Produced by Louise Hope and The Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)





  [Transcriber's Note:
  The html version of this text includes the illustrations.
  Since all pages are illustrated, they are not separately
  marked here.]



  NINE LIVES OF A CAT

  by

  CHARLES BENNETT




  [Illustration: FRONTISPIECE]




  THE NINE LIVES
   of
  A CAT


  A TALE OF WONDER
   by
  CHARLES BENNETT.
  Author of "Shadows"


  London
  Griffith and Farran.
  Corner of St Pauls' Churchyard. 1860.




PREFACE


This tale of wonder is told for
children; with which view, it has been
carefully designed and very nicely
printed.

For some time past, it has arrived at
the dignity of a popular Nursery Tale in
the Author's family; and it is hoped it
will merit the same good fortune
elsewhere.

It will be worth while explaining, that
the circle in each page is made to
represent some object in connection with
the story; and, that as some of them
have proved rather puzzling, to Juvenile
admirers has been left the task of
"finding them out."

_London_, 1859.




  1

  How many Lives has the Cat got?
      NINE!
    But when she was young,
    Poor Kitty was hung;
  So how many Lives has the Cat got?


  2

  Yes, Kitty was hung
  When she was so young;
    But, as you would hope,
    She pulled a knife out of her side-
      pocket, and before you could
      count ONE, TWO, THREE,
      cut right through the rope.




  3

  How many Lives has the Cat got?
      EIGHT!
    But, when she was rounder,
    A boy tried to drown her;
  So how many Lives has the Cat got?


  4

  Yes, a boy tried to drown her
  When fatter and rounder,
    But, as you would wish,
    She slipped the stone off her neck,
      and before you could count,
      ONE, TWO, THREE, swam
      like a fish.




  5

  How many Lives has the Cat got?
      SEVEN!
    But, as I have learnt,
    Poor Pussy was burnt.
  So how many Lives has the Cat got?


  6

  Yes, Pussy was burnt,
  As I too have learnt;
    But, as you will read,
    She jumped into the water-butt before
      you could count, ONE, TWO,
      THREE; she did, indeed!




  7

  How many Lives has the Cat got?
      SIX!
    But she fell off the house,
    Running after a mouse;
  So how many Lives has the Cat got?


  8

  Yes, she fell off the house
  Running after a mouse;
    But, as life is sweet,
    Before you could count ONE, TWO,
      THREE, she came on her feet.




  9

  How many Lives has the Cat got?
      FIVE!
    But I hear she has not;
    For they say she was shot.
  So how many Lives has the Cat got?


  10

  Yes, with a gun she was shot,
  And a trigger it had got,
    I saw the man pull it;
    But Pussy held up her paws like the
      Wizard of the North, and
      before you could count, ONE,
      TWO, THREE, caught the Bullet.




  11

  How many Lives has the Cat got?
      FOUR!
    But people all say
    She was poison'd one day;
  So how many Lives has the Cat got?


  12

  Yes, it's true, people say
  She was poison'd one day,
    And very much it shock'd her;
    But the moment she felt ill, and before you
      could count ONE, TWO, THREE,
      she was off to the Doctor.




  13

  How many Lives has the Cat got?
      THREE!
    But then the old wall
    Crush'd her in its fall.
  So how many Lives has the Cat got?


  14

  Yes, I know the old wall
  Flatten'd Puss in its fall,
    And a dozen of her fellows;
    But Pussy walked sideways into the kitchen,
      and before you could count ONE, TWO,
        THREE, blew herself out
          with the bellows.




  15

  How many Lives has the Cat got?
      TWO!
    But, bit by a dog,
    She is dead as a log.
  So how many Lives has the Cat got?


  16

  Yes, bit by a dog,
  But not dead as a log,
    As you'll gladly find;
    For she climbed up the apple-tree before
       you could count ONE, TWO, THREE,
       and left the dog behind.




  17

  How many Lives has the Cat got?
      ONE!
    But then she's grown old,
    And has caught a bad cold;
  So how many Lives has the Cat got?


  18

  Yes, she has grown old,
  And has caught a bad cold,
    Only bread and milk she touches,
    Except a little gruel, but she burns a great
      deal of fuel, and you may count,
      ONE, TWO, THREE, a great many times,
      while she hobbles across the room on her
      crutches.




  19

  How many Lives has the Cat got?
      NONE!
    Is it true then, as they said,
    That poor old Puss is dead,
  So many lives as she'd got?

  20

  Yes, the song has all been said,
  And poor old Puss is dead,
    Let it never be forgot;
    Although not ONE, TWO, THREE, but
    NINE LIVES she had got.



  [Illustration: TAILPIECE]





End of Project Gutenberg's The Nine Lives of A Cat, by Charles Bennett