there.
Horses are excellent company. That was my third life. My fourth was at
the miller's. He came one day to buy some corn; he saw me, and admired
me--as, indeed, every one has always done. He and the farmer were
disputing about the price of the corn, and at last the miller said--

"'Look here; you shall have your price if you'll throw me that cat into
the bargain.'"

The kittens all shuddered. "What is a bargain? Is it like a pond? And
were you thrown in?"

"I was thrown in, I believe. But a bargain is not like a pond; though I
heard the two men talk of 'wetting' the bargain. But I suppose they did
not do it, for I arrived at the mill quite dry. That was a very pleasant
life--full of mice!"

"Who was full of mice?" asked the white kitten, waking up for a moment.

"I was," said the mother sharply; "and I should have stayed in the mill
for ever, but the miller had another cat sent him by his sister.

"However, he gave me away to a man who worked a barge up and down the
river. I suppose he thought he should like to see me again sometimes as
the barge passed by.

"Life in a barge is very exciting. There are such lots of rats, some of
them as big as you kittens. I got quite clever at catching them, though
sometimes they made a very good fight for it. I used to have plenty of
milk, and I slept with the bargee in his warm little bunk, and of nights
I sat and toasted myself in front of his fire in the small, cosy cabin.
He was very fond of me, and used to talk to me a great deal. It is so
lonely on a barge that you are glad of a little conversation. He was
very kind to me, and I was very grieved when he married a lady who
didn't like cats, and who chased me out of the barge with a barge-pole."

"What is a barge-pole?" the yellow kitten asked lazily.

"The only leg a barge has. I ran away into the woods, and there I lived
on birds and rabbits."

"What are rabbits?"

"Something like cats with long ears; very wholesome and nutritious. And
I should have liked my sixth life very much, but for the keeper. No,
don't interrupt to ask what a keeper is. He is a man who, when he meets
a cat or a rabbit, points a gun at it, and says 'Bang!' so loud that you
die of fright."

"How horrible!" said all the kittens.

"I was looking out for my seventh life, and also for the gamekeeper, and
was sitting by the river with both eyes and both ears open, when a
little girl came by--a nice little girl in a checked pinafore.

"She s