CHAPTER V.
THE SURPRISE PARTY
Old Mother Kit-Cat sat knitting as usual one evening and her needles went “click, click, click,” when “a rap-a-tap” was heard at the door and in walked Grandpa Growler saying,
Old Mother Kit-Cat’s eyes got as big as saucers and she said, “I am afraid you let the Cat out of the Bag that time Grandpa. Who told you about a surprise party?”
Grandpa Growler replied,
He growled so pleasantly at that, that the Three Little Kittens got the very best rocking chair for him and the hair-cloth footstool, and said, “Sit here, grandpa, in the rocking chair by the fire.”
Old Mother Kit-Cat was wondering if he was really only joking about a surprise party when “rap-a-tap” was heard on the door and the Three Little Bears came in.
They cried out,
They had no sooner seated themselves on three little stools by the fire when “rap-a-tap,” sounded on the door again.
Old Mother Kit-Cat straightened her cap and called.
They all held their breath for no one came in this time.
The Three Little Kittens whispered to each other “What if it should be the Three Little Foxes coming in next? What if it should be the Three Little Foxes who stole our mittens?”
The Three Little Curly-Tails came in next, with a hop and a skip and a bound.
The next minute there was heard a great rumbling and tumbling and Grandpa Growler, who stood with his eyes to the key-hole said, “Some one is coming in a wheel-barrow.”
Then the whole company shouted,
Sure enough, Old Uncle Mouser was wheeling Old Mother Catastrophe nearer and nearer every minute.
He kept saying over and over, “I hope no one has taken my red plush-lined basket, I hope no one has taken my red plush-lined basket.”
They came in, and Old Mother Catastrophe shook the dust off her fur and whiskers and she said every one looked to her as big as life and twice as natural.
Then the Ground-Hog came in muttering about his shadow, but the Beaver sent a note of regret for he was too shy for company.
I do not suppose they would have had a bit to eat for refreshment if The Little Old Man of the Fire had not been there.
He sang to the Three Little Kittens so softly that no one else heard,
The Three Little Kittens went hurrying and scurrying into the kitchen.
They ran this way, and that way, cooking tea and coffee and mixing up cookies and pies.
The Three Little Foxes wearing three pairs of mittens danced up to the window and said,
The Three Little Kittens were so surprised that they dropped their three little spoons into their three little bowls, but the Little Old Man of the Fire said, quite as though nothing had happened.
Now the Three Little Foxes danced this way, and that way, and came up again to the kitchen window.
The Three Little Foxes shouted,
They troubled the Three Little Kittens so they could not think straight to save their lives.
The Little Old Man of the Fire suddenly darted through the open door shouting,
The Three Little Foxes could feel the Old Man’s hot breath and they scampered off as swiftly as the wind.
The Little Old Man of the Fire shouted,
At this, the Three Little Foxes lost no time you may guess.
They threw the mittens down by the bank of a river near by.
The Little Old Man of the Fire shouted, “Sink or swim, sink or swim,” and he pushed the Three Little Foxes into the river and they had to swim all the way home.
The Little Old Man of the Fire picked up the mittens and washed them nicely, then he took them back home and hung them on the line to dry.
All this time the Three Little Kittens were baking and stewing, and by and by they had a regular Surprise Party meal ready, and all the animals cried, “Hurrah, hurrah, for the Three Little Kittens.”
After they had eaten everything they could lay their paws on, Old Uncle Mouser told stories, and Old Mother Catastrophe said, as the clock struck ten,
This ended the party, and Old Uncle Mouser got the wheel-barrow, though he looked longingly, at the red plush-lined basket that waited him by the fire.
There was the greatest shaking of paws you ever saw and Grandpa Growler said,
As the guests went home Old Mother Kit-Cat said,
The Three Little Kittens went with a
hop and a skip and a bound to get their mittens and Three Little Foxes came tagging them, as if they were playing hide-and-seek.
The Three Little Kittens cried,
“Not so fast,” said Grandpa Growler, “What will Kit-Cat do with the new mittens she has knit for you?”
Old Mother Kit-Cat said,
The Three Little Foxes ran away again for they saw the Little Old Man of the Fire, coming after them, and the Three Little Kittens joined paws and danced round and round in a ring, while The Little Old Man of the Fire said,
The Three Little Kittens cried,
The Three Little Kittens ran merrily home in the moonlight, wearing their mittens.