might not like it.

Cat went far and far away and hid himself in the Wet Wild Woods by his
wild lone for a long time till the Woman forgot all about him. Only the
Bat--the little upside-down Bat--that hung inside the Cave, knew where
Cat hid; and every evening Bat would fly to Cat with news of what was
happening.

One evening Bat said, 'There is a Baby in the Cave. He is new and pink
and fat and small, and the Woman is very fond of him.'

'Ah,' said the Cat, listening, 'but what is the Baby fond of?'

'He is fond of things that are soft and tickle,' said the Bat. 'He is
fond of warm things to hold in his arms when he goes to sleep. He is
fond of being played with. He is fond of all those things.'

'Ah,' said the Cat, listening, 'then my time has come.'

Next night Cat walked through the Wet Wild Woods and hid very near the
Cave till morning-time, and Man and Dog and Horse went hunting. The
Woman was busy cooking that morning, and the Baby cried and interrupted.
So she carried him outside the Cave and gave him a handful of pebbles to
play with. But still the Baby cried.

Then the Cat put out his paddy paw and patted the Baby on the cheek, and
it cooed; and the Cat rubbed against its fat knees and tickled it under
its fat chin with his tail. And the Baby laughed; and the Woman heard
him and smiled.

Then the Bat--the little upside-down bat--that hung in the mouth of the
Cave said, 'O my Hostess and Wife of my Host and Mother of my Host's
Son, a Wild Thing from the Wild Woods is most beautifully playing with
your Baby.'

'A blessing on that Wild Thing whoever he may be,' said the Woman,
straightening her back, 'for I was a busy woman this morning and he has
done me a service.'

That very minute and second, Best Beloved, the dried horse-skin
Curtain that was stretched tail-down at the mouth of the Cave fell
down--whoosh!--because it remembered the bargain she had made with the
Cat, and when the Woman went to pick it up--lo and behold!--the Cat was
sitting quite comfy inside the Cave.

'O my Enemy and Wife of my Enemy and Mother of my Enemy,' said the Cat,
'it is I: for you have spoken a word in my praise, and now I can sit
within the Cave for always and always and always. But still I am the Cat
who walks by himself, and all places are alike to me.'

The Woman was very angry, and shut her lips tight and took up her
spinning-wheel and began to spin. But the Baby cried because the Cat had
gone away, and the Wom