A long-haired French rabbit was hopping about, and a tame white rat was perched on the shoulder of one of the boys, and kept his foothold there, no matter how suddenly the boy moved.

There were so many boys, and the stable was so small, that I suppose he was afraid he would get stepped on if he went on the floor.

He stared hard at me with his little, red eyes, and never even glanced at a queer-looking, gray cat that was watching me, too, from her bed in the back of the vacant horse stall.

Out in the sunny yard, some pigeons were pecking at grain, and a spaniel lay asleep in a corner.
I had never seen anything like this before, and my wonder at it almost drove the pain away.

Mother and I always chased rats and birds, and once we killed a kitten.