The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1904-12-22
said the Green Ry:, ''and then you can

bdlu lue Nicel NY, anu tuen you can
color the cats eyes green"
"They will need bit of yellow,
ALSO" remarked the Yellow Ryl. II
must fetch some of the yellow that I
use to color my buttercups and golden.
rods with"
1.-The real cat is black" said the
Black Ryl. II will bring some Of the
black that use to color the eyes Of
my pansies with, and then you can
paint your wooden cat black
Il see you have blue ribbon around
Blinkie's neck" added the Blue Ryl
II will get some of the color that I
use to paint the bluebells and forget
menots with, and then you can carve
a wooden ribbon on the toy cats neck
and paint it blue"
So the Ryls disappeared, and by the
time Claus had finished carving out the
form Of the cat they were all back
with the paints and brushes.
They made Blinkie sit upon the
table, that Claus might paint the toy
cat just the right color. and when the
work was done the Ryls declared it
was exactly as good as live cat.
THAT is, to all appearances" added
the Red Ryl.
Blink1e seemed little offended b.
the attention bestowed upon the toy,
and that she might not seem to ap-
prove the imitation cat she walked to
the corner of the hearth and sat down
with dignified air.
But Claus was delighted, and as soon
as morning came he started out and
tramped through the snow, across the
Valley and the plain, until he came to
village. There, in a poor hut near
the walls OF the beautiful palace Of
the Lord of Lerd, little girl lay upon
wretched cot, moaning with pain.
Claus approached the child and
kissed'Aer and comforted her, and then
he drew the toy cat from beneath his
coat, where he had hidden it, and
placed it in her arms
All, how well he felt himself repaid
for his labor and his long walk when
he saw the little ones eyes grow bright
with pleasure! She Rugged the kitty
tight to her breast. as if it had been
precious gem, and would not let it go
for single moment. The fever was
qu1eted, the pain grew less. and sh4
fell into sweet and refreshing sleep.
Claus laughed and whistled and sans
all the way home. Never had he been
so happy as on that day.
When he entered his house he found
Shiegra, the lioness awaiting him.
Since his babyhood Shiegra had loved
Claus, and while he dwelt in the For
est she had often come to visit him at
Needles bower. After Claus had gone
to live in the Laughing Valley, Shiegra
became lonely and i'll at ease, and now
she had braved the snowdrifts, which
all lions abhor, to see him once more
Shiegra was getting old and her teeth
were beginning to fall out, while the
hairs that tipped her ears and tail had
changed from tawny yellow to white
Claus found her lying on his hearth,
and he put his arms around the neck
of the lioness and Rugged her lovingly.
The cat had retired into a corner She
did not care to associate with Shiegra
Claus told his old friend about the
Law
ure they had given Weekum and the
sick girl. Shiegra did not know much
about children Indeed, if she met a
child she could scarcely be trusted not
to devour it. But she was interested
in Claus new labors, and said:
These images seem to me very at
tractive. Yet cannot see why you
should make cats, which are very I'M
important animals Suppose, now that
am here, you make the image Of a
lioness, the Queen of all beasts. Then,
indeed, your children will be happy
and safe at the same timer
Claus thought this was good sug-
gestion. So he got piece of wood and
sharpened his knife, while Shiegra
crouched upon the hearth at his feet.
With much care he carved the head in
the likeness Of the lioness, even to the
two fierce teeth that curved over her
lower lip and the deep, frowning lines
above her wide open eyes.