sport of chasing her.
So he edged nearer and nearer her, thinking that she would dodge past
him and run out of the barn.

But Miss Kitty Cat had no relish for that sport.

"Keep your distance, sir!" she cried. And though she spoke plainly
enough, old Spot paid no heed to her words. Instead, he gave a quick
spring at her, just to worry her a bit more.

To his great surprise, almost at that same instant Miss Kitty Cat sprang
at him. And as she jumped, she flashed one of her paws out and struck
Spot on one side of his long nose.

It was not just a gentle tap with a soft, well-padded paw. She thrust
her claws well out from between her toes. And jabbing them deep into
Spot's tender nose, she gave a sharp downward pull.

All at once old dog Spot thought of the time when, as a puppy, he stuck
his nose into a hornet's nest. His joyful bark changed suddenly to a
shrill _ki-yi_ of pain. And at the same time he became angry.

"You don't know how to have fun," he growled at Miss Kitty Cat. "Just to
teach you better manners I'm going to take you by the back of your neck
and shake you."

It appeared that Miss Kitty herself had quite a different notion. At
least, she went through an entirely different motion, which was not at
all like offering the back of her neck for old Spot to seize. When Spot
reached for her she clawed him furiously, with one paw after another,
while she told him what she thought of him.

He did not wait to hear everything that Miss Kitty had to say to him.
Spot thought too much of his nose to linger in the barn any longer, but
turned tail and hurried into the yard.

Miss Kitty Cat chased him as far as the door. Taking one quick backward
glance at her as he went, Spot noticed how fiercely her eyes glared. It
was a terrible sight. And it made him hasten all the faster.

"My goodness! What a temper!" he said under his breath.

Loping across the farmyard, he looked about him uneasily. He hoped
nobody had seen Miss Kitty Cat driving him out of the barn. He knew it
would be a hard matter to explain to any one. All his farmyard friends
would be sure to think it a great joke.

Luckily there was no one in sight except Henrietta Hen.

"She won't notice anything," Spot assured himself. "She's the stupidest
person on the farm."

Having nothing more to worry about except his scratched nose, old Spot
crawled under the woodshed and nursed his wounds during the rest of the
morning.

As for Miss Kitty Cat, she