Three Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens

Old Mother Kit-Cat called after them, “Dot, Tot, Trot, you have forgotten your mittens.”

They came back pitter, patter, pitter, patter, as fast as their furry little feet would carry them.

and she handed Dot a pair of red mittens,[Pg 12] and Tot a pair of blue mittens, and Trot a pair of brown mittens, and the Three Little Kittens went merrily off to skate.

They put on their cunning little skates and began to skate to and fro, to and fro, and the wind whistled and called,

The Three Little Kittens did not know that Three Little Foxes had crept up on the bank.

They did not know that the Three Little Foxes had put on their mittens and had run away, waving their beautiful tails behind them.

When the Three Little Kittens got to the bank and saw that their mittens were gone, Dot and Tot cried together,

Then Dot and Tot dried their eyes on their little wee pocket handkerchiefs and said, “You are so cheerful brother Trot we will follow where you lead.”

The Three Little Kittens looked one hour and thirty-six minutes for their mittens, but they could not find them and so they went sadly homeward.

The Three Little Kittens cried, “Meow, meow, meow. Can’t we have a dish of milk? Can’t we have a chicken bone?”

Old Mother Kit-Cat shook her head, so the Three Little Kittens went pit-a-pat pit-a-pat, up stairs to bed.

They were so hungry they kept talking about good things to eat and that made them want their supper more and more.

“Fish and bones” said Dot, “Milk and cream,” said Tot, “Meat and gravy” said Trot.

At this, the Three Little Kittens pulled the covers high up over their heads, for they did not want the Sandman to tuck them in his bag.

ALL THIS TIME THREE LITTLE FOXES WEARING THREE PAIRS OF MITTENS WERE DANCING MERRILY IN THE MOONLIGHT.

He saw the beds where the Three Little Kittens lay with the covers pulled up over their heads. He sang softly,

“Where? Where? Where?” cried the Three Little Kittens in one breath uncovering their heads.

The Three Little Kittens were thinking so hard about their mittens that they forgot to be afraid and they went whisk! bound! into the Sandman’s sack and rode merrily far away over hill and dale, away, away, away.

The Sandman did not notice what had happened, and he ran on leaving the Three Little Kittens behind him.

Old Mother Catastrophe, the oldest Cat[Pg 21] in the world stuck her head out of the window and called,

Old Mother Catastrophe always knew what to do, she opened her door and hugged and kissed the Three Little Kittens and said to the delight of all, “NOW FOR THE COOKIE JAR.”

She put a cookie jar on the floor and the Three Little Kittens put in their three[Pg 22] little paws without saying “By your leave, or thank you, or if you please.”

The cookie jar rose in the air and settled down out of reach, on the highest shelf in the pantry.

The Three Little Kittens cried “Oh” and “Ah” and “What happened to the cookie jar?”

The Three Little Kittens said, “Thank you, thank you, please give us a cookie, please do.”

At that, the cookie-jar floated down again and they ate cookies to their hearts’ content.

They told Old Mother Catastrophe about their lost mittens but she only shook her wise old head and said,

ALL THIS TIME THREE LITTLE FOXES WEARING THREE PAIRS OF MITTENS WERE DANCING MERRILY IN THE MOONLIGHT.

Next morning Dot and Tot and Trot woke up crying, “I am hungry, I am hungry, I am hungry.”

The Little Kittens were so amused they tumbled over each other and hurried out to get more wood.

They next heard the tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, of a silver bell and the voice said,

As the Three Kittens stood there looking at each other, the same tinkle tinkle of the same silver bell was heard by them.

“I will, I will, I will,” cried the Three Little Kittens, and they went out for a pail of water and filled up the tea-kettle. And to the surprise of all, there stood Old Mother Catastrophe in the door way wearing a cap with silver bells upon it.

Dot thought of the empty wood box at home and Tot remembered that the tea-kettle was empty.

Old Mother Catastrophe hugged and kissed each Little Kitten in turn and in less time than it takes to tell it, they sat down to eat breakfast together.

Old Mother Catastrophe said, “I am going to see Old Mother Kit-Cat to-day, and you may keep house while I am gone.”

Then she cried, “Where are my rubbers? Where is my great-coat? Where is my market basket? Where is my walking stick?”

“The FOXES,” said Dot and Tot, “Oh dear, oh dear we are afraid of the FOXES.”

