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Ten Kittens

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<h2 class="nobreak">BETTY.</h2> Betty is of the Persian breed of cats like Mitch and Mack in two other stories of this book. She lives at Winnwood Lake, just east of Kansas City, and has a good home and a kind mistress. She is of a loveable disposition. Her father is the famous White Czar, of Kansas City, and her mother is of good stock. Betty has not traveled over the country like Mack in the other story but she is satisfied to live in a comfortable home with her mistress. She has no time for traveling anyway, because she has to be at home with her family of kittens. I am not sure she is perfectly satisfied though because three of her kittens are far from home today. The day that Betty’s first babies[58] were born was very gloomy and by night a storm was gathering which broke from the clouds in all of its fury later in the night. The trees were howling in the wind and the thunder and lightning caused Betty and her mistress much fear. The lady had gone to bed that night before the storm came on and Betty was in the corner of the room with her new babies. When the noise of the storm was heard, Betty ran to the bed but in a few seconds went back to the box to be with the kittens. She kept this up, going back and forth, for several minutes. At last the lady told her to bring the kittens to the bed. It seemed that she knew what her mistress had said for she went to the box in the corner three times, each time taking a kitten to the bed. After three kittens had been placed on the bed, Betty took a long breath and seemed almost exhausted by jumping back and forth so many times. The lady told her that she had left one kitten in the box so again she went to the corner, this time getting the fourth[59] kitten. After a second attempt she jumped upon the bed and then cuddled down to sleep regardless of the raging storm. She had been used to sleeping on the bed, but was not satisfied to sleep there that night and leave the four kittens in the box in the corner of the room. This act of Betty’s showed the mother love for her babies. The four kittens grew to be beautiful pets. There were three brothers and one sister in Betty’s family. One of the brothers was taken to the state of Michigan, and one was sent to Abilene, Kansas. The third brother, named Jack, went to France with a Captain and his wife during the war. Only this one of the brothers went to war. It seems that it would be right for Betty to have a blue star for Jack. The sister, Blue Bell, is still at home with her mother. The father of Blue Bell and the three brothers is Blue-Eyed Billy, another famous cat of Kansas City. Blue Bell is not alone now because Betty has two more babies in the home. The father of these two younger[60] kittens is called John and he seems to love them as much as Betty does. He will get into the box and wash their faces just like the mother cat. Betty does not forget Blue Bell as her first baby. She is almost two years old now, but Betty washes her face and ears every day just like she did when Blue Bell was a little kitten. Betty is very fond of going down to the lake and catching craw-fish for the kittens. She will sit near the water until a craw-fish comes in sight near the edge and then with one grab she has it. She always catches them by the back so they cannot pinch her with their sharp pinchers. Another of her favorite pastimes is gathering the eggs. Betty goes with her mistress every morning and looks into all the nests. If she finds eggs in the nests she will wait until her mistress takes them out. If she looks into a nest and finds no eggs she goes on to the next. In this way Betty helps her mistress every evening. Betty always knows when Saturday comes because her mistress goes to[61] town on that day. Betty expects a treat of good meat on Saturday. When the lady gets home from town Betty always goes to the hand bag and smells for meat. If she finds none she will go back to her box and lie down greatly disappointed. If she smells the meat then she sits upon her hind feet begging for it and is not satisfied until she and the kittens have the special Saturday treat. When the lady goes to the mail box for mail Betty always desires to go along. She climbs the post and looks into the box when her mistress opens it but she has never learned to carry the mail to the house. Betty still lives at Winnwood Lake and with the help of John she is carefully rearing a family of three beautiful and obedient kittens. <hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> [62] <div class="figcenter"><ANTIMG src="images/image062.jpg" alt="" /></div> [63] <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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