PART TWO

_From the humblest beginnings one may rise to the highest position by enterprise and good fortune._

Things were going very well with Puss and his master. The king was delighted, the princess was blushing, and the young master was looking very handsome, while Puss ran on ahead of the carriage. Puss came to a field where laborers were mowing grass.

“Some men are coming and you must tell them this field belongs to the Marquis of Carabas, or you will be ground into mince meat,” said Puss and ran on down the road. Soon the king came by and asked:

“Who owns this fine land?” The men were so terrified that they spoke right off:

“The Marquis of Carabas, sir,” and went on with their work.

Puss soon came to some reapers and said: “You must tell everybody that this grain belongs to the Marquis of Carabas, or you will be ground into mince meat.” So when the king came by and asked: “Whose grain is this?” they answered very promptly: “The Marquis of Carabas, sir,” and went on with their work.

“The Marquis must be a rich man to own all this land,” said the king; but the young master said nothing, for he was looking at the princess and wondering if she would ever marry him.

Puss ran on ahead and came to the castle of the real owner of the land. He was a monster of whom every one was afraid, but Puss went on in to see him and spoke up boldly:

“I have heard that you can change yourself into any animal, and that you can be a lion or a tiger if you wish to.”

“Certainly I can,” said the monster, and at once became a lion, and roared so loud that Puss jumped on to the back of a chair and arched his back in spite of himself.

The monster came back to his own shape and laughed very loud. “Now watch me become a tiger,” said he; and at once he became a tiger, that showed his teeth and growled deep down in his throat.

When he came back to his own shape again, Puss said:

“I see you can become large beasts, but I doubt if you can become a little one, such as a mouse, for instance.”

“I can do that, too,” replied the monster, and at once became a mouse running around the floor. Puss leaped down from the chair, jumped on the mouse, and ate it up in a twinkling!

Just at that time the king’s carriage drove up.

“Welcome to the castle of the Marquis of Carabas,” cried Puss. They all came in, and the young master, seeing how things were, led the princess to the best seat in the house and kissed her right before the king himself. She seemed well pleased, and it was not long before she was living in the castle with the Marquis, and I think they are there to this very day.

THE WHITE CAT