ch
those children brought, and our little Mistress Merciless and little
Master Sweetheart had sweet satisfaction therein. But, on a day,
whilst thus those twittering birds made great feasting, lo! on a
sudden did that full evil cat whereof I have spoken steal softly from
a thicket, and with one hideous bound make her way into the very midst
of those birds and seize upon that bird Joyous, that was wont to sing
so merrily from the tree hard by the arbor. Oh, there was a mighty din
and a fearful fluttering, and the rest flew swiftly away, but Joyous
could not do so, because the full evil cat held him in her cruel
fangs and claws. And I make no doubt that Joyous would speedily have
met his death, but that with a wrathful cry did our little Mistress
Merciless hasten to his rescue. And our little Mistress belabored that
full evil cat with Master Sweetheart's crutch, until that cruel beast
let loose her hold upon the fluttering bird and was full glad to
escape with her aching bones into the thicket again. So it was that
Joyous was recovered from death; but even then might it have fared
ill with him, had they not taken him up and dressed his wounds and
cared for him until duly he was well again. And then they released him
to do his plaisance, and he returned to his home in the tree hard by
the arbor and there he sung unto those children more sweetly than ever
before; for his heart was full of gratitude to our little Mistress
Merciless and Master Sweetheart.

Now, of the dolls that she had in goodly number, that one which was
named Beautiful did our little Mistress Merciless love best. Know well
that the doll Beautiful had come not from oversea, and was neither of
wax nor of china; but she was right ingeniously constructed of a
bed-key that was made of wood, and unto the top of this bed-key had
the Queen of Sheba superadded a head with a fair face, and upon the
body and the arms of the key had she hung passing noble raiment. Unto
this doll Beautiful was our little Mistress Merciless vastly beholden,
and she did use to have the doll Beautiful lie by her side at night
whilst she slept, and whithersoever during the day she went, there
also would she take the doll Beautiful, too. Much sorrow and
lamentation, therefore, made our little Mistress Merciless when on an
evil day the doll Beautiful by chance fell into the fish-pond, and was
not rescued therefrom until one of her beauteous eyes had been
devoured of the envious water; so th