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praise, you may sit by the fire in the Cave.'

'And if you say three words?' said the Cat.

'I never shall,' said the Woman, 'but if I say three words in
your praise, you may drink the warm white milk three times a day
for always and always and always.'

Then the Cat arched his back and said, 'Now let the Curtain at
the mouth of the Cave, and the Fire at the back of the Cave, and
the Milk-pots that stand beside the Fire, remember what my Enemy
and the Wife of my Enemy has said.' And he went away through the
Wet Wild Woods waving his wild tail and walking by his wild lone.

That night when the Man and the Horse and the Dog came home from
hunting, the Woman did not tell them of the bargain that she had
made with the Cat, because she was afraid that they might not
like it.

Cat went far and far away and hid himself in the Wet Wild Woods
by his wild lone for a long time till the Woman forgot all about
him. Only the Bat--the little upside-down
Bat--that hung inside the Cave, knew where Cat hid; and every
evening Bat would fly to Cat with news of what was happening.

One evening Bat said, 'There is a Baby in the Cave. He is new and
pink and fat and small, and the Woman is very fond of him.'

'Ah,' said the Cat, listening, 'but what is the Baby fond of?'

'He is fond of things that are soft and tickle,' said the Bat.
'He is fond of warm things to hold in his arms when he goes to
sleep. He is fond of being played with. He is fond of all those
things.'

'Ah,' said the Cat, listening, 'then my time has come.'

Next night Cat walked through the Wet Wild Woods and hid very
near the Cave till morning-time, and Man and Dog and Horse went
hunting. The Woman was busy cooking that morning, and the Baby
cried and interrupted. So she carried him outside the Cave and
gave him a handful of pebbles to play with. But still the Baby
cried.

Then the Cat put out his paddy paw and patted the Baby on the
cheek, and it cooed; and the Cat rubbed against its fat knees and
tickled it under its fat chin with his tail. And the Baby
laughed; and the Woman heard him and smiled.

Then the Bat--the little upside-down bat--that hung in the mouth
of the Cave said, 'O my Hostess and Wife of my Host and Mother of
my Host's Son, a Wild Thing from the Wild Woods is most
beautifully playing with your Baby.'

'A blessing on that Wild Thing whoever he may be,' said the
Woman, straightening her back, 'for I was a busy woman this
morning and he has done me a service.'

That very minute and second, Best Beloved, the dried
horse-skin Curtain that was stretched tail-down at the mouth of
the Cave fell down--whoosh!--because it remembered the bargain
she had made with the Cat, and when the Woman went to pick it up--
lo and behold!--the Cat was sitting quite comfy inside the Cave.

'O my Enemy and Wife of my Enemy and Mother of my Enemy,' said

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