‘Goodness!’ exclaimed the king, addressing the PUSS IN
miller’s son, ‘you have indeed a noble heritage.’ ooTS
The young man stammered something unintelli-
gible. The king nudged his daughter, and said in
a whisper: ‘I also stuttered and stammered when
I was paying my addresses to your mother.’
The cat ran on, and passed through a forest in
which woodcutters were engaged thinning the
timber.
He halted, and addressed them, and said: ‘Good
people! unless you say that all these woods belong
to the Marquess of Carabas, you will all be stewed
in your syrup like prunes.’
When soon after this the king’s coach entered
the woods, the king called to the driver to stop,
and he signed to a woodcutter to come up. He
asked him whose forests these were, and he re-
plied that they belonged to the most noble the
Marquess of Carabas.
‘Well, I never!’ exclaimed the king to the miller’s
son, ‘you have verily a splendid inheritance.’
The poor lad was so bewildered that all he could
do was to respond with a sickly smile.
The king nudged his daughter, and whispered:
‘I also sniggered when I asked your mother to
name the day. She said my snigger was more
eloquent than words.’
The cat ran on, and saw at the end of the wood
a magnificent palace. He went in, and found that
it belonged to an ogre, who was also a magician
and enormously rich, for all the lands through
which the cat had run belonged to the domain
of this palace. The cat asked leave to see the
ogre. He said he could not think of passing that
way without paying him his respects.
The ogre received him with civility; even ogres
enjoy flattery.
‘I have been informed,’ said the cat, ‘that you
are so clever and so profound in your acquire-
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