Springfield, because the wigwams of their ancestors had formerly stood
there. These wild men grew fond of little Ben, and made him very happy
by giving him some of the red and yellow paint with which they were
accustomed to adorn their faces. His mother, too, presented him with a
piece of indigo. Thus he now had three colors,--red, blue, and yellow,
--and could manufacture green by mixing the yellow with the blue. Our
friend Ben was overjoyed, and doubtless showed his gratitude to the
Indians by taking their likenesses in the strange dresses which they
wore, with feathers, tomahawks, and bows and arrows.

But all this time the young artist had no paint-brushes; nor were there
any to be bought, unless he had sent to Philadelphia on purpose.
However, he was a very ingenious boy, aid resolved to manufacture paint-
brushes for himself. With this design he laid hold upon--what do you
think? Why, upon a respectable old black cat, who was sleeping quietly
by the fireside.

"Puss," said little Ben to the cat, "pray give me some of the fur from
the tip of thy tail?"

Though he addressed the black cat so civilly, yet Ben was determined to
have the fur whether she were willing or not. Puss, who had no great
zeal for the fine arts, would have resisted if she could; but the boy
was armed with his mother's scissors, and very dexterously clipped off
fur enough to make a paint-brush. This was of so much use to him that
be applied to Madame Puss again and again, until her warm coat of fur
had become so thin and ragged that she could hardly keep comfortable
through the winter. Poor thing! she was forced to creep close into the
chimney-corner, and eyed Ben with a very rueful physiognomy. But Ben
considered it more necessary that he should have paint-brushes than that