Never had the house been kept so clean , the meats so well served , nor the sick cats so well cared for . After a time they had a visit from an old cat , whom they called their father , who lived by himself in a barn at the top of the hill , and came down from time to time to inspect the little colony . He too was much taken with Lizina , and inquired , on first seeing her : ` Are you well served by this nice , black-eyed little person ? ' and the cats answered with one voice : ` Oh , yes , Father Gatto , we have never had so good a servant ! ' At each of his visits the answer was always the same ; but after a time the old cat , who was very observant , noticed that the little maid had grown to look sadder and sadder . ` What is the matter , my child has any one been unkind to you ? ' he asked one day , when he found her crying in her kitchen . She burst into tears and answered between her sobs : ` Oh , no ! they are all very good to me ; but I long for news from home , and I pine to see my mother and my sister . ' Old Gatto , being a sensible old cat , understood the little servant 's feelings . ` You shall go home , ' he said , ` and you shall not come back here unless you please . But first you must be rewarded for all your kind services to my children . Follow me down into the inner cellar , where you have never yet been , for I always keep it locked and carry the key away with me . ' Lizina looked round her in astonishment as they went down into the great vaulted cellar underneath the kitchen . Before her stood the big earthenware water jars , one of which contained oil , the other a liquid shining like gold . ` In which of these jars shall I dip you ? ' asked Father Gatto , with a grin that showed all his sharp white teeth , while his moustaches stood out straight on either side of his face . The little maid looked at the two jars from under her long dark lashes : ` In the oil jar , ' she answered timidly , thinking to herself : ' I could not ask to be bathed in gold . ' But Father Gatto replied : ` No , no ; you have deserved something better than that . ' And seizing her in his strong paws he plunged her into the liquid gold .
Wonder XXXXX wonders !
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