and was therefore valuable property. He ran
at the gander. The gander, recognizing his authority, withdrew, haughty
and protesting. Young Grumpy followed with a triumphant rush, and, of
course, took all the credit to himself.

"This led him into the farmyard. Here he promptly forgot both the dog
and the gander. It was such a strange place, and full of such strange
smells. He was about to turn back into the more familiar clover when, as
luck would have it, he stumbled upon a half-eaten carrot which had been
dropped by one of the horses. How good it smelled! And then, how good
it tasted! Oh, no! the place where such things were to be found was not
a place for him to leave in a hurry!

"As he was feasting greedily on the carrot the Boy appeared, with the
white dog at his heels. He did not look nearly so terrible as the
gander. So, angry at being disturbed, and thinking he had come for the
carrot, Young Grumpy ran at him at once.

"But the Boy did not run away. Surprised at his courage, Young Grumpy
stopped short, at a distance of two or three feet from the Boy's stout
shoes, sat upon his haunches with his little skinny black hands over his
chest, and began to gurgle and squeak harsh threats. The Boy laughed,
and stretched out a hand to touch him. Young Grumpy snapped so savagely,
however, that the Boy snatched back his hand and stood observing him with
amused interest, waving off the white dog lest the latter should
interrupt. Young Grumpy went on blustering with his muffled squeaks for
perhaps a minute. Then, seeing that the Boy was neither going to run
away nor fight, he dropped on all fours indifferently and returned to his
carrot.

"There was nothing pleased the Boy better than seeing the harmless wild
creatures get familiar about the place. He went now and fetched a saucer
of milk from the dairy, and set it down beside Young Grumpy, who scolded
at him, but refused to budge an inch. The yellow cat--an amiable soul,
too well fed to hunt even mice with any enthusiasm--followed the Boy,
with an interested eye on the saucer. At sight of Young Grumpy her back
went up, her tail grew big as a bottle, and she spat disapprovingly. As
the stranger paid her no attention, however, she sidled cautiously up to
the milk and began to lap it.

"The sound of her lapping caught Young Grumpy's attention. It was a
seductive sound. Leaving the remains of his carrot, he came boldly up to
the saucer. The yellow ca