ghtful news to the young man, who instantly bought some
meat for the falcon, bidding him make a good meal.

'To-morrow,' said he, 'you will fly to the palace where the ogre lies,
and while he is asleep you will search all about him for a stone on
which is engraved strange signs; this you will bring to me. In three
days I shall expect you back here.'

'Well, I must take the cat with me,' answered the bird.

The sun had not yet risen before the falcon soared high into the air,
the cat seated on his back, with his paws tightly clasping the bird's
neck.

'You had better shut your eyes or you may get giddy,' said the bird;
and the cat, you had never before been off the ground except to climb a
tree, did as she was bid.

All that day and all that night they flew, and in the morning they saw
the ogre's palace lying beneath them.

'Dear me,' said the cat, opening her eyes for the first time, 'that
looks to me very like a rat city down there, let us go down to it; they
may be able to help us.' So they alighted in some bushes in the heart
of the rat city. The falcon remained where he was, but the cat lay down
outside the principal gate, causing terrible excitement among the rats.

At length, seeing she did not move, one bolder than the rest put its
head out of an upper window of the castle, and said, in a trembling
voice:

'Why have you come here? What do you want? If it is anything in our
power, tell us, and we will do it.'

'If you would have let me speak to you before, I would have told you
that I come as a friend,' replied the cat; 'and I shall be greatly
obliged if you would send four of the strongest and cunningest among
you, to do me a service.'

'Oh, we shall be delighted,' answered the rat, much relieved. 'But if
you will inform me what it is you wish them to do I shall be better able
to judge who is most fitted for the post.'

'I thank you,' said the cat. 'Well, what they have to do is this:
To-night they must burrow under the walls of the castle and go up to
the room were an ogre lies asleep. Somewhere about him he has hidden a
stone, on which are engraved strange signs. When they have found it they
must take it from him without his waking, and bring it to me.'

'Your orders shall be obeyed,' replied the rat. And he went out to give
his instructions.

About midnight the cat, who was still sleeping before the gate, was
awakened by some water flung at her by the head rat, who could not make
up his mind t