"It's a kitty! It's a kitty! Do open the basket quickly, papa," cried Alice, dancing up and down and clapping her hands. Then she tried to push her fingers under the cover.
Sure enough, when the basket was opened there lay a tiny kitten.
"Oh, isn't she black!" cried the little girl.
"Yes, indeed, she is," said Alice's papa. "I should call her Topsy. There isn't a white hair in her whole glossy coat, from the tip of her little pink nose to the end of her little black tail."
"What big yellow eyes! And oh, look! look! what funny feet she has!
Why are they so large, papa?" asked Alice.
"That's because she is a seven-toed kitten, little daughter. I expect that she will catch a great many mice with those big feet of hers, when she grows to be a cat."
Alice turned one of the funny front paws over. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven," she counted. "Yes, there are just seven toes here, but look, papa, there are not so many on her hind feet. I wonder if she is hungry. May I feed her, mamma?"
Mamma brought some milk, and soon Topsy seemed to feel quite at home. She lapped the milk with her little red tongue, until there was not a drop of it left in the saucer. Then she began to purr and to rub her face against the hand of her new mistress. Finally she curled up in Alice's lap until she looked like a shiny black ball, and began blinking at the fire with sleepy eyes.
Alice was sleepy, too. She curled up in papa's lap, just as kitty had done in hers, and soon Topsy and she were both fast asleep.