regret. I continued in a state of unmitigated sulks. Even
Lily could not appease me. If she came to see me by herself, indeed, or
with only human beings in her train, I brightened up for the moment;
but if she appeared with the kitten in her arms, my surliness was
disgraceful. Nobody knows how I detested the kitten. I thought it a
misfortune to the universe that that kitten should exist.

On thinking it over at this distance of time, I honestly confess that I
had no right to be jealous; Lily remitted none of her kindness, and gave
me every proof of much higher regard and esteem than she bestowed on the
kitten. She fed me, patted me, took me out walking, and talked to me
just as usual; and as soon as she perceived my objection to her new pet,
she left off bringing it with her, and was careful to keep it out of my
sight. But I saw it in spite of all her pains. It was incessantly
intruding itself upon my notice, sometimes on the roof of the house,
sometimes jumping from a window-ledge; now perched upon a paling, now
climbing the pillars of the verandah; and always looking clean and white
and pretty, with a bit of blue ribbon which Lily had tied round its
neck, as if on purpose to provoke me. Even when I did not see it, I
heard it mew; and when I did not hear it, I thought about it.

I was miserable. To be sure I had no right to expect Lily to like nobody
but me, and I had nothing to complain of; every pleasure and comfort in
life was mine. Indeed, I think a real grievance would have been rather
pleasant to me. I should have liked an injustice. I was determined to
sulk, and should have been glad to have something to sulk at. But no;
people would persevere in being kind to me. I might be as ill-tempered
as I pleased; nobody punished, or even scolded me; and whenever I chose
to be in good humour, my friends were always ready to meet me half-way.
Indeed, I never was quite sure whether they noticed my ill-temper or
not. But I did not try to come round, though certainly sulking did not
conduce to my comfort. I once heard my master remark, in reference to
some disagreeable human being, that ill-tempered people made themselves
more unhappy than they made others; so I suppose sulking does not always
agree even with men; I know it does not with dogs. It was a wretched
time.

I continued to brood over my imaginary grievances, little thinking how
soon they would be exchanged for real troubles. I had been discontented
while every enj