she was soon asleep. How long she had napped she could not tell, when she was awakened by a furious barking, and, opening her eyes, she saw Viper standing at a little distance, looking as if he were going into fits with rage. Poor puss! She recollected all in a moment that she had got upon Viper’s own footstool! She jumped down before you could count one! “You audacious little upstart!” cried the dog, as soon as he could speak from wrath. “Do you think I shall submit to such liberties?” “Indeed, I humbly beg your lordship’s pardon,” stammered the poor cat, “but I really quite forgot--” “Forgot, indeed!” roared Viper, “I’ll teach you to forget, Mrs. Puss!” and making a tremendous dash at her, he would have finished her in no time, had not, fortunately, the window been open a little--just enough for the cat to get through. She was on the window-seat in an instant, and had scrambled out of the window before Viper, who was very fat, could come up to her. It was with some difficulty that he got upon the window-seat, and quite in vain that he tried to squeeze his fat body through the opening of the window. How he growled with disappointed rage, as he stood on his hind legs on the window-seat, stretching his head, as far as his little short neck would allow, through the opening, to see what had become of puss.