little sir cat takes a farewell look at the castle
once upon a time i promised to tell a little boy how little sir cat caught the knave of hearts who had run away with the queen's tarts.
well, sir! that knave had run only about half way across the courtyard when little sir cat pounced on him as if he were a mouse, and his highness, the knave of hearts, stopped right then and there, but he spilt the tarts all over the ground. wasn't that a shame?
this made the king dreadfully angry, and he "beat the knave full sore," as the rhyme goes in dear "old mother goose," and if you don't believe me, just get the book and see for yourself. "now ask me a favor, and it shall be granted," said the queen who had asked little sir cat to come into the castle and sit on the throne by her side.
"tell me where i may find my fortune," answered little sir cat.
"ah!" cried the queen, "that is not so easy. for each of us must make his own fortune. but i will help you," and she called for her old seneschal.
"he will not find it on tart island," said the old retainer. "mayhap in mother goose island he will find it."
so pretty soon, not so very long, little sir cat left the big castle, and by-and-by he came to an old willow tree by a pond. and who do you think he saw? why, little mrs. oriole sitting close beside her nest that hung like a big white stocking from the branch. as soon as she saw little sir cat she began to sing, and all her little birds peeped out of the nest, but they didn't say anything, for they had never met him before. "children, this is sir cat. i knew him when he lived in a castle," said mrs. oriole.
well, after that, he went in to the farmyard, for it was noontime, and he was hungry, and knocked on the kitchen door. just then the cuckoo clock in the kitchen sounded the hour of noon, and the farmer's wife looked out of the window to see if her man was coming through the gate, when, of course, she spied little sir cat.
"dinner is ready. come in, kitten!" so he stepped into the neat, clean kitchen, and as soon as the good woman had put on a clean apron, they sat down to supper. by-and-by the cuckoo came out of her little clock and said: "time for kittens to be in bed," and the twinkle, twinkle star shone through the window, and sang a little lullaby:
"sleep, little pussy cat, sleep.
the little white clouds are like sheep
that play all the night while the moon's shining bright.
sleep, little pussy cat, sleep."
and in the next story you will find what little sir cat did when he woke up in the morning.
