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US779691 Streatfeild

Theater cat

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PUBLIC LIBRARY FORT WAYNE AND ALLEN COUNTY,

IND.

i

:>

Digitized by the Internet Archive in

2010

http://www.archive.org/details/theatercatOOstre

Published by Rand M^^Nally &

Company

and Container Corporation of America

^3t C^

7irst Printing

COPYRIGHT 1951 BY CONTAINER CORPORATION OF AMERICA COPYRIGHT 1951 UNDER INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT UNION BY CONTAINER CORPORATION OF AMERICA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TYPOGRAPHY BY S. SUBA

'^

S.779691

Pinkie was His

tastes

a slim, exquisite black cat.

were elegant.

He took great pride in his

looks and was often to be seen peeping in mirrors, to

be sure

He was

his face

was clean and his whiskers

a persnickety eater, leaving

any scrap of food which seemed badly cooked.

When

accept a portion only

to

on

his plate

him coarse or

offered ice cream he if it

tidy.

would

were pink; and that was

the reason he was christened Pinkie. 9

By

profession Pinkie was a mouser.

employed

as

a

He was

mouse catcher by the

Theater. Every Friday night

when

Ballet

the artists

were paid, there was an envelope for Pinkie with his salary of fifty cents inside;

Pinkie trembled

but every Friday

when he opened

case, as well as his salary, there

his envelope, in

should be a

slip of

paper saying he was dismissed. For the dreadful truth was. Pinkie was a failure. theater 10

knew

it

Everybody

in the

and everybody spoke about

it.

The doorkeeper

said,

'That Pinkie

a nickel. He's paid to catch mice, but

I

ain't

have to get

'em. Thinks himself too highfalutin'.

boss around here,

I

worth

If

I

were

wouldn't keep him another

day." ''You could not be more right," the wardrobe mistress agreed.

"But what can you expect from

a

delicate type like that?"

The

ice-cream

girl

thought she understood.

"Can't really blame the

name but

him

cat.

Pinkie's the right

for him, seeing he only eats pink ice cream,

that's

no name for

ideas. Better

if

a

working

cat;

kinda gives

he was called George."

Every week

as

he fixed the pay envelopes the

manager muttered, ''Have

What sits

does he think

paying him for?

He

just

and watches the dancers. Never knows what a

mouse looks It is

for

Vm

to get rid of Pinkie.

like.''

a fearful thing to

which you are not

that.

The

know you

fitted,

reason he did not

are in a career

and Pinkie knew

make

just

the grade was a

shocking one. lie was afraid of mice. But he was sticking to his job as long as

it

would

for even greater than his fear of mice of the ballet. 14

stick to

was

him,

his love

Every

ballet the

company danced

Pinkie knew,

which was natural for he never missed or a performance.

He would

a rehearsal

stand in the wings,

swaying softly with the dancers, or shuddering

from the end of

final hairs

'The

It

was

knew

was and one would say

to the

ballet even

we must have been

The

clumsy

dancers

awkward

a critic Pinkie

other,

tips of his ears to the

his delicately tapering tail at a

pirouette or an

what

on the

lift.

went over with Pinkie, so

good.''

at the final dress rehearsal of a

ballet that Pinkie

was publicly shamed.

It

new

was a

lovely ballet; Pinkie's eyes glistened with ecstasy. ''Beautiful !" he purred.

Then about

it

"Superb !" "What

!"

line

happened. The leading ballerina was

to spring across the stage into her cavalier's

arms,

when

a

screamed. She

mouse ran fell.

across her feet.

She

She sprained her ankle. The

mouse

ran.

The company

ran. Pinkie ran. In fac

-^^=^

Pinkie ran faster and farther from the

anybody

else.

When dressing

mouse than

the ballerina

had been

room and order

carried to her

restored, the manager,

his face black as thunder,

came onto the

stage.

^^Where^s Pinkie?" Pinkie, trying to look

than a

cat,

more

crawled to his

like a

feet.

black shadow

The manager was

so angry his voice wobbled. ''No star! ballet

who ran

is

opening to

this

evening!

