ieved, but not imitated; and she hoped we would, by our behaviour,
show that we bore her advice in mind. "Above all," she added, "do not
let me hear of your climbing and racing about in a rude and extravagant
way, for a great deal of mischief is often done by such rough modes of
amusement."

We hastily promised all and everything. If we had kept our words, we
should have been perfect angels of Cats, for we declared in a chorus
that we would do only what was good, and would carefully avoid
everything that was evil; and with these fine promises in our mouths,
we started off in pairs under the guidance of nurse.

We soon came to the wood, situated at some distance from the city; and,
walking into it, shortly arrived at an open space, where some large
trees stood round and threw broad patches of shade over the grass.

We at once commenced our gambols. We rolled over one another, we sprang
over each other's backs, and hid behind the great beech trunks for the
pleasure of springing out upon our companions when they stealthily came
to look for us.

In the midst of our fun we observed that nurse had gone. We had been
so busied with our own diversions that not one of us had observed her
departure; but now that we found it out, we set off to discover where
she had strolled to. We observed her, after a few minutes, cosily seated
on a bank of violets, near the very same tortoise-shell footman, who
lived opposite our house, although how _he_ came there we could not
imagine. Nor indeed did we much trouble ourselves to guess. Seeing she
was so engaged we returned at once to our sport, and played none the
less heartily because nurse was not there to curb us.

I remember, as if it were only yesterday, the scene which followed.
I was amusing myself with one of my pretty cousins, who was dressed in
white, and was about my own age. I had thrown her down on the grass, and
was patting her with my paws, when I heard a scream; I turned quickly
round, just in time to see one of my sisters falling from a tall tree,
to which she had climbed with our young visitor, when, all of us running
up, we discovered that, on reaching the ground, she had struck her head
against a sharp stone, and was now bleeding and without motion.

Our cries brought nurse to the spot, who, as soon as she discovered all
the mischief that had been done, without saying a word started off with
all swiftness, with her tail in the air. We thought she had gone to
fetch assi