Puss was rambling in the fields some time after her confinement, in
pursuit of some birds, a number of gentlemen were coursing for hares,
and when the dogs saw Puss, they immediately started after her. Puss ran
as fast as she could, but the dogs ran much faster than she, and were
just at her heels, when she reached a tree, and saved her life by
climbing up it.

[Illustration]

Puss was now safe from the dogs, and she remained in the tree for some
time before she durst come down again. On her return to the farm house,
three boys who had been to school, were playing in the fields. Each boy
had a large stick on his shoulder, and as soon as they saw Puss, they
ran after her. She again took refuge in a tree, but the boys threw
stones at her and hit her so hard, that she at length fell senseless to
the ground. One of the boys seized poor Puss; and they were going to
have some rare sport as they said, by fastening the cat on a board, and
then launching it on the pond, after which they would set the dogs at
her, and Puss could only keep them off by scratching their noses.
Everything was in readiness: Puss was bound upon the board, and they
were just going to sail it into the middle of the pond, when the
schoolmaster came past, and the boys were obliged, after receiving a
good flogging, to set poor Puss at liberty.

[Illustration]

Shortly after these adventures, a friend paid a visit to the farm house,
and being very much in want of a good cat, he took poor Puss with him to
York. Pussy's new mistress had a fine canary bird, which she was very
fond of. One day the canary had got through the wires of his cage, and
Puss seeing it perched on the table, could not resist the temptation;
but sprang at it and seized it in her claws. The poor canary was almost
eaten, when the master came into the room, and seeing what was done, he
took a whip, and would have killed poor Puss, but for little Mary, who
begged him to spare her life.

Puss was a good mouser, and soon cleared the house of them. She soon got
acquainted with town life, such as climbing walls and houses, and
jumping from roof to roof, either in gossipping with her neighbours or
in search of prey. Once, while showing to some other cats how clever she
was in jumping about, she fell into the street, and would have been
killed, but for some fat sheep that were passing along the street at the
time, and Puss had the good luck to fall upon the back of one of them,
which had so m