" Next they met a herd of cattle, and again to the
King's question, "To whom do they belong?" they were told, "To the
Marquis of Carabas." And it was the same with everything they passed.
The Marquis listened with the greatest astonishment, and thought what
a very wonderful cat his dear Puss was; and the King was delighted to
find that his new friend was as wealthy as he was charming.
Meanwhile Puss, who was well in advance of the Royal party, had
arrived at a stately castle, which belonged to a cruel Ogre, the
richest ever known, for all the lands the King had admired so much
belonged to him. Puss knocked at the door and asked to see the Ogre,
who received him quite civilly, for he had never seen a cat in boots
before, and the sight amused him.
So he and Puss were soon chatting away together.
The Ogre, who was very conceited, began to boast of what clever tricks
he could play, and Puss sat and listened, with a smile on his face.
"I once heard, great Ogre," he said at last, "that you possessed the
power of changing yourself into any kind of animal you chose--a lion
or an elephant, for instance."
"Well, so I can," replied the Ogre.
"Dear me! how much I should like to see you do it now," said Puss
sweetly.
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