"Ate it! Without giving me any? What d'you mean by that? Ain't we pardners? Here I bring you along with me, and show you a good place to sleep, and you go and eat up all the breakfast without giving me even a taste."
"You didn't give us any of the bird you caught," retorted Fluffy.
"Bird I caught! What d'you mean? When did I catch any bird?"
"Before we were awake. And you ate it all yourself, and never saved a bit for us."
"I don't know what you mean; don't know what you're talking about," blustered Yowler. "But I'm not going to argue with you. If you can catch things, so can I. And I can eat them all myself, too, just as much as you can." And he stalked away, and would not answer them when they called after him.
After that Yowler hunted by himself, and the other kittens by themselves. At first Jazbury found it very hard to catch anything. The birds and mice all got away from him. He would have had to go hungry or to content himself with grasshoppers and beetles if it had not been for Fluffy. But Fluffy was such a good little hunter that he always managed to catch enough to eat, and whatever he caught he always shared with Jazbury. He was a better hunter than Yowler, and after a while Yowler said maybe they'd all better hunt together and share whatever they might catch. "Only, of course, Jazbury ought to let us have the best pieces," he added, "because he's no good about catching things."
"Yes, he is, too," mewed Fluffy indignantly. "He's learning. And anyway, I'd rather share with him than with you any day, and you can hunt by yourself, and we'll hunt by ourselves. That's the way you wanted us to do it at first, and now that's the way we like best."
This made Yowler very angry, and he would not speak to Fluffy for a whole day.
Jazbury, indeed, was becoming a very fine hunter,--better, even, than Fluffy himself. Fluffy was very skilful, but Jazbury was not only quick, he was also strong and brave; stronger and braver than the gentle little Fluffy had ever dreamed of being.
Fluffy admired Jazbury very much, and was proud of the way he caught things. But one thing troubled him. Jazbury would not wash himself. Every day he grew dirtier and rougher, until at last he looked more like some wild creature of the wood than a little town kitten who should have known enough to wash and care for himself.