"Why have you been making this
dreadful noise?"

Philippa poured forth her complaints. She had wanted to have a
concert--a proper concert--and they had done it all wrong, and they
wouldn't stop when she told them, and--

"Poor darling," said Mrs Trevor, stroking Philippa's hair caressingly,
"she has such a sensitive ear.--It was hardly wise, I think, Miss
Mervyn," turning to that lady, "to allow such a noise. Really, when I
opened the door, it was quite like a number of cats quarrelling. Quite
enough to give Philippa one of her bad headaches for the rest of the
day."

Miss Mervyn looked as if that were likely to be her own case, but she
only murmured that she had thought Philippa was enjoying herself, and
that she had not liked to put a stop to the children's amusements. The
band meanwhile stood disconsolate. Philippa's face had its fretful
look, and everything was rather uncomfortable. Mrs Trevor glanced round
in despair, and it was at this moment that Maisie gave things a welcome
turn by stealing up to her cousin's side, and saying softly, "Where's
the white kitten?"

The kitten had been on her mind ever since she arrived: she had not seen
it, and did not even know that it had been received, for in the
excitement of her party Philippa had quite forgotten to thank her
cousins for their present.

"Ah!" said Mrs Trevor, in a tone of relief, "the kitten, to be sure.--
Take Maisie to find the kitten, my darling, and have a quiet little game
together in the schoolroom. I daresay Dennis will like to stay here,
and play with the others until tea-time."

For a wonder, Philippa was quite ready to do what was proposed, and the
two little girls went away together.

"Did you like it?" asked Maisie anxiously. "It's pretty, isn't it? And
it keeps itself very white. It's the prettiest of all the kittens--next
to ours."

"I like it very much," said Philippa graciously, "but it scratches.
Miss Mervyn says it's a savage kitten."

"They all scratch, you know," said Maisie seriously, as they entered the
schoolroom; "when they're quite little, they don't know better. You'll
have to teach it to be good."

"How?" asked Philippa, looking round the room for the kitten, which was
nowhere to be seen.

"Entirely by kindness," said Maisie, using an expression she had seen in
one of her books.

"It's hidden itself again," said Philippa discontentedly; "it's always
hiding itself."

This time the kitten had found a good