When the men built the house, which was in a long row with many others, they left a hole in the roof, with stairs leading to it, so when the roof needed painting, or mending, men could get out on it without bringing ladders and putting them against the building on the outside. Then so the rain would not come in through the hole, the men made a cover for it.
This cover could be lifted up, whenever any one wanted to get out on the roof, and the cover could be fastened down, by hooks inside, when the hole was to be closed.
But now, as it happened, the cover was only partly over the hole, and it was not fastened down. There was a little crack, as when a door is only partly closed, and Blackie put her nose to this crack. She could sniff the fresh air.
“Oh, how good that smells!” she said. “If I could only get out!”
Blackie again put her nose in the crack, and, bracing her legs on the top step, she began to push with her head. Blackie was a strong cat, as I have said, and soon she began to feel the cover slipping and moving to one side.
“Oh, I believe I can push it away from over the hole!” said Blackie. “If I do I can get out! I must push harder!”
Blackie pushed as hard as she could and the scuttle cover moved more. The crack was wider now. Blackie could put out one paw. Soon she had pushed the cover far enough away so she could put out two paws.
“I’ll soon have it all the way off now!” thought the black cat.
She gave one more hard shove and then, to her delight, the cover slid away from the hole. There was room for Blackie to jump out.
She found herself on the flat tin roof of the house. On either side were the tin roofs of other houses in the brick row. It was like one long, big roof.