her mistress's cottage? To be sure, she
had cream for breakfast, and chicken for dinner, but what was that,
if, every mouthful she ate, she was in fear of that savage brute of a
dog snatching away her meal, or even attacking and worrying her?

Fifty times did she wish herself a hundred leagues off. How careful
she resolved to be to do nothing that could possibly offend the dog.
And so, for the next three or four days, by dint of giving up to him
all her best bones, and always jumping down from her cushion whenever
he wanted to lie upon it, and looking the picture of humility whenever
he was in the room, she contrived to get on in tolerable peace with
him. But unluckily, one morning, puss, finding herself all alone in
the drawing-room, and everything quiet, and feeling very sleepy (for
she had had very little repose the night before, from distress of
mind), thought she might as well take the opportunity of getting a
nap; so she jumped upon a high footstool, beside the fire, and was
soon fast asleep. How long she had napped she could not tell, when she
was awakened by a furious barking; and opening her eyes, she saw Viper
standing at a little distance, looking as if he was going into fits
with passion.

Poor puss! she recollected, all in a moment, that she had got upon
Viper's own footstool! She jumped down before you could count one.

'You audacious little upstart!' cried the dog, as soon as his rage
allowed him to speak, 'do you think I shall submit to such impertinent
liberties?'

'Indeed, indeed,' stammered the poor cat, 'I humbly beg your
lordship's pardon, but I really quite forgot----'

'Forgot, indeed!' roared Viper, 'I'll teach you to forget, Mrs. Puss!'
and making a tremendous dash at her, he would doubtless have
demolished her in no time, had not, fortunately, the window been open
a little, just enough for the cat to get through.

She was on the window-seat in an instant, and had scrambled out of the
window before Viper, who was very fat, could come up to her. It was
with some difficulty that he got up upon the window-seat, and quite in
vain that he tried to squeeze his fat body through the opening of the
window. How he growled with disappointed passion, as he stood on his
hind-legs on the window-seat, stretching his head, as far as his
little short neck would allow, through the opening, to see what had
become of puss.

What _had_ become of her? She had dropt down into the street, and had
crept into t