ng marching home in his glory, while I,
who go shod, as it were, in velvet, should hear only the sound through
the scullery windows. It is not fair. It is no doubt true that "The cat
may mew, and the dog shall have his day," but I have as much right to my
day as he; and has it not been said from immemorial time that 'A cat may
look at a king'? Indeed it has, quite as much as that the dog may have
his day. I will not stand it; it is not fair. A cat may look at a king;
and if any cat may look at a king, why, I am the cat who may. There are
no other cats in the world; I am the only one. Poh! the cook may shout
till his breath gives out, he cannot frighten me; for once I am going to
have my fling!"

So he forthwith swallowed the coffee-mill, box, handle, drawer-knobs,
coffee-well, and all, and was off to see the King.

So far, so good. But, ah! the sad and undeniable truth, that brightest
joys too soon must end! Triumphs cannot last forever, even in a land of
legends. There comes a reckoning.

When the procession was past and gone, as all processions pass and go,
vanishing down the shores of forgetfulness; when barons, marquises,
dukes, and dons were gone, with their pennants and banners; when the
last lancers had gone prancing past and were lost to sight down the
circuitous avenue, Sooty Will, with drooping tail, stood by the palace
gate, dejected. He was sour and silent and glum. Indeed, who would not
be, with a coffee-mill on his conscience? To own up to the entire truth,
the cat was feeling decidedly unwell; when suddenly the cook popped
his head in at the scullery entry, crying, "How now, how now, you
vagabonds! The war is done, but the breakfast is not. Hurry up, scurry
up, scamper and trot! The cakes are all cooked and are piping hot! Then
why is the coffee so slow?" The King was in the dining-hall, in
dressing-gown and slippers, irately calling for his breakfast!

[Illustration: "HE FORTHWITH SWALLOWED THE COFFEE-MILL"]

The shamefaced, guilty cat ran hastily down the scullery stairs and hid
under the refrigerator, with such a deep inward sensation of remorse
that he dared not look the kind cook in the face. It now really seemed
to him as if everything had gone wrong with the world, especially his
own insides. This any one will readily believe who has ever swallowed a
coffee-mill. He began to weep copiously.

[Illustration: "AND WAS OFF TO SEE THE KING"]

The cook came into the kitchen. "Where is the coffee