you shall see;” and at the same instant he changed himself into a mouse, and began to frisk about the room.  The cat no sooner cast his eyes upon the Ogre in this form, than he sprang upon him and devoured him in an instant.  In the meantime the king, admiring as he came near it, the magnificent castle of the Ogre, ordered his attendants to drive up to the gates, as he wished to take a nearer view of it.  The cat, hearing the noise of the carriage on the drawbridge, immediately came out, saying:  “Your majesty is welcome to the castle of my lord marquis of Carabas.”  “And is this splendid castle yours also, my lord marquis of Carabas?  I never saw anything more stately than the building, or more beautiful than the park and pleasure grounds around it; no doubt the castle is no less magnificent within than without:  pray, my lord marquis, indulge me with a sight of it.”

The marquis gave his hand to the young princess as she alighted, and followed the king who went before; they entered a spacious hall, where they found a splendid collation which the Ogre had prepared for some friends he had that day expected to visit him; but who, hearing that the king with the princess and a great gentleman of the court were within, had not dared to enter.  The king was so much charmed with the amiable qualities and noble fortune of the marquis of Carabas, and the young princess too had fallen so violently in love with him, that when the king had partaken of the collation, and drunk a few glasses of wine, he said to the marquis:  “It will be you own fault, my lord marquis of Carabas, if you do not soon become my son-in-law.”  The marquis received the intelligence with a thousand respectful acknowledgments, accepted the honour conferred upon him, and married the princess that very day.  The cat became a great lord, and never after ran after rats and mice but for his amusement.

CHAPTER XVI

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE WOOD

Once upon a time there was a king and a queen who grieved sorely that they had no children.  When at last the queen gave birth to a daughter the king was so overjoyed that he gave a great christening feast, the like of which had never before been known.  He asked all the fairies in the land—­there were seven all told—­to stand godmothers to the little princess, hoping that each might give her a gift, and so she should have all imaginable perfections.

After the christening, all the company returned to the palace, where a great feast had been spread for the fairy godmothers.  Before each was set a magnificent plate, with a gold knife and a gold fork studded with diamonds and rubies.  Just as they were seating themselves, however, there entered an old fairy who had not been invited because more than fifty years ago she had shut herself up in a tower and it was supposed that she was either dead or enchanted.