20 FAIRY TALES
the meadow they were mowing belonged? “To my Lord Marquis of Carabas,” answered they altogether, for the cat’s threats had made them terribly afraid. “You see Sir,” said the Marquis, “this is a meadow that never fails to yield a plentiful harvest every year.” The cat who went on still before, met with some reapers, and said to them, “Good people, you who are reaping, if you do not tell the king, that all this corn belongs to the Marquis of Carabas, you shall be chopped as small as herbs for the pot.” The king who passed by a moment after, would needs know to whom all that corn did belong? “To my Lord Marquis of Carabas,” replied the reapers; and the king was very well pleased with it, as well as the Marquis whom he congratulated thereupon. The master cat went always before, saying the same words to all he met; and the king was astonished at the vast estates of my Lord Marquis of Carabas. Monsieur Puss came at last to a stately castle, the master of which was an Ogre, the richest that had ever been known; for all the lands the king had then gone over, belonged to this castle, the cat, having taken care to inform himself who this Ogre was, and what he could do, asked to speak with him, saying, “He could not pass so near his castle, without having the honour of paying his respects to him.
The Ogre received him as civilly as an Ogre could do, and made him sit down. “I have been assured,” said the cat, “that you have the gift of being able to chmge yourself into all sorts of creatures you have a mind to; you can, for example, transform yourself into a lion or elephant, and the like. “This is true, answered the Ogre, very briskly, and to convince you, you shall see me now become a lion. Puss was so sadly terrified at the sight cf a lion so near him, that he immediately
