y hopped down upon the
great flat stone that served as a step from the woodshed to the ground.
She couldn't help thinking, as she sat there, what a pleasant yard
Farmer Green had. She noticed that there were trees enough about the
farmhouse to furnish homes for plenty of birds.

And if there was one thing that Miss Kitty Cat liked it was to visit
birds right where they lived.

Seeing a faint stir in the grass not far away, she began to creep
towards it. Miss Kitty had found that it paid to look into such things.
Often she had surprised a meadow mouse in just that way.

This time, however, it was Miss Kitty Cat herself that was surprised.
She was so intent on her own important business that she never took her
eyes off that spot where the grass had moved. And that was why she
didn't see old dog Spot when he stuck his nose around a corner of the
farmhouse.

Now, Spot's ways were quite different from Miss Kitty's. Whenever he set
out on a hunt he never could keep still. So the moment he caught sight
of Miss Kitty Cat he gave a joyful bark. At the same time he bounded
towards her.

Of course Spot's yelps warned her to run. The moment she heard his first
bark she forgot all about her own hunt, being herself the hunted. She
scurried off across the farmyard, with Spot tearing after her.

If she had had time enough Miss Kitty would have climbed a tree. But
Spot was altogether too near her for that. And being a stranger about
the farmyard, she hadn't learned all the fine hiding places. Since Spot
was between her and the house, she made for the barn and sprang through
the open door. Inside Spot quickly cornered her.

With her back arched and her tail almost as big as Tommy Fox's brush,
Miss Kitty Cat turned and faced her pursuer.

IV

A TENDER NOSE

"HURRAH!" old dog Spot barked. At least, what he said sounded a good
deal like that.

He had cornered Miss Kitty Cat in the barn. And there was nothing he
liked more than teasing anybody that was short-tempered as she was.

"_Tchah!_" Miss Kitty hissed.

Now, that ought to have been warning enough to Spot to keep a good, safe
distance from her. But he was one of the sort that never knows enough to
take a warning for what it is worth.

"_Wow!_" he chuckled. "You needn't think I'm afraid of you. If you ran
from me once, you'll run again."

He didn't intend to hurt Miss Kitty. All he wanted was to get her to run
across the yard again, so that he might have the