alone for a day. I have been asked a second time to stand
god-father; and as the little one has a white ring round its neck, I
cannot well refuse."

So the kind little mouse consented, and the cat crept along by the town
wall until he reached the church, and going straight to the little pot
of fat, devoured half of it.

"Nothing tastes so well as what one keeps to oneself," said he, feeling
quite content with his day's work. When he reached home, the mouse asked
what name had been given to the child.

"Half-gone," answered the cat.

"Half-gone!" cried the mouse, "I never heard such a name in my life!
I'll bet it's not to be found in the calendar."

Soon after that the cat's mouth began to water again for the fat.

"Good things always come in threes," said he to the mouse; "again I have
been asked to stand god-father, the little one is quite black with white
feet, and not any white hair on its body; such a thing does not happen
every day, so you will let me go, won't you?"

"Top-off, Half-gone," murmured the mouse, "they are such curious names,
I cannot but wonder at them!"

"That's because you are always sitting at home," said the cat, "in your
little grey frock and hairy tail, never seeing the world, and fancying
all sorts of things."

So the little mouse cleaned up the house and set it all in order.
Meanwhile the greedy cat went and made an end of the little pot of fat.

"Now all is finished one's mind will be easy," said he, and came home in
the evening, quite sleek and comfortable. The mouse asked at once what
name had been given to the third child.

"It won't please you any better than the others," answered the cat. "It
is called All-gone."

"All-gone!" cried the mouse. "What an unheard-of-name! I never met with
anything like it! All-gone! whatever can it mean?" And shaking her head,
she curled herself round and went to sleep. After that the cat was not
again asked to stand god-father.

When the winter had come and there was nothing more to be had out of
doors, the mouse began to think of their store.

"Come, cat," said she, "we will fetch our pot of fat, how good it will
taste, to be sure!"

"Of course it will," said the cat, "just as good as if you stuck your
tongue out of window!"

So they set out, and when they reached the place, they found the pot,
but it was standing empty.

"Oh, now I know what it all meant," cried the mouse, "now I see what
sort of a partner you have been! Instead of s