"It seems that their mother had caught a nice fat rat, and instead of eating it all herself, as Mr. Gander did the frog, she brought it to her kittens. Now there was plenty of meat for both, and neither could have devoured the whole of it, yet those two youngsters stood there and snarled, and spit, and scratched at each other, instead of enjoying themselves in a friendly manner.
"They made a most dreadful noise, therefore, of course, everybody oil the farm knew what was being done, and then the foolish things began to fight. Just then, Mr. Brown Owl, who spends a good deal of his time on our shed watching for mice, flew down and picked up the rat.
"When the kittens made up their minds that it might be better to eat dinner than tear each other to pieces, Mr. Owl was eating the rat, and they were obliged to go hungry for that day at least. If a person is not only a glutton, but has beside a bad temper, he is very likely to miss many good things which he might enjoy without much labor. Yet I don't like to see people too soft, and smiling too sweetly, for then I always think of the time when Mr. Wolf called on Mrs. Hog, professing to be such a great friend."
A SUSPICIOUS-LOOKING VISITOR.
"That is a story I have never heard," your Aunt Amy said, and Mrs. Goose looked up in surprise, as she replied:
"Why, it's as old as the hills, almost; I'll tell it because it may do you some good. Once upon a time Mrs. Hog had seven of the dearest little babies you ever saw, and they were as fat as butter, for Mr. Man gave them all they wanted to eat. The family lived over on the north side of the farm, a long distance from the house, and the fence to Mrs. Hog's yard wasn't what it should have been when she had so many little ones to look after. Every one, even Mr. Man himself said it ought to be mended; but it seems that what's everybody's business is nobody's business, therefore nothing was done.
"One afternoon, when supper had been eaten and Mrs. Hog was clearing up the sty, Mr. Wolf poked his nose between the boards of the fence, and said sweet as honey:
"'I am surprised, Mrs. Hog, to see that Mr. Man doesn't look after you better. The first thing you know some bad person will come along, and then one of the babies will be missing.'
"'There's little fear of that, Mr. Wolf, while I'm around,' and Mrs. Hog showed her teeth.