{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_21399/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_21399","id":"gutenberg_21399","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21399","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Cats -- Juvenile fiction","Fairy tales","Poverty -- Juvenile fiction","Success -- Juvenile fiction","Whittington, Richard, -1423 -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Sam W. and the\nOnline Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net\n(This file was made using scans of public domain works in\nthe International Children's Digital Library.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n    DICK AND HIS CAT.\n\n       An Old Tale\n      IN A NEW GARB.\n\n\n      By MARY ELLIS.\n\n\n      [Illustration]\n\n\n       J. HAMILTON,\n   1344 CHESTNUT STREET,\n       PHILADELPHIA.\n           1871.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: DICK AND HIS CAT.]\n\n\n\n\nEntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by\n\nJ. HAMILTON,\n\nin the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for\nthe Eastern District of Pennsylvania.\n\n\nJ. FAGAN & SON,\nSTEREOTYPERS, PHILAD'A.\n\n\n\nA WORD TO PARENTS.\n\n\nThe story of \"Dick Whittington and his Cat\" has so often amused the\nlittle ones, who never wearied of its repetition, that the author of\nthe following version thought she might extend the pleasure derived\nfrom it by putting it in language which they could read for\nthemselves.\n\nNo word contains more than _four letters_, and none is over _one\nsyllable_ in length, so that any child who has the least knowledge of\nreading will be able to enjoy it for himself.\n\n\n\n\nDICK AND HIS CAT.\n\n\n\n\nPART I.\n\n\nOnce on a time, a poor boy was seen to go up and down the side-walk of\na town, and sob and cry. At last he sat down on a door-step. He was\ntoo weak to run more. He had had no food all the day. It was a day in\nJune. The air was mild. The warm sun sent down its rays of love on\nall. But poor Dick had no joy on this fair day.\n\nHe laid his head down on the step, and took a nap; for he was sick\nand weak for want of food. As he lay, a girl came to the door. She saw\nthe poor boy lie on the step; but he did not see her. She went in,\nand said to a man who was in the room, \"A poor boy has lain down on\nour step to take a nap.\"\n\nThe man came to the door to see the boy. He said, \"This boy does not\nlook nice. His hair has not seen a comb all day; his face and feet are\nfull of dirt; and his coat is torn.\"\n\nThe man did not like such a mean boy to be at his door. But when he\nsaw the lad's thin, pale face, as he lay at his feet, he felt sad for\nhim.\n\nJust then the boy woke up. He went to run off when he saw the man and\ngirl at the door, but they made him stay.\n\n\"Why did you lie down here?\" the man said to the boy.\n\n\"I was weak and sick.\"\n\n\"Have you had no food to eat?\"\n\n\"I have had no food all day.\"\n\nThen the girl went in and got him a roll and a mug of milk. The boy\nate so fast and so much that they had to wait till he was done, to\ntalk to him more.\n\n\"Have you no pa nor ma?\" said the man. A tear fell from the poor\nboy's eye, as he said, \"I have no pa, and my ma they took from me, and\nI can not find her. She was sick a long time. I used to sit at her\nside and lay my head on her knee. Once she said to me that my pa had\ngone home to God, and that she must go too. Then she got too sick to\nrise from her bed. One day they put me on the bed by her side. She\nlaid her hand on my head, and she said, \"I pray Thee, O God, take\ncare of my poor boy.\"\n\n\"Then she shut her eyes and grew so pale, and her hand got so cold,\nit made me cry. But she did not move, nor turn her eyes on me. They\ntook me off the bed and sent me out to play. But I sat down at the\ndoor and wept for my ma.\n\n\"The next day I saw them lay her in a long box of wood and take her\noff. I have run up and down all day to find her. Do you know what\nthey have done with my ma? Oh! tell me, if you can.\" Then the poor lad\nwept so hard that the man and the girl felt sad for him.\n\n\"How old are you, my boy?\" said the man.\n\n\"I was six last May.\"\n\n\"What is your name?\"\n\n\"Dick.\"\n\n\"Well, Dick,\" said this good man, \"you may come in here, if you like,\nand stay till you can find your ma. I will give you food to eat, and\nyou can help me to work. When your ma does come for you, you may go\nhome with her.\"\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nPART II.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nDick soon made up his mind to live with this kind, good man. The man\nwas not rich. He had to work hard, and Dick was made to work too. But\nhe did not mind that.