Kitty-cat tales

Chapter 4: THE SECOND NIGHT

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About This Book

A black kitten comforts a lonely child and, over a sequence of nine bedtime nights, recounts catland lore and a series of episodic folktales and animal fables. Each night presents a different retelling—including feline-centered adaptations of familiar fairy tales—blending adventure, whimsy, and mild moral lessons. The collection intersperses talking animals, imaginative settings, and intimate domestic moments, using the framing device of nightly storytelling to link disparate episodes and to emphasize themes of friendship, cleverness, and kindness in a tone aimed at young readers.

THE SECOND NIGHT

Miss Jane must have been astonished at the willing way Dolly went to bed the next night. There never was a child more ready to be undressed; and although Miss Jane braided her hair in a tighter, lumpier braid than ever, Dolly never said a word. There was no need for the child to sit up in bed and stare at the light slanting through the shutters, as she thought how far away her mother was. Instead, she cuddled into her pillow contentedly, and as soon as Miss Jane was safely downstairs, Impty jumped up, and curled himself into a soft, black ball beside her.

“To-night,” he began, “to-night I am going to tell you the tale of ‘The King of the Field-Mice.’”