Children's Corner

Hutt News, Volume 2, Issue 36, 13 February 1930, Page 4

Children's Corner

KITTY.

-In ii3r warm bed of hay under the manger, Kitty lay jand mewed for her mother.

■ She had been alone for a long tjme, and though she had dofeed off and on,,and waking, had. tried to am ise herself by playing with her tail, she was tired now of being by; herself. She wanted her mother badly. At last, hoping to find her, she crawled put of ths hay, and began to search about the stall,

Presently, growing braver, she made her way over the cobblestones towards the door that open ed on the horse yard.

• She found it a delightful place when, a moment later, she was romping in the *straw that had been freshly scattered all over it.

It A ras much better than the stuffy btable, told herself, as she chased a feather that floated in the breeze. Here and there .it blew, and she. thought that it had been on purpose for her ti play with. ■ Over the straw it floated, and Kitty followed with little eager bounds, Across the yard and out into the meadow. There it blew over a hedge, and Kitty lost sight of it altogether. She did not mind much/ as there were £ laity of other things to interest her. She walked along a dry ditch, and peeped into great eaves that1 smelt of rabbits, and little holes that made her think of mice.

Presently she came to a pond with high-banks all round it, and something big and black flapped out from almost under her nose, and -splashed across the water to the rushes on the far side. -

It was only a moor-hen, but it startled Kitty terribly, and sent her scampering away.. JShe ran under a gate and into a field that was swampy and wet, and soon she began to feel uncomfortable. A cold wind was getting up, and great dark clouds were drifting across the sky.

There was snow in the air. Something white and feathery settled on the ground, and Kitty sprang on it, only to find it disappear, leaving her paw wet and very cold.

She -was getting frightened now and wanted her mother more than ever.

Here and there she wandered mewing sadly, and the snowflakes came -thicker and thicker, till the ground was wliite and she shivered with coldi

She was lost, and night was coming on.

Something went over her head; making a terrible screeching noise and she lay in the snow too scared to. move. It was the old Barn Owl, going down to the rickyard, where he hoped to find plenty of mice.

Kitty was wet and draggled, and so cold that she could hardlr crawl. Her cries were getting very weak and feeble now, but weak as they were Old Bob, the sheep-dog, heard them, and knew ihat something was wrong.

Batty, lying in the snow, heard a ;dreadful thudding noise; coming towards her.

Then something huge and shaggy appeared out of the dusk; two great jaws closed gently on her, and she found herself picked up and carried over the snow, so comfortably that she did not try to struggle or scratch.

A few minutes later,- she was laid carefully on her bed\of hay, while Mother, who had been -searching all over the stable for her, sprang in beside her and cuddled her under her soft warm fur.

Kitty slept very soundly that night, and when she awake she had no wish to go walking by herself again.. In fact, all her life she loved that stable, and summer or winter she hardly ever left it, except when she went to pay j. visit to her greatest, frieid, Old Bob, the sheep-dog.