By sunrise Miss Kitty Cat had at least a mile along the road that passed the peddler's house. She wanted to get a safe distance away before the family got up and turned loose the dog that had barked the night before, when she arrived.
 
Miss Kitty remembered clearly that the had been climbing a long hill before it turned into the peddler's dooryard. So without hesitating she started down the road. She knew that in that direction lay Pleasant Valley—and her home at Farmer Green's.
 
Having put the first mile of her journey behind her, Miss Kitty stopped beside a little and drank her fill of cool, sweet water. She was very thirsty, because she hadn't had a drink since the evening before.
 
A pretty wood stretched beyond the brook, Miss Kitty Cat to explore it. At that hour of the morning there were many birds twittering among the trees. And spry were frisking about in search of their breakfast. Miss Kitty Cat just naturally began to think of her own breakfast.
 
"If I were at home, Mrs. Green would be setting a saucer of milk on the woodshed steps about this time," she murmured. "But now I must shift for myself."
 
Luckily Miss Kitty was quite able to find something to eat, as a surprised meadow mouse soon discovered.
 
After breakfasting, Miss Kitty lingered a while to tease the birds, who scolded her , calling her a tramp and telling her to get out of their woods.
 
Of course Miss Kitty had to stay there for a time after that, to let the birds know that they couldn't frighten her away. She scared them almost out of their wits by threatening to climb up where their nests were. But she didn't do ............