She was the very plainest kind of a brindled cat, and she
wandered into our house from the street during her early kittenhood and
calmly established herself in mother's work-basket.
From that time on Juno had been the friend and playmate of the younger
generation. She never seemed like an animal to any of us. Many a time I
have heard Ned apologize for having unintentionally hurt Juno, with the
exclamation:
"Oh, excuse me, Juno, I didn't mean to do that!"
After which Juno always purred softly, and showed that she had forgiven
him.
But the one thing that specially distinguished Juno from all the other
cats that I ever knew, was her big-hearted motherhood. If Juno had been a
woman, how many desolate orphans she would have cared for! She would have
given them summer outings, no doubt, and would have filled their
stockings brimful at Christmas time.
Not being a woman, Juno did her best, nevertheless, to make the world a
little easier for all the orphans she knew. What a heart must have beaten
under that gray fur! Ned and I often talked of it, and were filled with
regret that Juno could not understand our language so that we could talk
to her and get her views on the subject.
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