er
her any more than they did--in words, but it had a language of its own
which she understood perfectly. She knew when it was pleased, and when
it said "Thank you" for some delicacy she brought for it; its yellow
eyes beamed with sympathy and interest when she described the delights
of that beautiful life it would enjoy in the nursery; and when she
pitied it for the darkness of its present dwelling below, she knew it
understood by the way it rubbed against her and arched up its back.
There were many more pleasures in each day now that she had made this
acquaintance. Shopping became interesting, because she could look
forward to the cat's surprise and enjoyment when the parcel was opened
in the evening; everything that happened was treasured up to tell it
when they met, or, if it was not there, to write to it on the pink
note-paper; the very smartest sash belonging to her best doll was taken
to adorn the cat's thin neck; and the secrecy which surrounded all this
made it doubly delightful. Ruth had never been a greedy child, and if
Nurse Smith wondered sometimes that she now spent all her money on
cakes, she concluded that they must be for a dolls' feast, and troubled
herself no further. Miss Ruth was always so fond of "making believe."
So things went on very quietly and comfortably, and though Ruth could
not discover that the kitchen cat got any fatter, it had certainly
improved in some ways since her attentions. Its face had lost its
scared look, and it no longer crept about as close to the ground as
possible, but walked with an assured tread and its tail held high. It
could never be a pretty cat to the general eye, but when it came
trotting noiselessly to meet Ruth, uttering its short mew of welcome,
she thought it beautiful, and would not have changed it for the
sleekest, handsomest cat in the kingdom.

But it was the kitchen cat still. All this did not bring it one step
nearer to the nursery. It must still live, Ruth often thought with
sorrow, amongst the rats and mice and beetles. Nothing could ever
happen which would induce Nurse Smith to allow it to come upstairs. And
yet something did happen which brought this very thing to pass in a
strange way which would never have entered her mind.

The spring came on with a bright sun and cold sharp winds, and one day
Ruth came in from her walk feeling shivery and tired. She could not eat
her dinner, and her head had a dull ache in it, and she thought she
would