em would hide?

Little mouse, your tail's too long;
It's your fault; if they do wrong.
All these books will surely fall,
Ink stains soon will cover all.

Did you think that you were hid?
Or perchance of them were rid?
Don't you know your tail's in sight
Of those kittens' eyes so bright?

You are wise to keep quite still,
For they're watching with a will.
Maybe you can make them think
It's the cord that ties the ink.

Mother Cat looks very wise;
She will know it by its size.
She has taught her kittens, too,
Just exactly what to do.

Which will get you? Have a care,
For to lose you they'll not dare.
Though they're frightened, we can see
With her help it's you must flee.

Ah, you moved it! Such a fuss!
All the things are in a muss!
And they caught you, as I thought;
You're a nuisance, so they ought.

Which one did it? I can't tell.
All I know is, something fell.
But they all look very proud,
And their purr is very loud.

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= How did the
kittens happen to find the mouse? How did they get up on the table?
Where did the mouse try to hide? Why was that not a good place? What
were the kittens afraid of? Who came to help them? What did she do?
How does she look? Which kitten is the more daring? What is between
the black kitten and the mouse? What will very likely happen to the
books and papers? Which way do you think the white kitten will jump?
the mother cat? Which one will catch the mouse?

=To the Teacher:= Encourage the children to talk about their own pets
at home, and to draw pictures of them. The drawings may not be good in
themselves, but such practice will make the children more observant,
and so prepare the way for better drawing later.

=The story of the artist.= Madame Ronner, the woman who painted this
picture, was very fond of cats, as you can easily imagine. She had a
very large cage made for her pets, with wire over the top and glass
for the sides. She had the sides made of glass so that she could
always watch the cats when she painted, no matter in what part of the
cage they happened to be; and of course the top was of wire so they
could have plenty of air. The floor of the cage was well cushioned,
and there were several hanging bobs for the cats to play with.

Her father was an artist, and he, although blind, was her only