The next day the calf dressed her in even grander clothes than before, and she went to the church.  And the young prince was there again, and this time he put a guard at the door to keep her, but she took a hop and a run and jumped over their heads, and as she did so, down fell one of her glass slippers.  She didn’t wait to pick it up, you may be sure, but off she ran home, as fast as she could go, on with the rushen coatie, and the calf had all things ready.

Then the young prince put out a proclamation that whoever could put on the glass slipper should be his bride.  All the ladies of his court went and tried to put on the slipper.  And they tried and tried and tried, but it was too small for them all.  Then he ordered one of his ambassadors to mount a fleet horse and ride through the kingdom and find an owner for the glass shoe.  He rode and he rode to town and castle, and made all the ladies try to put on the shoe.  Many a one tried to get it on that she might be the prince’s bride.  But no, it wouldn’t do, and many a one wept, I warrant, because she couldn’t get on the bonny glass shoe.  The ambassador rode on and on till he came at the very last to the house where there were the three ugly sisters.  The first two tried it and it wouldn’t do, and the queen, mad with spite, hacked off the toes and heels of the third sister, and she could then put the slipper on, and the prince was brought to marry her, for he had to keep his promise.  The ugly sister was dressed all in her best and was put up behind the prince on horseback, and off they rode in great gallantry.  But ye all know, pride must have a fall, for as they rode along a raven sang out of a bush—­

     “Hacked Heels and Pinched Toes
      Behind the young prince rides,
      But Pretty Feet and Little Feet
      Behind the cauldron bides.”

“What’s that the birdie sings?” said the young prince.

“Nasty, lying thing,” said the step-sister, “never mind what it says.”

But the prince looked down and saw the slipper dripping with blood, so he rode back and put her down.  Then he said, “There must be some one that the slipper has not been tried on.”

“Oh, no,” said they, “there’s none but a dirty thing that sits in the kitchen nook and wears a rushen coatie.”

But the prince was determined to try it on Rushen Coatie, but she ran away to the grey stone, where the red calf dressed her in her bravest dress, and she went to the prince and the slipper jumped out of his pocket on to her foot, fitting her without any chipping or paring.  So the prince married her that very day, and they lived happy ever after.

The King o’ the Cats

One winter’s evening the sexton’s wife was sitting by the fireside with her big black cat, Old Tom, on the other side, both half asleep and waiting for the master to come home.  They waited and they waited, but still he didn’t come, till at last he came rushing in, calling out, “Who’s Tommy Tildrum?” in such a wild way that both his wife and his cat stared at him to know what was the matter.