"Please, Mr. Jack, give me one of your pennies to buy a marrow-bone for Ratty Terrier, and then he will kill the wicked old rat for me, and I shall get back the medal I won at the cat show."
"Chatter, chatter, chatter," said the monkey. "Most of these belong to my master; but I will give you one of mine if you will get me a handful of pea-nuts from yonder stand. I am very fond of them, and they sell very few for a cent."
This stand was kept by a toothless old woman, and Kitty knew it was useless to try and make her understand kitten talk; but she ran across the way, and heard the old lady mumbling to herself, "I'd give a lot of pea-nuts for a few drops of fresh milk to put in my tea."
At these words Kitty purred for joy, and fairly skipped over the ground, for she was acquainted with a goat, who, she thought, would be sure to give her some milk. But when she came to the pasture where the goat was feeding, she found Nanny as selfish as the rest of the world, and not a drop of milk would she give, unless Kitty brought her a head of green lettuce for her supper.
Poor Kitty felt terribly discouraged; but she thought, "I might as well keep on now," and pattered away once more on her tired little paws to a farm on the border of the town, where lay a beautiful field of young lettuce, watched over by a funny old scarecrow in a red waistcoat and shabby hat, who stood there to frighten away the birds that destroyed the delicate leaves.
"He looks rather cross," thought Kitty, as she approached this figure, and her heart went pitapat as she stopped, and began, "Mew! mew!"
"Hey! hey!" cried the scarecrow, whirling round, for he thought it was a cat-bird.
"Please, Mr. Crow, don't scare me," stammered Kitty; "for I am only a kitten; and, oh, do please give me a head of your nice lettuce for Nanny the goat."