Occasionally when there was plenty of room she was allowed to sit by me,
and I assure you she behaved with perfect propriety. I kept a fork on
purpose for her, and when I held it out with a bit of meat on it she
would guide it to her mouth with one paw and eat it as daintily as
possible. I never knew her to drop a crumb on the carpet. Indeed, I know
several boys and girls whose table manners are not as good as Dinah
Diamond's."
"I suppose you mean me, Auntie," said Mollie. "Mamma is always telling
me I eat too fast, and I know I scatter the bread about sometimes when
I'm in a hurry."
"Well, Mollie," said Miss Ruth, laughing, "I was _not_ thinking of you,
but if the coat fits, you may put it on."
"What became of Dinah at last, Miss Ruth?"
"She made a sad end, Fannie, for as she grew older her disposition got
worse instead of better, until she became so cross and disagreeable that
she hadn't a friend left but me. She would scratch and bite little
children if they attempted to touch her, and was so cruel to one of her
own kittens that we were raising to take her place--for she was too old
and infirm to be a good mouser--that we were afraid she would kill the
poor thing outright. One morning, after she had made an unusually savage
attack on her son Solomon, my mother said: 'We must have that cat
killed, and the sooner the better.
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