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During a hard snow storm last winter, a kitten with a broken leg and
almost frozen hopped into the hall door of a gentleman's house in
Brooklyn, New York, and set up a most piteous mewing.

The master of the house ordered the servants to throw the kitten
into the street, when his little daughter, a child eight years of
age, caught up the poor little creature, and begged to be allowed to
keep and nurse it. The father, at first, refused. The child,
however, begged so earnestly that he at last allowed her to keep the
kitten.

The little girl, whom we will call Emma, nursed her pet until it got
quite well. The kitten returned, in full measure, all the love of
her gentle nurse, and was never quite happy away from little Emma.

Some time afterwards, the loving child was taken severely ill, and
was confined to her bed. Kitty had grown into a cat. It was found
impossible to keep her away from the bed of her suffering friend.
The cat would watch at the door when turned out of the room, dart in
again, and mew, and jump upon the bed where little Emma lay. There
Kitty was quiet.

As the child grew more ill, it was impossible to get the cat out of
the room; until, at last, when little Emma was dying, pussy
stretched herself out near the bed, and seemed to be dying too.

The cat was taken into the next room, and put gently upon a rug.

"Take care of my poor kitten!" said the kind little Emma, as she saw
them take it away; and her loving spirit went to the land of loving
spirits.

When the sorrowing friends went into the adjoining room, the life of
her "poor kitten" had departed too.

Does not the fact that love and kindness can make such an irritable
animal as the cat so loving and grateful, teach us all their
heavenly power? Ought we not to do all which we can to bring out
this better nature?

We have made cats our slaves. We have taken them from the woods,
that we may have them to catch our rats and mice. We make them do
just as we please, and ought we not to make them as comfortable and
happy as we can?

Can we not be patient with their bad or disagreeable qualities, and
encourage all their good dispositions? We never know the true
character of any living being till we treat that creature with
entire justice and kindness. I therefore am the friend of the poor,
despised, abused, neglected, suspected, calumniated cat. I confess
she is sometimes a little disposed to thieving, that there are
strong reasons for suppo