2. "That is a foolish remark, my love," said the king. "They are here to kill mice, and the sooner they get big, the better.
PUSSY'S GRAVE.
3. "And you forget that they will have kittens by-and-by," added the king. "In time we shall have,—what is their name? oh, cats.
4. "Well, we shall have cats enough to keep the whole land free from mice and rats." And he was ready to dance and clap his hands. Only that would not have been proper for a king.
5. The end of it was that Dick and the captain set sail for England with a shipload of gold, and puss went with them, with her one baby. She did not miss the rest much after a time.
6. When Dick reached London again, he was very rich indeed. But as he grew older he learned that money cannot make people happy, unless they do good to others with it.
7. He gave his friend the captain a handsome present of gold, and he did not forget one of his old friends at home. To each one he gave what they most needed.
8. Even the cross cook was not passed over, for Dick thought that her bad temper might be made better by a gift, and so it was.
9. But there was one above all to whom he showed the greatest care. This was his cat. Of course she did not live so long as Dick did, for the lives of cats do not often last more than about sixteen years.