requested them to allow her a few moments in
which to converse alone with the Prince, to whom
she would unfold her history, and explain much
-that had hitherto perplexed him.
‘My dear king’s son,’ said she, ‘you were right
in supposing me to be something superior to
an ordinary cat. My father reigned over six
kingdoms. My mother, the queen, was an admir-
able woman, but, unfortunately for me, of an inquisi-
tive turn of mind, and restless in her habits.
‘When I was only a few weeks old, she obtained
the king’s permission to visit a certain forest and
palace, of which many wondrous tales were told,
and she felt that she could have no peace of mind
till she had ascertained what truth there was in
these tales. She set off with a large retinue, and
in course of time reached the forest, and saw that
it was traversed by a road leading to a superb
palace, the gates of which were closed, but through
the railings my mother could see the most delici-
ous and varied fruit. Many of the fruits were
quite new to her, and such as she did know, in-
finitely surpassed those which grew in her own
gardens. She at once resolved to taste this fruit,
and was well assured she would not have a
moment’s happiness till she had done so. She
ordered her servants to knock at the palace doors,
and to rattle the gates and ring the bell; no
answer was however given to these summonses.
She therefore insisted on ladders being applied to
the walls of the garden, that she might climb over
them, to get at the fruit. But it was soon found
that <he walls stretched themselves in proportion
to the length of the ladders applied to them, so
that it was quite impossible to surmount them.
‘The queen was in despair, but as night was
coming on she had her tent planted outside the
gates, resolved to spend the night there, and
renew her attempt on the following morning. In
221

THE
WHITE
CAT