THE FAMILY CAT.

I CAN fold up my claws In my soft velvet paws, And purr in the sun Till the short day is done— For I am the family cat. I can doze by the hour In the vine-covered bower, Winking and blinking, Through sunshine and shower— For I am the family cat. From gooseberry bush Or where bright currants blush, I may suddenly spring For a bird on the wing; Or dart up a tree, If a brown nest I see, And select a choice morsel For dinner or tea; And no one to blame me, Berate me, or shame me— For I am the family cat. In the cold winter night, When the ground is all white, And the icicles shine In a long silver line, I stay not to shiver In the moonbeam’s pale quiver, But curl up in the house, As snug as a mouse, And play Jacky Horner In the cosiest corner; Breaking nobody’s laws, With my chin on my paws, Asleep with one eye, and Awake with the other For pats from the children, Kind words from the mother— For I am the family cat.