Three Little Kittens

Did They Do Something Wrong? - Who Cares?

This rendering of the verse offers a contemporary, casual text that expresses no tension and no consequences for losing the mittens: “Well, let's all bake a pie!” is the reply when the kittens confess to loosing their mittens. Both the mood and tone are altered since there is no sense of concern or trouble for the kittens. The illustration shows a girl (Could this be a modern “Mother Goose? ),”serving the kittens tea at a table. There is no evidence that the mother cat and girl are going to have either pie or tea since there are only three places set at the table. The scene looks like a child's tea party. The felines are not clothed, so there are no clues as to the gender of the kittens. They are sitting in chairs, and the mother cat is standing at the table, gazing at them with unconditional love. Although they have been served pie and are in the midst of being served tea, the kittens are not partaking of these foods. One orange kitten seems to be gazing down at what we can guess are the mittens hidden by the patterns in the colorful rug. All three pairs are plainly evident on the rug, but no one seems too concerned. The images are done in a primitive style: the eyes of the girl and the mother cat are exaggerated and quite large, as is the girl's head in proportion to the rest of her body. A great deal of attention was paid to the patterns in the illustration: there is a colorful pattern of rain or snow on the window glass. The curtains, rug, and tablecloth have various patterns in a broad spectrum of rainbow colors, unmatched in color or theme. The intensity of the color seems consistent throughout the illustration.