afraid that there will be a famine next year, for they are eating up all the seed and corn in the land."

The captain was ready to jump for joy when he 5 heard this, for he remembered the cat which Dick had brought to the ship.

"I think we can help you," he said to the king. He bade one of his men go to the ship at once and get the cat.

10 But the king only shook his head, for he had tried all ways to get rid of the rats and mice, without success.

wrecked, broken to pieces; na'tives of a land are those who were born in it; pleas'ure; cush'ion; mor'sel, a little bit of something good to eat; crea'ture; de vour', to eat greedily.

Written or Oral Exercise. questions.

Change these statements to

The captain took Dick's cat on the voyage. There was a heavy storm. The ship was nearly wrecked. The captain and his men landed. They sent presents to the king. They were invited to dine with the king. They found many rats and mice in the king's house. The captain sent for Dick's cat.

Tell in which paragraph you find the answer to each question.

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DICK AND HIS CAT (Concluded)

TAKING puss in his arms, the man made as much haste as he could. Soon he came into the palace with the cat under his arm purring as loudly as she could.

No sooner did he enter than the cat began to 5 sniff the air. Then she caught a glimpse of the rats and mice, which were still feasting on the table. The cloth was black with them.

In one instant she from his arms. sprang Then there was a wild scene among the rats and mice. 10 They had been so bold before that not even the king could drive them away. But as soon as the cat leaped among them, they rushed here and there in the greatest terror. But puss was too quick for them. She laid a dozen of them dead 15 at the king's feet in half a minute, and all the rest were scared out of their wits, and ran away.

The mice had never seen a cat before, for there were none in that land. The king had never seen one either; and his queen did not know what sort 20

E

of beast puss was at all. But she thought her

very pretty.

"What is this strange, useful creature; what is it called?" said the king, "and where did you get 5 it? I will give all I have to buy it from you, rather than be left without one."

So the king sent his men into his treasure rooms, and they brought out great sacks full of gold and jewels. These, the king said, were for 10 the owner of the cat.

When he heard that the cat belonged to a little boy in London, he said: "Tell him the king's

money and jewels will make him a great man. And he himself must make himself a good one. And, as for puss, she shall have one of the best and happiest homes in the world. For she shall live in a king's palace, and sleep on silk cushions, 5 and have good things to eat. And as you see, there will be good hunting here, among all our rats and mice."

After he had sold all the goods in the ship, the captain set sail for England with a shipload of 10 gold.

When they reached London again, they sent for Dick, and showed him the gold and jewels. For a long time he could not realize that his cat had made him very rich.

He gave his friend the captain a handsome present of gold, and he did not forget any of his old friends at home. To each one he gave what he most needed.

15

Even the cross cook was not passed over, for 20 Dick thought that her bad temper might be made better by a gift, and so it was.

But the one he most wished for was his old friend the cat. Whether he blamed himself for

sending her away, I do not know. I do not know. But he never forgot her.

When he became a man, he married Alice, the daughter of the merchant. And afterwards, when 5 people had found out how good and wise he was, they made him Lord Mayor of London. of the Bow bells came true.

And so
And to

the song this day the mothers of little English children tell them how Dick's cat made him a great man.

glimpse, a sight; in'stant, a very short time, a second; ter'ror, fright; use'ful; treas'ure room, a place where gold and silver and such things are kept; pal'ace, a large and beautiful house; jew'els; re'alize, believe, understand; May'or.

Written or Oral Exercise. first two paragraphs are about. Make one statement for the third and fourth paragraphs. Make one for each of the following paragraphs: the fifth, the sixth, the ninth, the tenth, the eleventh, the twelfth.

Tell in one statement what the

Written Exercise.

Make a statement which tells what pussy did when she was first brought into the king's palace. Make one which tells how the king felt. Make one which tells how pussy spent the rest of her life in the palace. One which tells how Dick was made rich. One which tells what he did with his money. One which tells whether he became a good man. One which tells what great honor came to him.