Despite the affection which he bore her, he
was afraid of his mother, for she came of a race of ogres, and the king
had only married her for her wealth. It was whispered at the Court that she had ogrish instincts, and that
when little children were near her she had the greatest difficulty in
the world to keep herself from pouncing on them. No wonder the prince was reluctant to say a word. But at the end of two years the king died, and the prince found himself
on the throne. He then made public announcement of his marriage, and
went in state to fetch his royal consort from her castle. With her two
children beside her she made a triumphal entry into the capital of her
husband's realm. Some time afterwards the king declared war on his neighbour, the Emperor
Cantalabutte. He appointed the queen-mother as regent in his absence,
and entrusted his wife and children to her care. [Illustration: "THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SIGHT HE HAD EVER SEEN."] He expected to be away at the war for the whole of the summer, and as
soon as he was gone the queen-mother sent her daughter-in-law and the
two children to a country mansion in the forest. This she did that
she might be able the more easily to gratify her horrible longings. A
few days later she went there herself, and in the evening summoned the
chief steward. 'For my dinner to-morrow,' she told him, 'I will eat little Dawn.' 'Oh, Madam!' exclaimed the steward. 'That is my will,' said the queen; and she spoke in the tones of an ogre
who longs for raw meat. 'You will serve her with piquant sauce,' she added. The poor man, seeing plainly that it was useless to trifle with an
ogress, took his big knife and went up to little Dawn's chamber. She was
at that time four years old, and when she came running with a smile to
greet him, flinging her arms round his neck and coaxing him to give her
some sweets, he burst into tears, and let the knife fall from his hand. Presently he went down to the yard behind the house, and slaughtered a
young lamb. For this he made so delicious a sauce that his mistress
declared she had never eaten anything so good. At the same time the steward carried little Dawn to his wife, and bade
the latter hide her in the quarters which they had below the yard. Eight days later the wicked queen summoned her steward again. 'For my supper,' she announced, 'I will eat little Day.' The steward made no answer, being determined to trick her as he had done
previously. He went in search of little Day, whom he found with a tiny
foil in his hand, making brave passes--though he was but three years
old--at a big monkey. He carried him off to his wife, who stowed him
away in hiding with little Dawn. To the ogress the steward served up, in
place of Day, a young kid so tender that she found it surpassingly
delicious. So far, so good. But there came an evening when this evil queen again
addressed the steward. 'I have a mind,' she said, 'to eat the queen with the same sauce as you
served with her children.' This time the poor steward despaired of being able to practise another
deception. The young queen was twenty years old, without counting the
hundred years she had been asleep. Her skin, though white and beautiful,
had become a little tough, and what animal could he possibly find that
would correspond to her? He made up his mind that if he would save his
own life he must kill the queen, and went upstairs to her apartment
determined to do the deed once and for all. Goading himself into a rage
he drew his knife and entered the young queen's chamber, but a
reluctance to give her no moment of grace made him repeat respectfully
the command which he had received from the queen-mother. 'Do it! do it!' she cried, baring her neck to him; 'carry out the order
you have been given! Then once more I shall see my children, my poor
children that I loved so much!' Nothing had been said to her when the children were stolen away, and she
believed them to be dead. The poor steward was overcome by compassion. 'No, no, Madam,' he
declared; 'you shall not die, but you shall certainly see your children
again. That will be in my quarters, where I have hidden them. I shall
make the queen eat a young hind in place of you, and thus trick her
once more.' Without more ado he led her to his quarters, and leaving her there to
embrace and weep over her children, proceeded to cook a hind with such
art that the queen-mother ate it for her supper with as much appetite as
if it had indeed been the young queen. The queen-mother felt well satisfied with her cruel deeds, and planned
to tell the king, on his return, that savage wolves had devoured his
consort and his children. It was her habit, however, to prowl often
about the courts and alleys of the mansion, in the hope of scenting raw
meat, and one evening she heard the little boy Day crying in a basement
cellar. The child was weeping because his mother had threatened to whip
him for some naughtiness, and she heard at the same time the voice of
Dawn begging forgiveness for her brother. The ogress recognised the voices of the queen and her children, and was
enraged to find she had been tricked. The next morning, in tones so
affrighting that all trembled, she ordered a huge vat to be brought into
the middle of the courtyard. This she filled with vipers and toads, with
snakes and serpents of every kind, intending to cast into it the queen
and her children, and the steward with his wife and serving-girl. By her
command these were brought forward, with their hands tied behind their
backs. There they were, and her minions were making ready to cast them into the
vat, when into the courtyard rode the king! Nobody had expected him so
soon, but he had travelled post-haste. Filled with amazement, he
demanded to know what this horrible spectacle meant. None dared tell
him, and at that moment the ogress, enraged at what confronted her,
threw herself head foremost into the vat, and was devoured on the
instant by the hideous creatures she had placed in it. The king could not but be sorry, for after all she was his mother; but
it was not long before he found ample consolation in his beautiful wife
and children. [Illustration: "ALL THAT REMAINED FOR THE YOUNGEST WAS THE CAT."] PUSS IN BOOTS


A certain miller had three sons, and when he died the sole worldly goods
which he bequeathed to them were his mill, his ass, and his cat. This
little legacy was very quickly divided up, and you may be quite sure
that neither notary nor attorney were called in to help, for they would
speedily have grabbed it all for themselves. The eldest son took the mill, and the second son took the ass. Consequently all that remained for the youngest son was the cat, and he
was not a little disappointed at receiving such a miserable portion. 'My brothers,' said he, 'will be able to get a decent living by joining
forces, but for my part, as soon as I have eaten my cat and made a muff
out of his skin, I am bound to die of hunger.'