As our acquaintance grew into one of weeks, we discovered that there would be no lack of entertainment, for the royal babies took life in doses of "doing things" most of the time. Surely no one could accuse them of being bereft of temperament, as we had feared, for they possessed an intense and heartbreaking inclination for excitement in various varieties all the time, quite enough to reassure even the most doubting that we were in no danger of not getting our money's worth in lively kittens. In fact the innocent infants' progress along the lines of cute and daring adventure caused daily and almost hourly shocks, as they seemed uncanny in resourcefulness and absolutely fearless in devising all sorts of startling surprises in the way of miscellaneous mischief, counting that day as naught and unprofitable which brought forth nothing new in the way of satanic curiosity and inspiration for getting into trouble.
The whole household fell under the spell of their charm and were their faithful adorers, the kittens being the deities before which were offered up daily homage, and all lent a helping hand in their "spoiling" as well as in their education. In no time, it seemed, they became quite accomplished in the understanding of certain words taught them in painful seriousness and were soon trained to ask for many little services with such charming and almost human ways as to have conquered the most obdurate heart, had there been any. They were wondrous wise and certainly marvellously clever for kittens, and we could not help being very proud and a little boastful of their achievements along kitten lines, as well as of their strikingly elegant appearance. There was nothing commonplace about them. Even their wild and hilarious playfulness was high tragedy, having such concentration of energy in it that, as they grew older, it developed into a big bump of bad, bold destructiveness. Also, time proved that they possessed a decidedly feminine and insatiable love of investigation and a tragic thirst for information, especially in natural history.
This swelling protuberance of inquisitiveness as regards the earth and its various productions of feathered creatures was taking them nearly every day on long excursions into the near-by woods, often keeping them absent for hours at a time causing us growing anxiety as to their safety. As this trip to the woods became an almost daily after-breakfast custom my curiosity was roused to such an extent that I determined that I, too, would stroll forth the next morning to contemplate nature, and if possible, incidentally discover the fascination that was keeping the infants so much from home. The suggestion that they might be even looking at the little birds with evil intent, made me indignant; it was unbelievable those ingenuous eyes could be so guileful, yet somehow I shivered with a vague premonition. Resentfully I argued that they were too young for such cruelty; moreover they were of such royal blood, princesses of their kind, that one could hardly imagine their doing anything so scandalously plebeian.
However, the next morning, with secret and rather ominous forebodings, I sauntered away in the bright May sunshine, through our old-fashioned garden and up toward the woods, two small downy puffs bounding along by my side as lightly as if blown by the wind, their round little eyes like shining suns in their tiny fluffy heads. They scampered aimlessly, far and near, their heels a-tingle with mischief, poking their noses into all sorts of out-of-the-way places and having a lot of terrifying experiences, getting frightened at everything that could possibly be made into anything scary. They were so seriously determined on investigating all alluring possibilities that not a moving thing escaped their vigilance, from the bees in the bushes to an aeroplane that flew overhead; nor would they have failed, if possible, to help it along with their paws or turn it over and make it go the other way. Occasionally they would stop and scent a flower or perhaps glance warily about, Indian fashion, pretending to see nothing, but raising their eyes with a sweet pretence of innocence to the trees, especially, I noticed, if there happened to be a twitter among the branches. In fact, they appeared to think there was something truly wonderful about those trees—the plain ordinary green ones with the usual number of fine feathery limbs in which the birds love to rest their wings. Further than that, however, their conduct was absolutely blameless, and as we all scurried home I was comfortably convinced that the matutinal walks of these dainty elegances were simply due to an overpowering longing for the green things of earth and the fresh air, possibly from the tree branches, but just the love of being out of doors, with a special desire to enjoy the wonderland beauties of our own woody range, in which we ourselves took great pride.
