Every place had cats, and there were so many of
them that new-born kittens were generally drowned in the ponds. At last he sailed over to an island, and it luckily happened that no
cats had ever yet been seen there, and that the mice had got the upper
hand so much that they danced upon the tables and benches whether the
master were at home or not. The people complained bitterly of the
plague; the King himself in his palace did not know how to secure
himself against them; mice squeaked in every corner, and gnawed
whatever they could lay hold of with their teeth. But now the cat began
her chase, and soon cleared a couple of rooms, and the people begged
the King to buy the wonderful beast for the country. The King willingly
gave what was asked, which was a mule laden with gold, and the third
brother came home with the greatest treasure of all. The cat made herself merry with the mice in the royal palace, and
killed so many that they could not be counted. At last she grew warm
with the work and thirsty, so she stood still, lifted up her head and
cried, “Mew. Mew!” When they heard this strange cry, the King and all
his people were frightened, and in their terror ran all at once out of
the palace. Then the King took counsel what was best to be done; at
last it was determined to send a herald to the cat, and demand that she
should leave the palace, or if not, she was to expect that force would
be used against her. The councillors said, “Rather will we let
ourselves be plagued with the mice, for to that misfortune we are
accustomed, than give up our lives to such a monster as this.” A noble
youth, therefore, was sent to ask the cat “whether she would peaceably
quit the castle?” But the cat, whose thirst had become still greater,
merely answered, “Mew! Mew!” The youth understood her to say, “Most
certainly not! most certainly not!” and took this answer to the King. “Then,” said the councillors, “she shall yield to force.” Cannon were
brought out, and the palace was soon in flames. When the fire reached
the room where the cat was sitting, she sprang safely out of the
window; but the besiegers did not leave off until the whole palace was
shot down to the ground. 71 How Six Men Got on in the World

There was once a man who understood all kinds of arts; he served in
war, and behaved well and bravely, but when the war was over he
received his dismissal, and three farthings for his expenses on the
way. “Stop,” said he, “I shall not be content with this. If I can only
meet with the right people, the King will yet have to give me all the
treasure of the country.” Then full of anger he went into the forest,
and saw a man standing therein who had plucked up six trees as if they
were blades of corn. He said to him, “Wilt thou be my servant and go
with me?” “Yes,” he answered, “but, first, I will take this little
bundle of sticks home to my mother,” and he took one of the trees, and
wrapped it round the five others, lifted the bundle on his back, and
carried it away. Then he returned and went with his master, who said,
“We two ought to be able to get through the world very well,” and when
they had walked on for a short while they found a huntsman who was
kneeling, had shouldered his gun, and was about to fire. The master
said to him, “Huntsman, what art thou going to shoot?” He answered,
“Two miles from here a fly is sitting on the branch of an oak-tree, and
I want to shoot its left eye out.” “Oh, come with me,” said the man,
“if we three are together, we certainly ought to be able to get on in
the world!” The huntsman was ready, and went with him, and they came to
seven windmills whose sails were turning round with great speed, and
yet no wind was blowing either on the right or the left, and no leaf
was stirring. Then said the man, “I know not what is driving the
windmills, not a breath of air is stirring,” and he went onwards with
his servants, and when they had walked two miles they saw a man sitting
on a tree who was shutting one nostril, and blowing out of the other. “Good gracious! what are you doing up there?” He answered, “Two miles
from here are seven windmills; look, I am blowing them till they turn
round.” “Oh, come with me,” said the man. “If we four are together, we
shall carry the whole world before us!” Then the blower came down and
went with him, and after a while they saw a man who was standing on one
leg and had taken off the other, and laid it beside him. Then the
master said, “You have arranged things very comfortably to have a
rest.” “I am a runner,” he replied, “and to stop myself running far too
fast, I have taken off one of my legs, for if I run with both, I go
quicker than any bird can fly.” “Oh, go with me. If we five are
together, we shall carry the whole world before us.” So he went with
them, and it was not long before they met a man who wore a cap, but had
put it quite on one ear. Then the master said to him, “Gracefully,
gracefully, don’t stick your cap on one ear, you look just like a
tom-fool!” “I must not wear it otherwise,” said he, “for if I set my
hat straight, a terrible frost comes on, and all the birds in the air
are frozen, and drop dead on the ground.” “Oh, come with me,” said the
master. “If we six are together, we can carry the whole world before
us.”

Now the six came to a town where the King had proclaimed that whosoever
ran a race with his daughter and won the victory, should be her
husband, but whosoever lost it, must lose his head. Then the man
presented himself and said, “I will, however, let my servant run for
me.” The King replied, “Then his life also must be staked, so that his
head and thine are both set on the victory.” When that was settled and
made secure, the man buckled the other leg on the runner, and said to
him, “Now be nimble, and help us to win.” It was fixed that the one who
was first to bring some water from a far distant well was to be the
victor. The runner received a pitcher, and the King’s daughter one too,
and they began to run at the same time, but in an instant, when the
King’s daughter had got a very little way, the people who were looking
on could see no more of the runner, and it was just as if the wind had
whistled by. In a short time he reached the well, filled his pitcher
with water, and turned back. Half-way home, however, he was overcome
with fatigue, and set his pitcher down, lay down himself, and fell
asleep. He had, however, made a pillow of a horse’s skull which was
lying on the ground, in order that he might lie uncomfortably, and soon
wake up again. In the meantime the King’s daughter, who could also run
very well quite as well as any ordinary mortal can had reached the
well, and was hurrying back with her pitcher full of water, and when
she saw the runner lying there asleep, she was glad and said, “My enemy
is delivered over into my hands,” emptied his pitcher, and ran on.