Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 124, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 May 1920 — The SANDMAN STORY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The SANDMAN STORY

PUBSCAT AND THE BOOK MRS. PUSSCAT was roaming over the house one day with her two kittens, when all the family were oat, when she happened to find a picturebook. “Now, why should I not teach my children from a book just as people do?” she thought. “Here are A, B, C's and plenty of pictures of cats, too.” So she nailed her children to her and began their first lesson, but the kittens did not wish to learn their A, B, C’s. They wanted to look at the pictures. First, there was a picture of two kittens drawing another in a basket. “Oh, let us play like that!” mewed die kittens Tom and Tim. “I want to drive,” mewed Tom. “No, I want to drive,” mewed Tim, “and use a whip like the kitten In the picture.” Quickly Mrs. Puslscat turned the page and showed another picture to quiet them. This picture showed five kittens on a fence snowballing a big black cat

who was all dressed up and f om and Tim began to laugh. "We’ll do that to old Black Tom the first snow that comes,” said Tom. “No, you must not. be bad kittens/* said their mother, quickly turning to* another picture. “But why is the picture there If it Is bad?” asked Tim. Poor Mrs. Pusscat did not know, so she showed them the next picture of a little kitten being taken into the water to bathe by Its mother. “Oh, oh.** mewed both Tom and Tim, "that isn't true, either. Is it mother?" Now Mrs. Pusscat did not llie the water and she could not think any Mother Cat would do such a terrible thing, so she turned over to another but this time the picture was that of five naughty little kittens sitting at a table; One was crying, another was pulling the cloth to get something it wanted Instead of asking for it, as a well-be-haved kitten should. Another spilled the cream, and another was eating too fast and spilling the food from it* spoon, while another put its foot on the table. Tim and Tom began to laugh and their mother told them those little kittens were all vary bad and she hoped their mother put them all In bed without their sapper. “But what are books good for if all the pictures are not true?” asked Tim. In despair*, Mrs. Pusscat turned to the last picture, hoping that would bo one of a well-behaved cat. It was called the Lazy Pussy, and there sat a big kitty with mice run-

ning over her hack and a bird perched* on her head, while two little mice held np her long tail. Mrs. Pusscat stared end then she closed the book with a bang. “There is nothing true in books,” she told the kittens. “You come with me out to the burn and learn to catch mice.” ‘1 should like to know,” she said to herself, “who could have made those*, silly pictures? There were never kittens or cats like those in that book, f know. I would be ashamed to be a cat if there were.’’ (Copyright.)