h all his force, a black shape, with flaming eyes and
paws outstretched to scratch, leaped through the open window and landed
upon Zidoc's back. It was the brave cat, who had heard the fracas from
his hiding-place below and had clawed his way up the castle wall to help
his friend. Valiant Puss, forgetting in one instant, I must admit, all
its knowledge of languages, catastrophes, history, social deportment,
and agriculture, plunged instantly into the fray, and gave Zidoc a
frightful scratch, which so upset him that it caused him to drop his
staff, while the dog profiting by the confusion, and forgetting all
about geometry, mathematics, agriculture, and dogma, managed to give
Serponel a good bite just above the ankle.

The wily Zidoc, however, was not to be so easily thwarted. Uttering a
magic word, he caused the room to be filled with darkness, and in the
cover of this darkness he transformed himself instantly into a black cat
exactly like the learned cat, while Serponel changed himself into a
white dog exactly like the learned dog. At the same moment he caused the
locked door to fly open.

"Now," thought he, "I will cause the cat to follow the wrong white dog,
and the dog to follow the wrong cat; we shall thus separate the animals,
and when we have lured them far away from each other, Serponel and I
will resume our true forms, and destroy these meddlesome creatures."

When the darkness cleared, the hearts of the true animals fell for fear
lest the sorcerer's ruse be successful; but they met the challenge
readily, and instead of fleeing, stood their ground; the true dog
battling with the false dog, the real cat with the false cat. Never was
such a hullaballoo heard in Fairyland. Then, seeing that he was in
danger of being badly scratched, Zidoe brought on another darkness, the
floor of the castle shook, a noise as of thunder roared and rattled
through the room. When the darkness ended, both the enchanters had been
separated and the cats were confused, the real dog was chasing the real
cat, thinking that he was following Zidoc, while Serponel, who had been
the false white dog, was pursuing Zidoc, who had been the false black
cat! Down the stairs, over the terraces and the gardens ran the true
dog, pursuing the true cat, while indoors, up and down through the rooms
and over the furniture, raced the false animals.

The poor cat, thinking he was being pursued by the wrong dog, grew short
of breath, and, hearing the snapp