If

the

A

show

new

flops,

blame? You! The theater mouser who

when he saw

cashier will

pay you

a

mouse! You're

fired!

off after the show.''

The

Pinkie lay at the side of the darkened stage

sobbing

was a

his heart out. Fired!

failure

The news

would be known

The mouser who

that he

every theater.

in

ran at sight of a mouse!

What a

coward! Better be dead than labeled that way.

What

future was there for a cat with such a

How could he live if he never saw another ballet? How could he

reputation?

What was

see a ballet unless he

he to do?

worked

in a ballet theater?

He would never earn enough to buy a seat. Never watch another this

ballet!

Never! Never! Never! As

dreadful knowledge sank

more and more, drowning

until

in his tears.

it

was

in,

as

Pinkie cried if

he were

Suddenly he caught Hic-cup, boo.''

his breath. ''Hic-cup,

Somebody

Swallowing back

else

boo.

was crying^

too.

his tears, Pinkie tiptoed across

the stage. Lying under a piece of scenery was a girl

of twelve, the principal ballerina's under-

study.

Words tumbled

my big chance

'This was waiting for I

don't

.

.

know

.

but

." .

.

I've

.

...

I

.

.

the break Fve been

never had a rehearsal

the steps well

make good now the steps.

out of her with her tears.

enough

can't dance

.

if I

.

.

.

I'll

never

don't

know

.

.

Pinkie's heart

under

his

front was swollen with pity.

shining black shirt

The understudy was

underrehearsed. Here was her opportunity to

become famous, and she would miss

U

it

because

S,77969i

she had not practiced the steps.

Then

a thought

flew to him, and happiness flowed through him.

He

began

to purr.

Who

ballerina

her

chance?

cowardly

cat. It

was up

fail.

had given

Pinkie

him

to

Httle

this

no-good,

the

to see she did not

Pinkie tapped the dancer with a paw. His

paw was

so soft

and

dancer was crying so

his tap so gentle

much

to attract her attention,

head and looked

that he found

but at

at him.

and the it

hard

last she raised

The moment

were on him, he sprang into the

air

her

her eyes

and raised

himself on the toes of his hind legs. His front paws

he held delicately curved above

his head.

dancer recognized the pose for her

She scrambled

to her feet,

and stood behind

Pinkie.

first

entrance.

swallowed her

tears,

She raised herself onto

her points and lifted her arms. Softly as a cloud,

moving

stirred

by

The

as delicately as

rehearsal lasted for

new

ballet started.

like

it.

a flower petal

When

more than an hour.

The performance

and

of the

There was never an evening

the performance was over, the

audience shouted and clapped.

bowed.

The company

The understudy took

curtain calls alone, with the

26

little

a breeze. Pinkie started to dance.

Finally the curtain rose.

curtsied

The

company, and with

^VU..^

^"^

It/

the conductor, but the audience

would not

go. ''Speech!'' they called. ''Speech!''

let

her

She took a

deep breath, and stepped forward.

"Thank you

for

your kindness. But

if

I

have

danced well tonight, you shouldn't clap for me, but for the great master last

who coached me

at the

minute. Are you there. Pinkie?"

Pinkie, blinking in the dazzle of lights,

onto the stage.

The conductor

walked

held one of his

paws, the understudy the other. The audience rose to

its feet.

'Tinkie! Pinkie! Three cheers for Pinkie! Pinkie the ballet-dancing cat!'' 30

SLOTTIE

DESIGNED

BY

MAR CARTER

TO MAKE PINKIE comc to life and have him look into the MIRROR, just press out the cardboard pieces and fit them together snugly by means of the little slots. The diagram and drawing on this page show just where each piece belongs. The pieces of pinkie have numbers in the diagram and drawing, and the pieces of the mirror have letters, which makes it easy to put the right pieces together.

When you

are through playing with the Slotties,

you

can take the figures apart and put the pieces back into the holes in the cardboard where they belong.

Then

they will be easy to find the next time you want to play

with them.

^ MADE

IN U.S.A.

THE

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^°^'*° ^°

PLEASE

JUWE.66 N.

MANCHESTER. INDIANA

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