"THE DOOR WAS ONLY HALF OPEN."
"The door was only half open, and that favoured my plans. If that had not been the case——"
"Do keep to the story!" again interrupted the eager King Charles; "you are always moralizing."
"If that had not been the case, I should have been lost," continued Pussy, quite calmly, and not regarding His Highness. "Well, I jumped violently against the half-closed gate, and slammed it to with a loud bang. It just caught the first dog's toe, and I knew what had happened by the yelping and howling of the wretched cur. Ah! the tables were turned now! And, in triumph, I laid my side close up against the door, and purred as loudly as I could, until my throat ached. The dog howled still louder than before on the other side, his two brother sinners barking all the time in disappointed fury.
"IT JUST CAUGHT THE FIRST DOG'S TOE."
"THE TURKEY AND THE PIG JOINED IN."
"A funny concert it must have been! All the animals flocked out from the farmyard close by, to see what was the matter. The turkey joined in, screeching at her loudest. The little pig grunted and squeaked, and I lay against the door, purring louder than ever.