Young Grumpy went on blustering with his muffled squeaks for perhaps a minute.

Then, seeing that the Boy was neither going to run away nor fight, he dropped on all fours indifferently and returned to his carrot.
"There was nothing pleased the Boy better than seeing the harmless wild creatures get familiar about the place.

He went now and fetched a saucer of milk from the dairy, and set it down beside Young Grumpy, who scolded at him, but refused to budge an inch.

The yellow cat--an amiable soul, too well fed to hunt even mice with any enthusiasm--followed the Boy, with an interested eye on the saucer.

At sight of Young Grumpy her back went up, her tail grew big as a bottle, and she spat disapprovingly.