“My story,” said Mr. Tom Cat, “is about a mouse, the only mouse that ever got away from me—that is, the only one that I ever saw. Of course, I did not see the ones that cook thought I should have caught.
“I came to live at the master’s house when I was a very little kitten, and right away I began to catch the mice.
“I have heard it said that my mother and father were the best mousers anywhere around, and I expect I take after them. Anyway, I could catch mice, so I became a great pet in the house.
“And while I always had plenty of milk—and sometimes cream—to eat, I never failed to catch a mouse each night, and sometimes more, for a cat had not lived in the house for years, and those mice thought they owned it until I came.
“They ran about everywhere, on the pantry shelves and all over the rooms at night, and they would even run over me sometimes when I was taking forty winks2; but I soon stopped that. I played I was asleep when I wasn’t and caught those silly mice until the others began to learn that I was a thing to be feared and not to be taken as a joke.
“But there was one mouse I could not catch. He was larger than the others and had a little piece taken out of one ear, so I always knew him, and it gave me no end of worry to think he always escaped me.
“The others called him Tip, because it was the tip of his ear that was gone; and Tip was some runner, I can tell you. He could get through the smallest hole in the wall and he could get away from you when you had your paw right over him. I made up my mind to get Tip if I had to let the other mice have the house, and so for a week I laid for Tip.
“One night he came out of his hole and jumped right over my head and I chased him around the kitchen, when all at once right before my eyes he disappeared.
“I sniffed3 and hunted. I knew he was there, but I could not see him or find him. All at once I saw a shoe of the master’s, that stood near the stove, move, and as quick as a wink1 I flew at it and put in my paw.
“Did I get Tip? No, sir; that slick little fellow crawled out of a hole in the side of that shoe and ran for his hole in the wall, laughing and giggling4 to think he had fooled me again.
“I did not sleep for two days after that, sitting by that hole in the wall, and I was thinking how hungry Tip must be, having to stay in there without any food and feeling sure he would have to come out soon or starve, when I felt something touch my tail.
“I turned around and there was Tip. How he got out I never knew, but I expect he gnawed5 a hole in another part of the wall. Anyway, there he was sitting on his hind6 legs and making funny motions with his front paws.
“I jumped, but he was ready for that, and[Pg 192] away he scampered7 into the pantry and I after him.
“Over the shelves he went, and I went, too. Back of the boxes, and I went, too, tins and dishes falling with clatter8 and smash, but I did not care. I was after that Tip mouse and I knew it was now or never.
“He knew it was a fight to the death, I think, by the mad dash he made behind dishes and tins, but after a while he grew tired and made for his hole in the wall. I knew that was my chance to get him in the open, and I flew after him and reached him with the tip of my paw, but it was only his tail I had. Tip was in the hole. I grabbed at the tail with my teeth and off it came. I have that tail yet, for I never got Tip, and I like to look at it sometimes just to get up my fighting spirit.”
“Didn’t you ever see Tip again?” asked Mr. Rooster and Mr. Dog.
“Oh yes, I saw him once after that,” said Mr. Tom Cat, with a yawn.
“Why didn’t you catch him?” they asked, together.
“Oh, Tip was in a trap when I saw him,” said Mr. Tom Cat.
[Pg 193]
“Was it one of those traps that catch them by the head?” asked Mr. Dog.
“No, it was a little wire affair,” said Mr. Tom Cat, “and I looked in and saw him running about.”
“Why didn’t you catch him then when the master opened the trap? Didn’t they give you a chance at him?”
“No, Mr. Dog,” said Mr. Tom Cat, looking very lofty. “I am a sportsman and no true sportsman ever touches a caged mouse. Tip was let out of the trap, and the master thought I would catch him, but I didn’t even run after him, and for all I know Tip may be living yet. I will do my own hunting and catching9; none of those traps can ever help me to get a mouse.”
“Some of his grandchildren might go back there to live, even if Tip did not return to the hole in the wall,” said Mr. Dog.
“It might be that those very mice that were running about last night were some of his relations.”
“I never thought of that,” said Mr. Tom Cat. “I will watch for them to-night, and whether they are or not I will remember Tip and catch them all.”
“I guess I will go along with you,” said Mr. Dog. “I am pretty hungry, and it must be dinner-time.”
“If you all are going home, I guess I better get back in time for dinner, too,” said Mr. Rooster; “my family will think I am lost.”
So all three started off for their home, forgetting all about their grievances10 in listening to the story each had told, and if nothing has happened to them I expect they are living there yet.
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1
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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2
winks
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| v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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3
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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4
giggling
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
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gnawed
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| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
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6
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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7
scampered
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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9
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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grievances
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| n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚 | |
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