‘I hope that pussy will not hurt the love-birds or your parrot,’ said grandmamma; ‘for cats like to eat birds.’
‘Pussy must not eat our birds,’ said Alice, ‘or else we will send her back again.’
‘But can we not teach the kitten not to go near the cages?’ said Beatrice. ‘The love-birds hang too high for her, I think; and if she goes to the parrot, he will peck Miss Pussy so hard with his sharp beak that she will not go near him again.’
‘I am glad that we have a cat at last,’ said grandmamma; ‘for there are several mice in my storeroom, and yesterday I saw one in the dining-room, eating some of the seed Bobby had dropped on the carpet.’
‘Mary says that there are mice in her pantry too, and cook told Mrs. Dunne that we wanted a cat very much in the house,’ said Alice.
‘Then it is a very good thing that we have this cat,’ said Beatrice. ‘What name shall we call the kitten, grandmamma?’
‘As I hope that she will catch all our mice, shall we call her Mouser?’
‘Oh yes, grandmamma. Mouser is such a pretty name for her;’ and Beatrice ran to her kitten, and called her ‘Mouser’ several times.
The kitten was sent into the kitchen during the children’s lessons; but as soon as these were over, Alice and Beatrice asked leave to go and fetch it, and after they had played with the cat some time, grandmamma told them they must go out for a walk.
Alice and Beatrice kissed their dear little puss, and bade her good-bye, and went out with Mary for their walk; and on their return, Mary went to her dinner, and the little girls played with Mouser up and down the gravel walk.