MR. RAT
THE three little kittens found their mittens,
And they began to cry,
"Oh, mother dear, see here, see here!
See, we have found our mittens."
"Thank you," said the black kitty, as the little mouse peeped out of her house, "thank you very much for telling us where our mittens were."
"We promise never to hurt you," cried the three little kittens.
Puss, Junior, walked over to the corn bin. "Look here, Mr. Rat," he said, in a gruff voice, "as long as you were so mean not to tell us where the mittens were, I won't promise not to catch you."
"You'd better wait till you get the chance," replied the rat, looking down from the top of the bin.
"Just wait till we grow up, Mr. Rat," said the three little kittens, looking very fierce with their whiskers standing out straight from their little fat cheeks and their tails twice their natural size. "You had better not be too sure of yourself.
"For many a rat who has spoken like that
Has been caught when he least was aware.
So you'd better look out what you are about,
For we are three kittens who dare."
"That's the way to talk to him," said Puss, Junior, admiringly. "We'll scare him to death, anyway."