ubt that is the case," answered her aunt; "otherwise I
should be at a loss to account for her sudden fondness. She is usually
very shy with strangers."

Ida stroked the soft, silky hair, and seemed almost as much in love with
the puss as Minnie herself was, while Fidelle purred and purred, and
lovingly licked the hand that fondled her.

"Oh, cousin!" cried Minnie, her cheeks glowing with animation, "we do
have such good times reading stories about birds and animals. We are
reading about the cat now. Father says there is something in his books
about every one of my pets."

"I hope I may be a listener, then."

"Oh, yes, indeed! While you are here, you are to be my ownty, downty
sister, and I shall try to make you happy."

Ida kissed her; then they adjourned to the dining hall, where they had
been summoned to tea. Fidelle, knowing she was not allowed there at meal
times, reluctantly remained behind.

In the evening, when the candles were lighted, Minnie begged her father
to go on with the stories, to which he willingly consented; but first he
said,--

"I suppose you know, Minnie, that the cat belongs to the same family as
the lion, the tiger, the panther, the leopard, and several other wild
animals. The tiger and cat are very similar in form and feature; they
have the same rounded head and pointed ears; the long, lithe body,
covered with fine, silky hair, often beautifully marked; the silent,
stealthy step, occasioned by treading on the fleshy ball of the foot;
the same sharp claws; the same large, lustrous eyes, capable, from the
expansive power of the pupil, of seeing in the dark; the whiskered lip;
the carnivorous teeth; and a tongue covered with bony prickers.

"In many of their habits, too, they are alike. In their natural state,
they sleep a great part of the time, only rousing themselves when
pressed by hunger. Then they are alike in lying in wait for their prey,
not hunting it, like the wolf and dog; but after watching patiently for
it, as I have often seen Fidelle watch for a mouse, they steal along
with their supple joints and cushioned feet till within springing
distance of their victims, when they dart upon them with an angry growl.

"Though cats are very plenty now, they were not always so. The Egyptians
venerated cats, as a type of one of their gods. To slay a cat was death
by law. When a cat died, the family to which it belonged mourned as for
a child. It was carried to a consecrated house, embalme