“It isn’t as hot as it might be,” the Professor replied, catching at the first idea that came to hand. “Ah, I see what you mean _now_!” the Other Professor graciously remarked. “It’s very badly expressed, but I quite see it _now_! Thirteen minutes and a half ago,” he went on, looking first at Bruno and then at his watch as he spoke, “you said ‘this Cat’s very kind to the Mouses.’ It must be a singular animal!” “So it _are_,” said Bruno, after carefully examining the Cat, to make sure how many there were of it. “But how do you know it’s kind to the Mouses—or, more correctly speaking, the _Mice_?” “’Cause it _plays_ with the Mouses,” said Bruno; “for to amuse them, oo know.” “But that is just what I _don’t_ know,” the Other Professor rejoined. “My belief is, it plays with them to _kill_ them!” “Oh, that’s quite a _accident_!” Bruno began, so eagerly, that it was evident he had already propounded this very difficulty to the Cat. “It ’splained all that to me, while it were drinking the milk. It said ‘I teaches the Mouses new games: the Mouses likes it ever so much.’ It said ‘Sometimes little accidents happens: sometimes the Mouses kills theirselves.’ It said ‘I’s always _welly_ sorry, when the Mouses kills theirselves.’ It said——” “If it was so _very_ sorry,” Sylvie said, rather disdainfully, “it wouldn’t _eat_ the Mouses after they’d killed themselves!” But this difficulty, also, had evidently not been lost sight of in the exhaustive ethical discussion just concluded. “It said——” (the orator constantly omitted, as superfluous, his own share in the dialogue, and merely gave us the replies of the Cat) “It said ‘Dead Mouses _never_ objecks to be eaten.’ It said ‘There’s no use wasting good Mouses.’ It said ‘Wifful—’ sumfinoruvver. It said ‘And oo may live to say ‘How much I wiss I had the Mouse that then I frew away!’ It said——.” “It hadn’t _time_ to say such a lot of things!” Sylvie interrupted indignantly. “Oo doosn’t know how Cats speaks!” Bruno rejoined contemptuously. “Cats speaks _welly_ quick!” CHAPTER XXIII. THE PIG-TALE. By this time the appetites of the guests seemed to be nearly satisfied, and even _Bruno_ had the resolution to say, when the Professor offered him a fourth slice of plum-pudding, “I thinks three helpings is enough!” Suddenly the Professor started as if he had been electrified. “Why, I had nearly forgotten the most important part of the entertainment! The Other Professor is to recite a Tale of a Pig—I mean a Pig-Tale,” he corrected himself. “It has Introductory Verses at the beginning, and at the end.” “It ca’n’t have Introductory Verses at the _end_, can it?” said Sylvie. “Wait till you hear it,” said the Professor: “then you’ll see. I’m not sure it hasn’t some in the _middle_, as well.” Here he rose to his feet, and there was an instant silence through the Banqueting-Hall: they evidently expected a speech.