_From the humblest beginnings one may rise to the highest position
by enterprise and good fortune._
Things were going very well with Puss and his master. The king was
delighted, the princess was blushing, and the young master was
looking very handsome, while Puss ran on ahead of the carriage.
Puss came to a field where laborers were mowing grass.
“Some men are coming and you must tell them this field belongs to
the Marquis of Carabas, or you will be ground into mince meat,”
said Puss and ran on down the road. Soon the king came by and asked:
“Who owns this fine land?” The men were so terrified that they
spoke right off:
“The Marquis of Carabas, sir,” and went on with their work.
Puss soon came to some reapers and said: “You must tell everybody
that this grain belongs to the Marquis of Carabas, or you will
be ground into mince meat.” So when the king came by and asked:
“Whose grain is this?” they answered very promptly: “The Marquis of
Carabas, sir,” and went on with their work.
“The Marquis must be a rich man to own all this land,” said the
king; but the young master said nothing, for he was looking at the
princess and wondering if she would ever marry him.
Puss ran on ahead and came to the castle of the real owner of the
land. He was a monster of whom every one was afraid, but Puss went
on in to see him and spoke up boldly:
“I have heard that you can change yourself into any animal, and
that you can be a lion or a tiger if you wish to.”
“Certainly I can,” said the monster, and at once became a lion,
and roared so loud that Puss jumped on to the back of a chair and
arched his back in spite of himself.
The monster came back to his own shape and laughed very loud. “Now
watch me become a tiger,” said he; and at once he became a tiger,
that showed his teeth and growled deep down in his throat.
When he came back to his own shape again, Puss said:
“I see you can become large beasts, but I doubt if you can become a
little one, such as a mouse, for instance.”
“I can do that, too,” replied the monster, and at once became a
mouse running around the floor. Puss leaped down from the chair,
jumped on the mouse, and ate it up in a twinkling!
Just at that time the king’s carriage drove up.
“Welcome to the castle of the Marquis of Carabas,” cried Puss. They
all came in, and the young master, seeing how things were, led the
princess to the best seat in the house and kissed her right before
the king himself. She seemed well pleased, and it was not long
before she was living in the castle with the Marquis, and I think
they are there to this very day.