CHOOSING A KITTEN

Now the warm weather had come to stay, Mrs. Owen decided that it was cruel to keep Lady Jane in the house, besides being almost impossible.

The children must take the risk. If she chose to live with the Carters, it could not be helped. Perhaps Diana needed her more than they did.

"But she is my cat," said Alice. "Can't I go and get her back whenever she goes there?"

"Yes, if you have the patience."

"I shall have the patience to go a hundred and seventy-five times," said Alice.

She and Peggy liked Diana, but whenever Mrs. Owen had suggested to her little girls that they should go to see her, they had always some good reason for not going. Mrs. Owen suspected it was on account of Lady Jane. It was awkward to meet Diana when they had locked Lady Jane up, knowing perfectly well that she preferred to live with Diana. Peggy thought it was not fair to take advantage of anything so small. But the cat was Alice's, not hers, as Alice reminded her. And then, one pleasant day, Lady Jane decided to set up housekeeping for good and all in her old home. Alice wanted to go down at once and bring her back. But Mrs.

Owen insisted that she should be allowed to stay in the home of her choice for at least a week.

And before the week was up, Diana telephoned to Alice. "What do you think, Alice," she said, "Lady Jane has four teenty-tinety kittens--the darlingest, most cuddly things!"

"Oh, she does have such lovely children!" said Alice, with a pang of envy.

"They are in a wood-box out in the shed," said Diana. "At least it looks like a wood-box, but there isn't any wood in it."

"Yes, that is her old house," said Alice.

"Mother has put in an old piece of blanket so as to make them comfortable," said Diana.

"Has she really?" said Alice.

"Mother won't let us touch the kittens until they get their eyes open.

She says in two weeks she hopes you and Peggy will come down and see them."

"Not for two weeks?" said Alice. "We always look at them a lot. I'd like her back before two weeks. That is too long a visit."

"Mother says it is bad for kittens to be handled. She says to forget all about them for two weeks."

"Ask her if she knows what color they are," said Peggy.

"Have you seen them?" Alice asked.

"Yes, mother let us look at them just once, and we each chose a kitten for ourselves."

"Do you mean to say she is going to let you keep them all?" Alice asked. "Mother never let us keep but two."

"We can keep them if you will let us have them," said Diana. "Of course we know she is your cat, but mother thought maybe your mother wouldn't want the bother of four kittens."

"You didn't ask her what color they are. Let me talk to her," said Peggy, and she seized the receiver. "It is Peggy talking now. What color are the kittens?"

"Tipsy is black with just a white tip to his tail, and Topsy is black with a white vest and four white paws, and Lady Janet is silvery gray, almost exactly like her mother, and Gretchen is gray and white with a gray chin."

"And your mother doesn't mind the bother of four kittens?" said Peggy.

"Mother," she said, as Mrs. Owen came into the room, "Lady Jane has four children, and Mrs. Carter is going to keep all of them if we'll let her."

"We shall want one ourselves so as to keep her contented," said Alice.

"My dear little girl," said her mother, "it would be cruel to move Lady Jane until the kittens are big enough to look out for themselves. I have a few things to do besides taking care of her and her family. If the Carters want her and she wants to stay, there is no use in fighting any longer."

"But she is my darling cat," said Alice, with tears in her eyes. "How would you feel, mother, if I decided I would rather live in my old house with the Carters than with you. Would you let me stay?"

"Certainly not, because you are not capable of judging what is best for yourself, and because I could not spare you, and neither would Mrs.

Carter want to bring up another child. But if you were my p.u.s.s.y-cat, instead of my child, and you preferred to live with a little girl who was sick half the time, and had so few pleasures, and if you had four furry children, and the Carters wanted to keep them, I should be glad to have everybody happy."

"All but me, mother," said Alice, "and Peggy--she will miss Lady Jane."

"I am sure they will let you have one of the kittens," said Mrs. Owen.

"In about two months you can have one of them."

"Not for two months?" said Peggy. "Oh, mother, think of a catless house for two months. It will be so desolate."

"But you can go and choose your kitten in two weeks," said Mrs. Owen, "and you can often go to see it."

It was a bright spring afternoon when Peggy and Alice went down to Diana's house to choose the kitten. They took along with them a great bunch of Mayflowers for Diana. They had picked them the afternoon before, when they had gone with their mother up to their camp on the hill. It was a rude little hut that their father had built. Later in the season, wild strawberries would grow on the place, and then would come raspberries, and afterwards blueberries and blackberries. Mrs. Owen was planning to make preserves for themselves, and for some of the neighbors. She looked over the ground with interest while the children frisked about and stopped from time to time to pick Mayflowers.

Diana was sitting up in bed when the children arrived. The bed was of mahogany and had four twisted posts. The white quilt had been turned back and a book and Diana's doll Alice were lying on the blanket. The sun came shining in through the two west windows. The room looked very fresh, with the new white paint and pale green walls.

"This used to be mother's room when we had the house," said Peggy. "It is much prettier now."

Diana was wearing her green kimono with the pink roses on it. "They gave me the best room because I'm sick so much," said Diana. "Wasn't it nice of them, when I am the youngest in the family?"

"I'd rather have the smallest room in the house, and be well," said Peggy.

She was sorry she had said it, for a shadow seemed to cross Diana's bright face. "Father expects I'll be well much sooner, now we live in the country," she said.

"Oh, what lovely Mayflowers!" she added, as Peggy dropped the big bunch down beside her. Diana picked it up and plunged her nose into it.

"Peggy and I picked them for you yesterday," said Alice. "We were up at our camp."

Diana listened with interest to the children's description of the place.

"There are pine woods around the camp," said Peggy, "and on the hillside and in the pasture such delicious berries; and later on we shall go up and pick them; we always do. We have to walk now, for we haven't a horse or automobile any more. But it is a nice walk and not so very long.

Maybe your father will drive you up when you get better."

"I'd like to see it," said Diana.

Just then Mrs. Carter came into the room with a basket.

"Oh, have you brought the kittens?" Peggy asked.

"Yes, they are all here." She took out one kitten after another and put them all on the bed in front of Diana.

"Oh, what sweet things!" Alice cried. She put her hand on the black kitten with the white tip to his tail. "This is Tipsy, isn't it?" she asked.