most mellifluously did he purr as we crowded around to stroke him; with friendly joy he licked our hands with his little red tongue; poor paddy was a thankful cat; he was no longer lost, starving, imprisoned, helpless; he was with his comrades once more and he was going home -- home to his old familiar haunts of orchard and dairy and granary, to his daily rations of new milk and cream, to the cosy corner of his own fireside.