"Thank you," said Puss, hanging the shoe over his handlebar and setting off once more.
But, oh, dear me! again, he had gone but a short distance when a curly-tailed pig got right in his way, and of course Puss had to slow up.
"If you're looking for a runaway horse, you'd better take the lane to your right," said the pig, with a grunt and a twist of his curly tail.
So Puss set off again. But, oh, dear me! for the third time, just in front of him was a big, fat cow who had to walk very carefully not to touch the fence rails on either side of her. Puss rang his bell, but she paid no attention to him whatever. She kept right on, swinging her tail from side to side to brush off the flies. And maybe Puss never would have passed her if she hadn't all of a sudden, with a loud moo, trotted into a meadow spread over with butter-cups.
Well, after a little way, Puss almost ran into a big load of hay, and if the farmer had kept on going down the road instead of turning into a gate, I guess Puss would have never caught up with his Good Gray Horse.
"Gracious me!" said Puss, when the road was clear, "I must make up for lost time." But just then a big black crow, who was sitting on a fence post, called out:
"Where are you going so fast, Sir Cat?
Look out, or the wind will blow off your hat."
And he flew off the fence and settled on the handlebar.
"Oh, don't worry! You'll get him, all right," said the crow when Puss told him what a hard time he was having to overtake his Good Gray Horse. "I saw him go by a few minutes ago. He looked pretty tired." And then the old black bird flew away to tell Mrs. Crow that he had seen a pussy cat in boots riding a bicycle.