Bunny Brown and his sister Sue and their trick dog

by Laura Lee Hope

“It’s a new cat,” said Bunny, as he ran around the room after his dog. “I never saw her before.”

There was a regular race to catch Patter and Whitefeet, though by this time it was mostly the boys who were running around—Bunny and his chums Charlie, George, and Harry, with a few others. Most of the women were laughing so hard they could not do much chasing, and the men were also chuckling at the sides of the room. The girls, too, except Sue, had given up trying to catch either the dog or the cat, but Sue ran around with Bunny, for she wanted to help him.

Suddenly the little black cat with the white feet made a quick turn and darted beneath a table on which were some artificial paper flowers that a lady and her daughter had made to sell for the aid of the church. It was not a very heavy table, and as the cat ran under it Patter tried to follow.

Now Patter was much larger than the cat, and though Whitefeet could slip between the legs of the table, the dog could not. Patter tried it, but “he got stuck,” as Bunny said afterward, and upset the table. Over it went, the paper flowers scattering all about.

One wreath fell right around Patter’s neck and remained there, and as he leaped out from beneath the table he had flowers twined about him, looking like some prize-decorated dog.

But Patter did not mind this at all. On he ran, barking and whining in his eagerness to get the cat. Whitefeet was now headed for a table on which cups of tea had been set out for those who wished to buy this to drink.

“Oh, if they upset the tea table it will be terrible!” screamed Mrs. Jones.

“Don’t let them!” cried Mrs. Rogers, as if she could stop it that way.

All the committee ladies, standing around the walls of the room, knowing they could not reach the table in time to save it, gasped with fear as they saw Whitefeet headed for the tea table. If the cat ran under that and Patter followed there would be a great crash of china cups and saucers, as well as a great spilling of hot tea. Upsetting the flower table was not so bad, but to upset the tea table would be dreadful!

However, almost at the last second, the black cat with the white feet turned aside and did not run under the table. Patter also turned and did not hit the table legs. The cat now ran down the long room.