Only to think! A letter from Aunt Fanny to the little ones, which begins in this fanny way: "You Darling Kittens—" All the small children looked at Mary O'Reilly—who sat staring at the fire, with her So she began again: Darling Kittens— You must have stories as well as the rest—of course you must. If I should forget Oh! what a dreadful thing it would be, for any one to suppose that I did not love you any more. I could not bear it; so here I am beginning "right away," and the very first thing that comes "Hurrah for the children forever, And three cheers for the red, white, and blue." And now for the kitten story. THE LITTLE KITTENS.One cold, bright day in the middle of last winter, a lady came to see me. She brought with her two little girls with the roundest and rosiest faces; even their dear little noses were red as roses for a minute or two, till they got warm, because Mr. Jack Frost had been pinching them all the way from their house to mine. But he couldn't get at their Pretty soon Sarah, my daughter, came into the room. "Oh you dear, dear, little things!" she cried, "I am so glad to see you!" "Then tell me a story," said Mary, the elder. "Would you like to hear about the three little kittens that lost their mittens?" "O yes, yes!" they both exclaimed. Then Sarah took dear little Charlotte upon her lap, and "Three little kittens Lost their mittens; And they began to cry: 'Oh mother dear, We very much fear, That we have lost our mittens.'" "Oh, what bad kittens! I shame for them!" said Charlotte. "Oh, Mamma, dear, We very much fear That we have lost our Mittens!" "Their mamma was 'shame' too," continued Sarah, "for she gave them a dab with her paw on their ears, and said in a severe voice: "'Lost your mittens? Oh, you naughty kittens! Now you shan't have any pie!" and then she gave them each such a good whipping that the tears ran down on the ground, and made it very damp. "But the three little kittens, Found their mittens, And they began to cry, Only see here, See! just look! we have found our mittens.'" "Oh! I so grad," said little Charlotte, and she clapped her hands; and then gazing at her own pretty white mittens, held them up, and cried: "Look! I've got mittens! look! look!" "So you have," said Sarah, kissing her—"and they keep your hands nice and warm, don't they?" "Did they keep the kittens' "Yes, as warm as toast; and their mother was so glad they were found, that she hugged her three children to her breast, and cried: "'Found your mittens? Oh, you dear, good little kittens! Now you shall have some pie.' "Then she got a large apple pie out of the closet, and cut them a tremendous slice apiece; and the little kittens were so glad that they kept "But, dear me, what a pity! they forgot to take their mittens off; and such a sticky, lot, when they were done eating, you never saw! They were full of bits of apple, and sugar, and crumbs of buttery pie crust. The kittens stared with dismal faces at their mother, and it was plain to see that "The three little kittens Had soiled their mittens; And they began to cry: 'Oh, mother dear, We very much fear, That we have soiled our mittens.' "This was really dreadful! The old cat started up, her whiskers curling with rage; she very nearly danced on her hind legs, she was so angry. It wasn't right to get into such a passion; but then you know she was only an old cat, and had not read that pretty verse which begins, 'Let dogs delight to bark and bite;' "'You've soiled your mittens? Oh! you naughty, bad kittens!' And she whipped them so dreadfully this time, that they cried till the tears made a little puddle on the ground." "Oh my!" said Charlotte, and her bright black eyes looked very sorry. "Oh my!" said Mary, exactly like her little sister. Sarah laughed a little bit, "Oh no!" cried both the children; and then they had to get down, and run to kiss their mother; whose large dark eyes were full of love for her darlings. "After the poor kittens had wiped their eyes, and blowed their noses, and sighed two or three times, one of them said to the others, "Don't cry any more. Let's get our little pails and fill them with water "'Oh yes! you darling sister, to think of such a nice plan!' cried the other two; and they rolled over on their backs, and flourished all their soft paws in the air together, they were so glad. "So the three little kittens Washed their mittens, And hung them up to dry. "Then they ran to their mother, who was fast asleep "'Oh, mother, dear, Only see here, See! open your eye, see! we have washed our mittens.' "The old cat, for a wonder, did not get angry; instead of that, she smiled a sweet smile, rubbed her chin with her paw, and in a musical, mewing tone of delighted surprise, exclaimed: "'Washed your mittens! Oh you little ducks of kittens! But s-hh! Listen! I think I hear a rat close by.' "'Purr purr.' "'Mew!' said one of the little kittens, who was afraid of the rat. "'Hush up, you naughty "That's all." "Oh!" cried Mary, "tell me about the rat, won't you?" "Well, I believe the old cat ran like lightning after the rat, caught him, and gave her little kittens a paw apiece, and eat all the rest up herself." "Every bit?" asked Charlotte. "I don't think she left the least scrap," said Sarah. "Tell another story," said Mary. "Ah, do!" How we laughed—their mother and I—softly to ourselves, when Mary asked Sarah for more stories; Sarah laughed too, and was just going to begin another, when the mother said it was time to go. So I bid her good-by, and sent my kind regards to Mr. Ewer, the dear little childrens' father—who is a minister, and one of the best men in the whole world; because he is never tired of working I was very sorry to have those sweet little pets go so soon, because I wanted to talk to them myself; but, of course, they must mind their mother; and I never tease any one to stay. It is not polite; so I kissed them heartily, and went with them to the front door. The wind blew sharply in There was the darling little Charlotte, standing in the cold, with only one white mitten on. "Why dear me!" exclaimed her mother, "what have you done with it?" Then the cunning precious pet laughed out merrily, and "I a ittie kitten, I loss my mitten." We both burst out laughing—we could not help it; but her mother, smoothing the smiles almost away, made believe to be the kittens' mother, and cried out: "Lost your mitten? Oh you naughty little kitten! Now you can't have any pie." So back we all went to the How we did laugh—for you know she was in play, and did not mean to do anything "See, mamma, dear! Only look here, I found my mitten! didn't I?" And her mother just caught her up in her aims and kissed her, and said: "Found your mitten? Oh, you good little kitten! Now you shall have some pie!" And off they went, the children perfectly delighted with "What was that?" "Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat-too!" |