uts.

They had been obliged to put Tom Kitten into a hot bath to get the
butter off.

John Joiner smelt the pudding; but he regretted that he had not time to
stay to dinner, because he had just finished making a wheel-barrow for
Miss Potter, and she had ordered two hen-coops.

And when I was going to the post late in the afternoon--I looked up the
lane from the corner, and I saw Mr. Samuel Whiskers and his wife on the
run, with big bundles on a little wheel-barrow, which looked very like
mine.

They were just turning in at the gate to the barn of Farmer Potatoes.

Samuel Whiskers was puffing and out of breath. Anna Maria was still
arguing in shrill tones.

She seemed to know her way, and she seemed to have a quantity of
luggage.

I am sure _I_ never gave her leave to borrow my wheel-barrow!

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

They went into the barn, and hauled their parcels with a bit of string
to the top of the hay mow.

[Illustration]

After that, there were no more rats for a long time at Tabitha
Twitchit's.

[Illustration]

As for Farmer Potatoes, he has been driven nearly distracted. There are
rats, and rats, and rats in his barn! They eat up the chicken food, and
steal the oats and bran, and make holes in the meal bags.

And they are all descended from Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Whiskers--children
and grand-children and great great grand-children.

There is no end to them!

Moppet and Mittens have grown up into very good rat-catchers.

They go out rat-catching in the village, and they find plenty of
employment. They charge so much a dozen, and earn their living very
comfortably.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

They hang up the rats' tails in a row on the barn door, to show how many
they have caught--dozens and dozens of them.

[Illustration]

But Tom Kitten has always been afraid of a rat; he never durst face
anything that is bigger than--

[Illustration]

A Mouse.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TALE OF SAMUEL WHISKERS***

******* This file should be named 15575.txt or 15575.zip *******

This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/5/7/15575

Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in th