The Three Little Kittens stood at the window waving their pocket handkerchiefs as Mother Catastrophe went down the walk.

sang the Little Old Man of the Fire, so[Pg 31] the Three Little Kittens found three little aprons hanging on a nail and they put them on and washed and dried the dishes and put them away.

All day long they danced about merrily doing nice things for Mother Catastrophe and the Little Old Man of the Fire shouted merrily all the time.

“Our mittens,” cried Dot and Tot, “Oh dear, oh dear, we had forgotten all about our mittens.”

Three Little Foxes wearing three pairs of mittens came dancing down the roadway.

They ran up to the house and showed the mittens they were wearing, and they flattened their noses against the window pane.

They cried, “Let us in, pray let us in, we are so cold we are freezing our noses and toeses.”

I don’t know what in the world would have happened but the Little Old Man of the Fire leaped out in his jacket of red and yellow, crying,

The Three Little Foxes were so afraid at that they ran off as fast as their legs could carry them.

If you guessed one hundred years you could never guess what brave little Trot did.

He ran and got the old gold-fish bowl that stood empty on the table and said, “Will you cry a bowl full? Will you cry a pitcher full? Will you cry a tea-kettle full;—keep it up, keep it up.”

Such a hurrying and scurrying you never saw as the hands of the kitchen clock pointed to six.

The Three Little Kittens had supper on the table and smoking hot, when Old Mother Catastrophe came thump, bump, thump, bump, with her cane, rapping and tapping, with her cane, all the way.

Then she said they would have to learn all about Foxes and go to-morrow to the foxes’ den and get their lost mittens.

Dot and Tot were so scared at the mention of Foxes that they crept under the table but brave little Trot said,

Brave little Trot said, “We will take you in the wheel-barrow and wheel you right up to the Foxes’ den if you will only go with us.”

Mother Catastrophe agreed to this, and they all sat round in a circle while she told them about Foxes.

Dot and Tot said, “Oh Mother Catastrophe, we would rather never find our mittens than to have to go to the Foxes’ den.”

Mother Catastrophe said, “You go through the woods by the most crooked path you can find, and turn to the right, and turn to the left, to see if the Foxes are behind[Pg 38] you, if all is still you go on until you come to their den,

At that very minute Dot and Tot began to weep and wail. They cried until little streams of tears showed on the carpet.

Mother Catastrophe said, “Will they cry a bucket full? Will they cry a tub full?”

Still Dot and Tot cried, “Boo-hoo, we do not want to go to the Foxes’ den.”

Trot went out and got the washboiler and said, “Cry it full so Mother Catastrophe[Pg 39] can perhaps make use of it.”

But still they cried. While Tot cried loudly, Dot moved the washboiler so that none of their tears would fall inside.

Trot brought the washboiler again. “If you cry hard into this, Mother Catastrophe[Pg 40] will have soft water to wash her clothes in.”

“Dot will make a bow next, and say to Madam Red Fox, How is your cousin the Kit-Fox? Has he changed his coat this season?”

“Of course they change their coats,”[Pg 41] said Mother Catastrophe. “The Kit-Fox wears a coat of one color in the summer, and another color in the winter.

“Tot may next make a bow and say, How is your cousin the Cross-Fox? He is not really a very cross Fox but he is named from his markings.”

Trot went out to get the wheel-barrow for they were going to wheel Mother Catastrophe to the Foxes’ den.

They helped her into the wheel-barrow and went through the woods by the most crooked paths they could find.

Suddenly they all stopped still and Trot said, “What if Madam Red Fox should not be at home?”

At that very minute they heard the “patter, patter, patter” of feet behind them.

“The Foxes, the Foxes,” cried the Three Little Kittens, “Oh where shall we hide?”

They turned over the wheel-barrow and crept under it, and to the surprise of all, Old Mother Kit-Cat came down the path singing,

“Here we are, here we are,” they all shouted rumbling and tumbling out from under the wheel-barrow.

So, on and on, they went, Old Mother Catastrophe riding in the wheel-barrow all the way, and the wind whistled a merry tune,

“Hark! What does the Wind say about[Pg 46] our mittens?” asked the Three Little Kittens. They shouted at the top of their lungs, “We cannot spare our mittens for a year and a day, perhaps the wind is only teasing.”

said Mother Catastrophe, and they drew nearer and nearer the Foxes’ den every step they took.

