Puss was now safe from the dogs, and she remained in the tree for some time before she durst come down again. On her return to the farm house, three boys who had been to school, were playing in the fields. Each boy had a large stick on his shoulder, and as soon as they saw Puss, they ran after her. She again took refuge in a tree, but the boys threw stones at her and hit her so hard, that she at length fell senseless to the ground. One of the boys seized poor Puss; and they were going to have some rare sport as they said, by fastening the cat on a board, and then launching it on the pond, after which they would set the dogs at her, and Puss could only keep them off by scratching their noses. Everything was in readiness: Puss was bound upon the board, and they were just going to sail it into the middle of the pond, when the schoolmaster came past, and the boys were obliged, after receiving a good flogging, to set poor Puss at liberty.
Shortly after these adventures, a friend paid a visit to the farm house, and being very much in want of a good cat, he took poor Puss with him to York. Pussy's new mistress had a fine canary bird, which she was very fond of. One day the canary had got through the wires of his cage, and Puss seeing it perched on the table, could not resist the temptation; but sprang at it and seized it in her claws. The poor canary was almost eaten, when the master came into the room, and seeing what was done, he took a whip, and would have killed poor Puss, but for little Mary, who begged him to spare her life.
Puss was a good mouser, and soon cleared the house of them. She soon got acquainted with town life, such as climbing walls and houses, and jumping from roof to roof, either in gossipping with her neighbours or in search of prey. Once, while showing to some other cats how clever she was in jumping about, she fell into the street, and would have been killed, but for some fat sheep that were passing along the street at the time, and Puss had the good luck to fall upon the back of one of them, which had so much wool on it, as not at all to hurt her.
The next adventure and misfortune of poor Puss, was, to examine the contents of a pigeon cote in the neighbourhood. After climbing up a great height, she contrived to leap down on the board, and got in among the pigeons, where she made sad havoc among the young birds; but, the master hearing a great noise, went up, and Puss escaped through the door, or she would have paid the penalty with her life. Puss would no doubt feel very miserable after this wholesale murder, which she had committed among the pigeons, for she had killed about a dozen of them. She had escaped many deaths, and as she was now getting old, she thought it high time to reform. Cats have always had a bad character for stealing, and too frequently have they merited it.
The most degrading circumstance in the history of poor Puss, is the following. Puss had jumped from the gateway into the street, where an Italian was playing an organ, with a dressed up monkey by his side. The monkey at once ran after Puss, and seizing her by the tail, bit off the greatest part of it. This misfortune she took so to heart, that she never afterwards rallied. She was seldom seen in the house. She became asthmatical; and after lingering some time, she departed this life, to the great grief of her numerous friends and relatives, among whom she was highly respected.
On earth short was her stay,
Her trials were severe;
But she has passed away,
And gone we know not where.