\n\nBut the girl was not kind to Dick. She gave him a box on the ear when\nhe did not do as she bid him. She did not let him sit down to eat till\nshe had done, and all that she gave him was the bits that she had\nleft. She made him a bed of a pile of old rags, at one end of the\nloft.\n\nDick had no one now to show him how to be good, and he soon got to be\na bad boy. He told lies, and when no eye was on him, he took what was\nnot his. He did not know God saw him. He used a bad word now and\nthen, and did not work so well as once he did.\n\nThe man who took Dick to live with him was sad to see him such a bad\nboy, and did not know what to do with him.\n\nDick had now no joy in life, for no bad boy can be gay and glad. But\nhe did not like to feel that he was made sad by his own bad ways. He\nsaid it was the way he had to live that made him bad.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nPART III.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nPoor Dick had now no one to love him but a cat. One day, when he was\nout at play, he saw some boys pelt a cat to kill her. He did not like\nto have them kill the cat, so he ran to her, took her up in his arms,\nand took her home. The girl let him keep the cat, for she kept off all\nthe rats and mice. She was a gray cat. She had fine soft fur, and a\nlong tail. When Dick had done his tea, he took puss on his knee to pat\nher on the head, and talk to her, as if she knew all that he said to\nher.\n\nShe then did rub her head on his arm, and purr, and lie down on his\nknee and take a nap. She had her bed on his heap of rags.\n\nOnce when Dick had felt bad all day, he lay down on his bed. He said\nto puss, \"No one is kind to me but you, puss; no one has love for me.\nI will run off. I will not stay.\"\n\nDick did not shut his eyes, but when it was yet dark, he got up, and\nwent out of his room, down to the door. He put his hand on the key and\ngave it a turn. He felt the cold air on his face when he went out.\nBut he ran on fast, till he was so weak, he had to stop.\n\nJust then a big bell near him rang out loud on the air to say that\nday had come once more. It made Dick turn his eyes to see this bell,\nand as it rang, he felt it say to him,\n\n\"Turn back, Dick!--Turn back, Dick!--Turn back, Dick!\"\n\nDick did not move. He did not know what to do. His eyes were on the\nbell as it rung out,\n\n\"Turn back, Dick!--Turn back, Dick! Turn back, Dick!\"\n\nIt put him in mind of the time when his ma had laid her hand on his\nhead ere she went to God, and said, \"O God, take care of my poor boy!\"\nIt put him in mind what a bad boy he had been, and how he had made\nhis life a hard one by his ill ways. He made up his mind to go back.\nBut then he said, \"If they find out I have run off, they will beat\nme.\" This fear made him run so fast, that he got home and back to his\nheap of rags ere the man and the girl were up.\n\nAs Dick lay on his bed, he made up his mind to be a good boy. He knew\nhis ma used to pray to God to make him good, so he bent his own knee\nto pray, and said, \"O God, make Dick a good boy.\"\n\nJust then the girl came to the door, and said, \"Dick! Dick! get up! It\nis day!\" So Dick soon went down and was so kind and good, they did\nnot know what to make of it. But Dick went on day by day, and soon he\nsaw that when he was kind and good, they were kind and true to him.\n\nIt was hard work for Dick to give up all his bad ways. But each morn\nand eve he went to God, to ask Him for help, and he did not ask in\nvain. By-and-by the girl let him sit with her. She made him a good\nbed. Miss Puss yet kept her seat on his knee, when he sat down to\nrest, and all was love and joy.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nPART IV.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nOne day a man, by the name of Jack, came to see them. He was to go on\nthe sea in a big ship, to a far off land. He had come to say good-bye.\nHe said to them, \"The land that the ship will sail to, is a far off\nland, and the men who live in it are not like us, and do not know our\nways. They do not eat or wear what we do. Now what you give me I will\ntake with me, and sell it for you, and when I come back I will pay\nyou what I get for it. It may be that I will get much gold for it; for\nthe men in that far off land like what is made here, more than what\nthey have at home.\"\n\nSo the man and the girl were glad, and gave him much to sell for\nthem. Poor Dick sat, with his cat on his knee; a tear was in his eye,\nfor he too felt the wish to have some gold. The man saw him look sad,\nand said, \"Well, Dick, my son, and what will you send?