he brought the King of the Cats to the foot
of the Hill of Horns.

And what was the Hill of Horns like, asks my kind foster-child. It was
hills of stones on the top of a hill of stones. Only a goat could foot
it from pebble to stone, from stone to boulder, from boulder Ko crag,
and from crag to mountain-shoulder. It was well and not ill what the
Hag's goat did. But then thunder sounded; lightning struck fire out of
the stones, the wind mixed itself with the rain and the tempest pelted
cat and goat. The goat stood on a mountain-shoulder. The wind rushed
up from the bottom and carried the companions to the top of the Hill of
Horns. Down sprang the cat. But the goat stood on his hind-legs to
butt back at the wind. The wind caught him between the beard and the
under-quarters and swept him from the top and down the other side of the
hill (and what happened to the Hag's goat after this I never heard). The
King of the Cats put his claws into the crevices of a standing stone and
held to it with great tenacity. And then, when the wind abated and he
looked across his shoulder, he found that he was standing beside the
nest of the Eagle-Emperor.

It was a hollow edged with rocks, and round that hollow were scattered
the horns of the deer and goats that the Eagle-Emperor had carried off.
And in the hollow there was a calf and a hare and a salmon. The King of
the Cats sprang into the Eagle-Emperor's nest. First he ate the salmon.
Then he stretched himself between the hare and the calf and waited for
the Eagle-Emperor.

At last he appeared. Down he came to the nest making circles in the air.
He lighted on the rocky rim. The King of the Cats rose with body bent
for the spring, and if the Eagle-Emperor was not astonished at his
appearance it was because an Eagle can never be astonished.

A brave man would be glad if he could have seen the Eagle-Emperor as
he crouched there on the rock rim of his nest. He spread down his wings
till they were great strong shields. He bent down his outspread tail.
He bent down his neck so that his eyes might look into the creature that
faced him. And his cruel, curved, heavy beak was ready for the stroke.

But the King of the Cats sprang into the air. The Eagle lifted himself
up but the Cat came down on his broad back. The Eagle-Emperor screamed
his war-scream and flew off the hill. He struck at the King of the Cats
with the backs of his broad wings. Then he plunged down. On the stones
below he would