A Kindergarten Story Book

by Jane L. Hoxie

"Well, little daughter, suppose you try teaching them," said mamma.

So Alice went to the door and called: "Kittens! kittens! kittens!
Come, Tip! Come, Trot! Come, kittens!" Now their real names were
Tipkins and Trotkins, but Alice always called them Tip and Trot for
short.

When the kittens heard their little mistress call, they came running as fast as their fat little bodies and their short little legs would let them come; for "Kittens, kittens, kittens!" almost always meant: "Here is some nice warm milk to drink."

Alice gathered the funny little things up in her arms. They looked just exactly alike, for Tipkins had a black spot on the end of his tail, and Trotkins had a black spot on the end of his tail, too; Tipkins' eyes were blue, so were Trotkins'; Tipkins' nose was black, and Trotkins' nose was black, too. Alice often wondered how their mother, Topsy, ever told them apart.

"Now," said the little girl, "you have grown to be such big pussies that it is time you learned to work. You must earn your dinner. What do you say to that?"

"Meow! meow!" said Tipkins. "Meow! meow!" said Trotkins. "Meow! meow!" said Tipkins and Trotkins together. Which seemed to mean, "That we will, little mistress; only show us how."

Alice took a tiny bit of meat in her fingers and let one of the kittens smell of it; then she said very slowly, "Now, pussy, roll over." The kitten liked the smell of the meat very much, so he said, "Meow! meow!" but he did not know in the least what "roll over" meant, so he did nothing. "Roll over, kitty," said his little mistress again, but he only said, "Meow! meow! meow!" once more. Then Alice made pussy lie down, and she gently rolled him over with her hand, saying very slowly as she did so, "Roll over." After this she gave him the bit of meat.

Then it was the other kitten's turn. He had no more idea than his brother what "roll over" meant; but after Alice had said the words two or three times, she gently rolled his plump little body over, too, and then gave him the nice bit of meat also. Then she set a big saucer of milk down in front of her pets, and so ended the first lesson of Tipkins and Trotkins.

This was only the first of many lessons, however. Alice worked patiently with the kittens every day for a whole month and, at the end of that time, both Tipkins and Trotkins knew just what she meant and would roll over every time she told them to, even though they got not a scrap of anything good to eat in return.

Tipkins seemed to think it was great fun, and he would sometimes roll over five or six times without stopping, just as Alice herself often rolled on the grass when at play. But Trotkins never seemed to like doing it, and would turn round and round until he was fairly dizzy before finally lying down. Then, as he rolled over, he would give a funny meow, as much as to say, "I don't like to; but, if I must, I will."