Sally in her fur coat

There is a first time for everything, whether one is a little girl, or a boy, or a kitten. For a little girl, there is her first doll, and later her first pretty doll with real hair and blue eyes that will open and shut. For a boy there is his first ball, and his first set of marbles; but if you are a kitten, greater than all of these joys put together is the thrill that comes when you have your first catnip mouse.

Oxford Gray, Junior, and Sally could measure their young lives by months instead of weeks before this exciting event occurred. They had heard there were such things, for there had been a tradition in the family of a glorious catnip mouse that had belonged to their ancestress, Martha Furbush-Tailby. But it is one thing to hear about a catnip mouse and quite another to have it for one’s very own plaything.

Cool days and nights had come. It was the autumn, and all things furry were seeking snug quarters for the winter. The kittens were glad that they had their cozy kitchen to live in. Oxford Gray, Junior, however, sometimes went off on an excursion for hours, but Sally kept pretty closely to the house. And besides cats and kittens, there were others that sought winter quarters.

‘There seem to be a lot of mice about,’ Miss Winifred had said to Elvira. ‘I hear them in the wall.’

‘I can do a good deal for you, Miss Winifred,’ said Elvira, ‘but catching mice is not in my line.’

Miss Winifred laughed. ‘I should think some of your followers might do it for you,’ she said, and she looked at Oxford Gray, Junior.

Although Oxford Gray, Junior, did not care much for the owner of the house, this put him on his mettle, and the very next night he caught his first mouse. The praise given him was so great that he caught three others within a week.

It was then that Miss Winifred said to Elvira, ‘I wonder if the kittens are not old enough to like a catnip mouse?’

‘Old enough?’ said Elvira. ‘I have been thinking for weeks they ought to have one, but I have been out very little it has stormed so much.’

‘A catnip mouse!’ The kittens were entranced at the idea. They could hardly wait for the time to come when they could have one for their very own.

It was late one November afternoon when Elvira came into the house after a trip to Boston. She had hardly got inside the door before the kittens noticed a peculiar and very delicious smell. It seemed to them to be sweeter than the odor of roses and violets and mignonette and sweet peas. They looked at each other in glad surprise.

‘I am sure she has brought us a catnip mouse,’ said Sally.

She got up on the kitchen table and sniffed at Elvira’s bag.

‘Yes, you witch,’ said Elvira. ‘It is a catnip mouse all right, but you must be patient and wait until I get my things off.’

Learning that it really was a catnip mouse, Oxford Gray, Junior, jumped up on the table and joined his sister. She was sitting there patiently, but Oxford Gray, Junior, began to claw at the bag to try to get at the catnip mouse.

‘You are a bad kitten,’ said Elvira, taking her bag away. ‘You don’t deserve the catnip mouse. Why can’t you behave well like your sister?’

‘It was I that caught all those mice. Sally could never catch a mouse to save her life,’ said Oxford Gray, Junior.

‘I could, too, and I will some day,’ said Sally.

But even the intelligent Elvira did not seem to understand what was being said.

Elvira undid her bag and flung something down on the floor. It was the catnip mouse. It was shaped like a real mouse, and was full of catnip. Oxford and Sally ran toward it. Sally had it in her mouth and Oxford knocked it with his paw. Sally dropped it and Oxford tried to capture it. And then to their surprise, another of the wonderful things fell to the floor. There were two of them! Two catnip mice—one for each of them! Who but Elvira would have thought of bringing home two catnip mice. Oxford took his mouse and ran under the table to enjoy it by himself, and Sally went under a chair with hers. The mice were so marvelous the kittens were afraid that some one would take them away after a short time.

Such thoughts they had as they inhaled the delicious scent. Oxford came out into the room at last and threw his mouse up into the air. It fell lightly to the ground. Then Sally came out with her mouse and threw it up into the air. They were so excited and overstimulated that they began to break into verse.

It seemed almost as if Elvira had understood, for she said to Miss Harvey, ‘See how excited the kittens are. It reminds me of Martha Furbush-Tailby’s first catnip mouse and her verses.’