aring
fiercely at Soda, said--

"How dare you behave like this to one of your lord's ladies? I will
have you dismissed;" and she tried to strike Soda with the halberd.
But Soda fought desperately with his dirk; and the goblin, seeing that
she was no match for him, threw away the halberd, and from a beautiful
woman became suddenly transformed into a cat, which, springing up the
sides of the room, jumped on to the roof. Isahaya Buzen and his eight
men who were watching outside shot at the cat, but missed it, and the
beast made good its escape.

So the cat fled to the mountains, and did much mischief among the
surrounding people, until at last the Prince of Hizen ordered a great
hunt, and the beast was killed.

But the Prince recovered from his sickness; and Ito Soda was richly
rewarded.

THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL CAT

About sixty years ago, in the summertime, a man went to pay a visit at
a certain house at Osaka, and, in the course of conversation, said--

"I have eaten some very extraordinary cakes to-day," and on being
asked what he meant, he told the following story:--

"I received the cakes from the relatives of a family who were
celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the death of a cat that had
belonged to their ancestors. When I asked the history of the affair, I
was told that, in former days, a young girl of the family, when she
was about sixteen years old, used always to be followed about by a
tom-cat, who was reared in the house, so much so that the two were
never separated for an instant. When her father perceived this, he was
very angry, thinking that the tom-cat, forgetting the kindness with
which he had been treated for years in the house, had fallen in love
with his daughter, and intended to cast a spell upon her; so he
determined that he must kill the beast. As he was planning this in
secret, the cat overheard him, and that night went to his pillow, and,
assuming a human voice, said to him--

"'You suspect me of being in love with your daughter; and although you
might well be justified in so thinking, your suspicions are
groundless. The fact is this:--There is a very large old rat who has
been living for many years in your granary. Now it is this old rat who
is in love with my young mistress, and this is why I dare not leave
her side for a moment, for fear the old rat should carry her off.
Therefore I pray you to dispel your suspicions. But as I, by myself,
am no match for the rat, ther