While still in their tenderest baby days, the kittens developed such an ardent talent for clinging together in all their activities that they seemed like two branches swayed by the same breezes. It was more than the usual natural bond of kinship, even between twins; more like something prenatal, as if one thought instigated all their doings. They ate together, walked together, snoozed together, and were never separated; to see one was always to see both, and everything that happened took place in pairs. They breathed one common atmosphere of trust and faith in each other. Their little feminine hearts may have been often false to us, but to one another they were always faithfully loyal, enduring with unswerving devotion in this oneness everything good or bad that was theirs to share. In living mischief and in the joy of their great discoveries, they were always as of one mind. Ever frolicking together in the sunshine of happy days and generously sharing the sorrows of this vale of tears on hard ones. As one galvanized body, they went through kittenhood in good and bad ways, suffering and enjoying in the everlasting bond of an alliance offensive and defensive.
Their good qualities were so many, and their allegiance to the entire household apparently so faithful, that it came as a sickening disappointment when a little murdered bird, the result of their prowess, was brought and laid at my feet. After this there was no further mystery or doubt as to their inward viciousness, and that it was pure murder-lust just for the delight in the killing was shown by their never once offering to eat their victims. Sometimes they would bring them home and simply "lay them away," and sometimes leave them, all bloody, under the trees. Feeling that I was the one most responsible for the morals of these little heathens, and the one most blamed for their wickedness, an ardent missionary fever began to burn in my indignant blood, and I secretly determined that there should be one hand, strong enough in love, to at least discipline this scandalous feature in their otherwise gentle breeding. If our little aristocratic babies could not live in friendship with our feathered beauties of the woods, they should be forced by some kind of vigorous training to leave them in peace; for we loved the little birds, and their sweet songs in our woods, too much to be reconciled to any such disloyal warfare upon them.
It was with a sinking sensation that I sadly and quietly followed the marauders one morning as they stole off for their usual "after-breakfast" diversion of seeing things in the woods. I was firmly resolved to find out how and where the fledglings were captured and cut off so untimely in their innocent careers and took good care that the kittens did not see me or know that I was waiting grimly in hiding until I could catch them red-handed, and there could be no mistake.
At last my time came, when the degenerates were both crouched near a tree, with wide open, flaming eyes cruelly set on a little chirping songster. Then as they crept forward with eager desire and all the cunning stealth of plain, common, feline ancestry, and were just ready to spring on their unconscious game, I burst upon them in such a frenzy that it frightened them into a state of absolute dismay. But before they could feint, the pair of abject and convicted criminals were hustled back to the house in terrible disgrace, and, hardening my heart, such discipline and argument was administered as was deemed expedient.
Naturally better things had been expected from such beautiful, saint-like looking cherubs, who did not have to make a living by their wits, and this depraved, red-flame blood lust in their being was a double surprise and disappointment.
Under surveillance, these injured innocents became very artful and sly and would resort to all sorts of deception in order to avert suspicion. If caught loitering about their favorite hunting ground, the hypocrites would dally about in gaping pink yawns of boredom, in the most indifferent manner, or play Jack and the Bean-stalk by darting madly up the trunk of a tree and chasing their own tails down, just to show that joyous exercise was the chief, and in fact the only reason for their fondness for the woods. There was no doubt but that they understood perfectly their transgression, and if they were discovered in the delirium of the hunt, we faithfully did our dark and dreadful duty. But they took their discipline so meekly that it was simply heartbreaking to see their tiny, shrinking little bodies after such rudeness, hiding in out-of-the-way places, with terrible fear in their big scared eyes, that were wont to look up at us in such love and expectancy. The touching resignation of these tiny criminals under our correction made us feel almost ashamed of our power, especially as they seemed so superior to it. Moreover it did not seem to make any lasting impression, nothing resulting from such painful experience to both, in the way of reform, that could be detected by the naked eye. But, as we explained to them over and over again, if we had only been able to correct this one little evil in their hearts and make them half as penitent and guileless as their beautiful, remorseful eyes looked, our pains would have been rewarded by their becoming the very best of citizens.