"So you have," said Sarah, kissing her—"and they keep your hands nice and warm, don't they?"
"Did they keep the kittens' hands warm too?" asked little Mary.
"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 saying, 'purr purr purr,' which meant, 'Thank you, ma'am! Oh, thank you, ma'am! Thank you very much.'
"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;' so she mewed, and snarled, and made her tail up into an arch, and said very crossly:
"'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."