Just then the big Black Cat that had been sleeping quietly in a chair rose and stretched himself and gaped, showing his long white teeth. He jumped to the floor and walked back and forth purring and rubbing against the little old woman in a friendly way. "Get out! You'll push me over," she cried. "Oh, will you go away? I'll stick you with my needle! I certainly will! Keep your long tail out of my face! Oh, how can I see to do anything? Will you go away? I'll hit you as sure as I am standing here!" "Don't," said the big Black Cat, stopping and looking straight at the little old woman. "Don't you know it brings bad luck to hit a black cat?" "If I hit you, you'll feel it," cried the little old woman. "Stop," exclaimed the big Black Cat. "I know what you are here for. Do you see my eyes? They are as green as grass. Do you see my teeth? They are as strong as iron. Do you see my claws? They are as sharp as needles. If I look at you hard you'll shiver; if I bite you you'll squall; if I scratch you you'll bleed." The Grandmother of the Dolls looked at the big Black Cat long and hard. "Do I know you?" she asked. "I know you," replied the Black Cat. "What is your name?" she asked. [Illustration: THE GRANDMOTHER OF THE DOLLS AND THE BIG BLACK CAT] "Billy-Billy Blackfoot." "It is time for you to go hunting," she said. She wanted to get him out of the room. "I have found what I was hunting for," said Billy-Billy Blackfoot. "There's a rat gnawing in the pantry." "He'll be fatter when I catch him." "There's a piece of cheese in the dining-room." "It won't spoil until I eat it." "There's a pan of milk in the kitchen." "It won't turn sour till I drink it." "There's catnip in the garden." "It will grow till I want it." The Grandmother of the Dolls then made a cross-mark on the carpet and waved her cane in the air. This was done to put a spell on Billy-Billy Blackfoot, but before the spell could work Billy-Billy made a circle by chasing his tail around. Then he glared at the little old woman and slowly closed one eye. This was too much. The Grandmother of the Dolls seized her cane and made a furious attack on Billy-Billy Blackfoot, but he leaped nimbly out of the way and the cane fell with a whack on the bald head of the Brown Doll. At this there was a tremendous uproar. The Brown Doll screamed: "Murder!" Billy-Billy Blackfoot's tail swelled to twice its natural size; the hair-brush fell on the floor; the dustpan rattled; the shovel and tongs staggered out from the chimney-corner and rolled over on the hearth; the Dolls scrambled and scurried under the bed, and the little old woman whisked up the chimney like a spark from a burning log.