\" Dick wept. \"I\nhave but my cat,\" said Dick. \"Well, send that,\" said Jack; \"it may be\nshe will sell for more than all the rest.\" They all had much fun at\nthis, and Dick had to join in. He took puss up in his arms. He gave\nher a kiss and a pat on her head. He felt her soft fur. It was hard\nfor him to part with her, for she had been his pet for a long time.\nBut at last he set her down. He got a big bag. He put puss in it. She\ndid not like to be thus shut up, but Dick tied her in.\n\nSo the man took the bag in his arms, and went to his ship. When he\ngot to the ship, he let the cat out of the bag. She was glad to be\nfree once more, and ran to find Dick. But poor Dick was at home, sad;\nfor he knew that he had seen his puss for the last time.\n\nThe ship was full of rats and mice, and puss had a fine time. She made\nthem fly, and soon no more rats and mice were to be seen in the ship.\nThe men were glad to have the cat, and gave her food and milk, so that\nshe was well off.\n\n\n\n\nPART V.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\nThe ship went on her way. It was more than a year when they got to\nthat far off land.\n\nThe man who took the cat, had, as was said, the name of Jack. He left\nthe ship when he got to the land, and went to see the king. The king\nwas glad to see Jack, and told him, he must stay and dine with him.\n\nWhen they went to the room to dine, they saw that rats and mice were\nin it too, and had eat much of the food. They saw the rats and mice\njump down and run when they went in the room.\n\nThe king was in a rage, that he had lost his meal. Jack said to him,\n\"Why do you let the rats and mice do so?\" \"I do not know how to help\nit,\" said the king. \"I will give a pile of gold to one who will rid me\nof them.\"\n\nThen Jack was glad. He said to the king, \"If you will give me a pile\nof gold, I will rid you of the rats and mice.\" The king said, \"You are\nin fun. You do not know how to get rid of them.\" Jack said, \"We will\nsee.\" So the next day, he put the cat in a bag, and went with the bag\nin his arm to the king. Puss did not like to be shut up in the bag,\nand made much fuss.\n\nThe king was glad to see Jack, and said, \"Let me see what you have in\nyour bag.\" But Jack said, \"Not just yet; wait till we see the rats\nand mice.\"\n\nSo they went to the room to dine. The rats and mice were at the food\njust as they had been. Jack took the cord off the bag, and took out\nthe cat. The king did not know what a cat was; for he had no cats in\nhis land.\n\nJack held her in his arms till she had lost her fear, and then set\nher down with the rats and mice. She soon made them know what a cat\nwas, and put them in such fear that they all fled. The king was so\nglad that he did not know what to do.\n\nThey sat down to dine. Not a rat came out of its hole. The king ate\nhis meal with joy, and puss sat on his knee and fed out of his dish.\nThe king told Jack he must let him keep the cat. Jack said, \"I will\ngive her to you, but you must give me the pile of gold.\" The king was\nglad to keep the cat and pay the gold. So Jack put the gold in the\nbag that had held the cat, and went back to the ship.\n\nA year more went by, ere Jack and his ship came back to port. He soon\nwent to see Dick, with the bag of gold. The man and the girl were\nboth glad to find that Jack had sold what they gave him, and that he\nhad got a good deal for them. But when Jack told them of the cat, and\ntook out the bag of gold, they did not know what to say. And when poor\nDick was told that it was all for him, he had to cry for joy, and all\nthe rest wept with him, for they were all fond of Dick now, he had\ncome to be such a good boy.\n\n\"Well, Dick,\" said Jack, \"what will you do with all this gold? Let us\nsee what will be best.\" So they all said much, and sat up till it was\nlate, to talk of Dick and his pile of gold.\n\nAt last Dick said, \"I will give some of it to each of you, who have\nbeen so good and kind to me. I will take part of the rest and lay it\nout upon my mind, that I may be wise when I grow to be a man. And what\nis left I will lay up, so that when I am a man, I will have it to\nwork with, that I may grow to be rich; for to be good, and wise, and\nrich, is what I wish.\"\n\nThey all said Dick knew what was best. So that is what was done with\nthe pile of gold that the king gave for the cat.\n\n[Illustration: FINIS]\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note:\n\nMinor punctuation errors have been amended without note.\n\nThe frontispiece illustration has been moved to follow the title page.","title":"Dick and his cat : $b an old tale in a new garb","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":2864}