The appointed time passed happily away, and one evening the White Cat
reminded the Prince that on the next day he must return home.
"Alas!" said he, "where shall I find a Princess now? The time is so
short that I cannot even look for one."
Then the White Cat told him that if only he would do as she bade him
all would be well.
"Take your sword, cut off my head and my tail, and cast them into the
flames," she said.
The Prince declared that on no account would he treat her so cruelly;
but she begged him so earnestly to do as she asked that at last he
consented.
No sooner had he cast the head and the tail into the fire than a
beautiful Princess appeared where the body of the cat had been. The
spell that had been cast upon her was broken, and at the same time
her courtiers and attendants, who had also been changed into cats,
hastened in in their proper forms again, to pay their respects to
their mistress.
The Prince at once fell deeply in love with the charming Princess, and
begged her to accompany him to his father's court as his bride.
She consented, and together they rode away. During the journey, the
Princess told her husband the story of her enchantment.
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