“Not long after this my mother was shot for her beautiful skin. I was so lonely that I mourned very much. The dog took care of me. I did not think Nep would be so kind, for sometimes he had barked at me, but when he knew I was sorry and lonesome he asked me to snuggle close to him and if any people touched me he drove them away.
Scamper Up and Down His Big Sides and Tickle His Paws, and His Nose.
“When my older sisters saw me with Nep they wanted to come and he let them come. We warmed our feet in his hair. My sisters were too lazy to play, but one of them used to catch fleas in his hair. I did not like to catch fleas. I liked to scamper up and down his big sides and tickle his paws, and his nose. He used to give me some of his meat. He did not give my sisters any. I will now explain why I left Nep and that house.
A pretty-faced white kitten used to come and play with me sometimes. One day when I was asleep on the door-mat, I was waked by a small noise and there was the white kitten’s face looking in at the door. She wanted me to go and see two rats. She said two rats went every day to a place to sit in the sun and we could stay behind a rock and peep at them.
“I went with her to see the rats. They were too big for us to meddle with, but we could peep at them.
“The white kitten liked to frolic and we raced over the fields and on the fences as much as we wanted to.
“All at once we heard a noise. People came. The white kitten got away but a man caught me, and carried me in some whistling cars to his home. He wanted to keep me. I was afraid to stay in that strange place and I squeezed out through a hole in the cellar.