At that very minute they came upon the Foxes’ Den and they were all surprised to read a sign in big letters,

“Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah,” cried the Three Little Kittens, “We will go to the home of Three Little Bears who live in[Pg 49] the woods. Hurrah for the three little friendly Bears.”

They all took turns in wheeling Mother Catastrophe home, and then they ran beside Mother Kit-Cat until they came to their neat little house at the edge of the woods.

The Three Little Kittens said, “Oh Ma, may we go to the house of The Three Bears to-morrow?”

Old Mother Kit-Cat washed their faces and said, “When to-morrow comes we shall see.”

Old Mother Kit-Cat answered, “What do you know about Bears? You cannot understand Bear Language.”

Mother Kit-Cat looked at the Three Little Kittens over her spectacles and The Little Old Man of the Fire said,

The Three Little Kittens hung their heads and sat very still in their three little rocking chairs by the fire.

At this very minute, “Rap-a-tap” was heard at the door. The door opened, and in walked Grandpa Growler, the friendliest Bear in the world.

The Three Little Kittens cried, “Oh Grandpa Growler have you some candy for us? Oh Grandpa Growler have you come to tell us a story?”

He sat down by the fire and growled and growled. He was a peculiar Bear and always growled the loudest when he was happy. He was very happy now warming his paws by the cheerful fire.

He was a sure enough Story Teller and he began in a sing-song kind of way, “Once upon a time Three Little Kittens lost their mittens.”

Grandpa Growler was always in a hurry to do things so he growled again pleasantly saying,

Before the Three Little Kittens could say a word he had tucked Dot and Tot in his overcoat pockets, and he tucked Trot in his market basket and walked off in his funny flat-footed manner.

The Little Kittens felt safe but Dot and Tot whispered to each other, “What if we should fall? What if we should meet the Bears in the woods?”

They could hear the Bears scolding about somebody eating their porridge and sitting in their chairs.

All of a sudden the Three Little Kittens jumped on the table and began to eat porridge as fast as they could.

“Ho, ho,” cried the Three Bears, “so we have more visitors.” They thought the Three Little Kittens so cute they hugged them most too hard but Grandpa Growler said,

They had a fine visit with the Three Bears and by and by went merrily homeward in the moonlight.

Grandpa Growler swung a lighted lantern before them growling softly all the time.

He was very fond of fish and kept saying under his breath, “I wish I had some trout, I wish I had some salmon. I am so hungry I could eat Three Little Kittens.”

The Three Little Kittens were not at all afraid for this was one of Grandpa Growler’s jokes.

All this time Three Little Foxes wearing three pairs of mittens were dancing merrily in the moonlight.

The Little Old Man of the Fire sang his song, but I don’t know what he knew about the matter.

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?”

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 had no sooner seated themselves on three little stools by the fire when “rap-a-tap,” sounded on the door again.

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 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.”

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.

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.

They troubled the Three Little Kittens so they could not think straight to save their lives.

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, “Sink or swim, sink or swim,” and he[Pg 74] 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.

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.

“Not so fast,” said Grandpa Growler, “What will Kit-Cat do with the new mittens she has knit for you?”

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 ran merrily home in the moonlight, wearing their mittens.

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I	Losing Their Mittens	11
II	Old Mother Catastrophe	25
III	The Three Little Foxes	37
IV	Grandpa Growler and the Three Bears	52
V	The Surprise Party	66

Whisk Bound, Into the Sandman’s Bag	Frontispiece
She Sent Them, Without Supper, to Bed	15
Three Little Foxes Wearing Three Pairs of Mittens	19
Old Mother Catastrophe Stuck Her Head out of the Window	23
In Walked Grandpa Growler	43
They Went on Until They Came to the House of the Three Bears	47
They Began to Eat Porridge as Fast as They Could	51
They Ran This Way and That Way Cooking and Making Cookies and Pies	55
“Hurrah for Three Little Kittens”	59
The Three Little Foxes Ran Away Again	63

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Three little kittens who lost their mittens by Laura Rountree Smith

Three Little Kittens
Who Lost Their Mittens

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

CHAPTER I.
LOSING THE MITTENS

CHAPTER II.
OLD MOTHER CATASTROPHE

CHAPTER III.
THE THREE LITTLE FOXES

CHAPTER IV.
GRANDPA GROWLER AND THE THREE BEARS

CHAPTER V.
THE SURPRISE PARTY

Transcriber’s Notes

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