e Marquis of Carabas, please Your Majesty."

And all the way the Cat kept running on before the carriage, repeating
the same instructions to all the laborers he came to; so that the King
became very astonished at the vast possessions of the Marquis of
Carabas.

At last the Cat arrived at a great castle, where an Ogre lived who was
very rich, for all the lands through which the King had been riding were
part of his estate. The Cat knocked at the castle door, and asked to see
the Ogre.

The Ogre received him very civilly, and asked him what he wanted.

"If you please, sir," said the Cat, "I have heard that you have the
power of changing yourself into any sort of animal you please--and I
came to see if it could possibly be true."

"So I have," replied the Ogre, and in a moment he turned himself into a
lion. This gave the Cat a great fright, and he scrambled up the curtains
to the ceiling.

"Indeed, sir," he said, "I am now quite convinced of your power to turn
yourself into such a huge animal as a lion; but I do not suppose you can
change yourself into a small one--such as a mouse, for instance?"

"Indeed, I can," cried the Ogre, indignantly; and in a moment the lion
had vanished, while a little brown mouse frisked about the floor.

In less than half a second the Cat sprang down from the curtains and,
pouncing upon the mouse, ate him all up before the Ogre had time to
return to any other shape.

And when the King arrived at the castle gates, there stood the Cat upon
the doorstep, bowing and saying--

"Welcome to the castle of the Marquis of Carabas!"

The Marquis helped the King and the Princess to alight, and the Cat led
them into a great hall, where a feast had been spread for the Ogre.

The King was so delighted with the good looks, the charming manners, and
the great wealth of the Marquis of Carabas, that he said the Marquis
must marry his daughter.

The Marquis, of course, replied that he should be only too happy; and
the very next day he and the Princess were married.

As for the Cat, he was given the title of Puss-in-Boots, and ever after
only caught mice for his own amusement.

[Illustration]

ADVENTURES OF TOM THUMB

[Illustration]

A long time ago, a woodcutter lived with his wife in a small cottage not
far from a great forest. They had seven children--all boys; and the
youngest was the smallest little fellow ever seen. He was called Tom
Thumb. But though he was so small, he was far