ussed the subject of animal sagacity.

"'Yes, sir,' he said, 'monkeys is cute. I've come across monkeys as
could give points to one or two lubbers I've sailed under; and elephants
is pretty spry, if you can believe all that's told of 'em. I've heard
some tall tales about elephants. And, of course, dogs has their heads
screwed on all right: I don't say as they ain't. But what I do say is:
that for straightfor'ard, level-headed reasoning, give me cats. You see,
sir, a dog, he thinks a powerful deal of a man--never was such a cute
thing as a man, in a dog's opinion; and he takes good care that everybody
knows it. Naturally enough, we says a dog is the most intellectual
animal there is. Now a cat, she's got her own opinion about human
beings. She don't say much, but you can tell enough to make you anxious
not to hear the whole of it. The consequence is, we says a cat's got no
intelligence. That's where we let our prejudice steer our judgment
wrong. In a matter of plain common sense, there ain't a cat living as
couldn't take the lee side of a dog and fly round him. Now, have you
ever noticed a dog at the end of a chain, trying to kill a cat as is
sitting washing her face three-quarters of an inch out of his reach? Of
course you have. Well, who's got the sense out of those two? The cat
knows that it ain't in the nature of steel chains to stretch. The dog,
who ought, you'd think, to know a durned sight more about 'em than she
does, is sure they will if you only bark loud enough.

"'Then again, have you ever been made mad by cats screeching in the
night, and jumped out of bed and opened the window and yelled at them?
Did they ever budge an inch for that, though you shrieked loud enough to
skeer the dead, and waved your arms about like a man in a play? Not
they. They've turned and looked at you, that's all. "Yell away, old
man," they've said, "we like to hear you: the more the merrier." Then
what have you done? Why, you've snatched up a hair-brush, or a boot, or
a candlestick, and made as if you'd throw it at them. They've seen your
attitude, they've seen the thing in your hand, but they ain't moved a
point. They knew as you weren't going to chuck valuable property out of
window with the chance of getting it lost or spoiled. They've got sense
themselves, and they give you credit for having some. If you don't
believe that's the reason, you try showing them a lump of coal, or half a
brick, next time--somet