“Good day, Mrs. Pussy,” said the bear-cub; “have you had anything to eat to-day?”
“Oh, I’ve had a little, but I’m ’most fasting,” said the Cat; “it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf—and, now I think of it, I may as well take you, too.” And so she took the bear-cub and gobbled him up.
When the Cat had gone a bit farther, she met a she-bear, who was tearing away at a stump till the splinters flew, so angry was she at having lost her cub.
“Good day, you Mrs. Bruin,” said the Cat.
“Good day, Mrs. Pussy; have you had anything to eat to-day?”
“Oh, I’ve had a little, but I’m ’most fasting,” said the Cat; “it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the bear-cub—and, now I think of it, I’ll take you, too,” and so she took Mrs. Bruin and gobbled her up, too.
When the Cat got still farther on, she met Baron Bruin himself.
“Good day, you Baron Bruin,” said the Cat.
“Good day, Mrs. Pussy,” said Bruin; “have you had anything to eat to-day?”
“Oh, I’ve had a little, but I’m ’most fasting,” said the Cat; “it was only a bowl of porridge, and a trough of fat, and the goodman, and the goody, and the cow, and the leaf-picker, and the stoat, and the squirrel, and the fox, and the hare, and the wolf, and the bear-cub, and the she-bear—and, now I think of it, I’ll take you, too,” and so she took Bruin and ate him up, too.