d it was not much lessened when the old
Fairy (for it was the princess's aunt), stroking her again, thanked
her for the good lesson she had taught her niece. What a strange old
lady; thought Friskarina, what can she possibly mean?

Meanwhile, the princess had been looking out of the window, and
perceived her fairy aunt, with a little secret consternation, for she
was rather afraid of her; however, she hastened down stairs to receive
her, wondering all the time what she could be come for.

'So, niece!' was the old lady's salutation, 'I find you have been
indebted to your cat for the best lesson you have had for this many a
day.'

The princess stooped down to kiss the fairy's hand. 'It is too true,
indeed, dear aunt;' she replied, 'but I hope it is a lesson which I
shall be the better for as long as I live. I blush to think that I
should have been so long insensible to the wants and miseries of the
poor people who were dwelling so near me, till, as you say, my little
cat's example taught me how selfish and unfeeling I had been.'

'It is well for you, niece,' said the fairy, 'that you visited the
poor old woman's cottage yesterday, and took her what was needful to
supply her wants; for you little thought,' added the old woman,
laughing rather maliciously, 'that the poor miserable cat, who was
sitting behind the door, was your old aunt. I say, it was lucky for
you that you bethought yourself at last of your duty; or, I promise
you, the last should have been your very last night in your
palace--_that_ it should,' she continued with increasing vehemence,
striking her stick on the ground till the walk rang again. 'Let me
find things _very_ different when I pay you my next visit!' And with
these words, waving her ebony wand in the air, the fairy vanished; and
the princess found that her own fine dress had disappeared too, and
that a gown of plain gray cloth had taken its place.

But only imagine her consternation when she went into the palace! All
the gay things were gone out of the drawing-room; the thick velvet
curtains no longer hung from the windows--there were no soft easy
chairs--no pretty ornaments; her beautiful silver nautilus-shell, with
its pale blue satin curtains, was gone also; and in its place, there
was a plain little bed, with brown stuff furniture, so exceedingly
ugly and dismal, that the princess declared to herself she should
never be able to get a wink of sleep in it. In short, all her favorite
apartm