His mistress never allows him to go into the parlor by himself.
She knows he would sit on the brackets with the little statues.
She knows he would like to swing to and fro on the curtain tassels.
She knows he would like to jerk the bell-pull, and bring Rose up from the kitchen.
She knows he would like to take the Sevres vases and walk up and down the room with them in his arms.
No, Ah Kee, with his roguish tastes, is not to be trusted in the parlor by himself.
But he sometimes comes in when she is there. Sometimes when she is reading she hears a soft sound like this, “lsp-s-s-s!”
She jumps up, looks all around. Under the table, or in a corner she sees a soft, round, feathery ball of fur—and one little paw raised, all claws and motion.
AH KEE’S GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT.