n it was so with myself; for as I got into habits of preciseness,
and put my tongue to the use for which nature in part designed it,
namely the washing and cleansing my person, my thoughts took a very
different turn, and, after a few months, I should have avoided with
horror many of those companions with whom I had been formerly so
friendly, if they had, by any chance, been thrown in my way.

But this was only one of the changes which my residence with my cousin
wrought in me. I had never before met with a Cat who had seen so much or
who had read so many books as she. Her memory too was so good that she
could relate all she had seen and much that she had read, and, as she
had gone on _thinking_, as well as seeing and reading, her conversation,
when I came to know her well, was delightful.

She had been into other countries; she had seen places inhabited by
animals different to those which lived in Caneville; she had even
learned to understand and speak their language. She told me she had
read that there were cities filled with creatures called _men_, who
considered themselves superior to all other beasts, which they used as
slaves and killed for food. When I asked her, if there were any Cats
living among these creatures--these men? she replied, there were a great
many; but that they were looked upon as poor, miserable things, were
often badly treated, and, at the best, were rather tolerated than liked,
and never enjoyed the full confidence of their harsh masters.

In such discourse we spent a great deal of time: little by little my
views became enlarged, and as she spoke to me of the noble nature of
some of the animals she had met with upon her travels, the acts of
kindness she had received from them, and the deeds by which many of
them had rendered themselves famous, I began to appreciate more justly
the position which we Cats occupied in the scale of creation. Not that
I was desirous of changing my lot for that of any other beast; but
I learned to look with more humility upon myself and my tribe, and
understood that many things were better managed in other countries,
and by other animals, than _we_ managed them in Caneville.

But none of my good cousin's accomplishments pleased me so much as her
perfect knowledge of music. She played several instruments in a charming
and graceful manner, and her voice was so sweet that when she sang, and
accompanied herself on the piano, it was most delightful to hear her.

She so