{"collection":"folklore-oral-tradition","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_32095/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_32095","id":"gutenberg_32095","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32095","summary":null,"tags":["Animals -- Juvenile fiction","Category: Adventure","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Novels","Cats -- Juvenile fiction","Fairy tales"],"text":"Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n    _Little Puss Boots, hat in paw\n       Bowed as Miss Pussy opened the door.\n     \"Glad to see you,\" she purred. \"Come in!\n       My little house is as neat as a pin!\"_\n\n[Illustration]\n\n    _\"Robinson Crusoe, how do you do!\"\n       As a strangely dressed man came into view,\n     Cried little Puss Junior, raising his paw,\n       As he stood 'neath a palm tree by the shore._\n\n[Illustration]\n\n    _A frog among some rushes dwelt;\n       A bachelor was he.\n     No frog was ever so polite\n       Or such a beau as he._\n\n[Illustration]\n\n    _\"This makes a fine table I'd have you know,\"\n       Laughed Puss to Fairy Little Tiptoe.\n     \"We might all dine here on fairy cake,\n       Unless you fear the toadstool break.\"_\n\n\n\n\nTHE ADVENTURES OF PUSS IN BOOTS, JR.\n\n[Illustration: THE KNAVE OF HEARTS RUNS AWAY WITH THE TARTS.\n_Frontispiece._]\n\n\n\n\n    THE ADVENTURES OF\n    PUSS IN BOOTS, JR.\n\n    BY\n    DAVID CORY\n\n    AUTHOR OF\n\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT BOOKS,\n    LITTLE JOURNEYS TO HAPPYLAND,\n    PUSS IN BOOTS BOOKS, Etc.\n\n    [Illustration]\n\n    PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED\n\n    GROSSET & DUNLAP\n    PUBLISHERS    NEW YORK\n\n    Made in the United States of America\n\n\n\n\n    ADVENTURES OF PUSS IN BOOTS, JR.\n\n    Copyright, 1917, by Harper & Brothers\n    Printed in the United States of America\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                           PAGE\n\n    PUSS IN BOOTS, JR., BEGINS HIS TRAVELS               9\n\n    A VISIT TO PIGGIE'S MAMMA                           13\n\n    PUSS SEES THE COW JUMP OVER THE MOON                16\n\n    PUSS MEETS YANKEE DOODLE DANDY                      21\n\n    PUSS SINGS A SONG AND HELPS A BEGGAR                25\n\n    PUSS FOLLOWS WEE WILLIE WINKIE                      31\n\n    PUSS, JR., MEETS THREE JOLLY WELSHMEN AND THE\n    QUEEN OF HEARTS                                     35\n\n    PUSS LEARNS WHERE HIS FATHER IS AND RECEIVES\n    A TART FROM THE QUEEN                               40\n\n    PUSS CROSSES A WONDERFUL BRIDGE                     43\n\n    PUSS IN BOOTS, JR., VISITS THE OLD WOMAN IN THE\n    SHOE                                                45\n\n    PUSS, JR., JOINS THE CIRCUS                         51\n\n    PUSS, JR., PROVES TO BE A WONDERFUL CIRCUS\n    PERFORMER                                           54\n\n    A TERRIBLE FIGHT STOPPED BY USING PLUM-CAKE         57\n\n    PUSS, JR., MEETS ANOTHER CAT AND MORALIZES ON\n    CONTENTMENT                                         60\n\n    PUSS MEETS MOTHER GOOSE                             63\n\n    TRIPPING WITH THE STARS                             66\n\n    PUSS FINDS ADVENTURE AT THE TOP OF JACK'S\n    FAMOUS BEAN-STALK                                   69\n\n    PUSS DISCOVERS WHERE JACK IS HIDING                 74\n\n    PUSS AND JACK MAKE A BOLD RESCUE                    77\n\n    PUSS, JR., MEETS MR. ROWLEY FROG                    80\n\n    PUSS IS HEARTILY WELCOMED BY JACK THE JUMPER        83\n\n    OLD KING COLE'S FIDDLERS ARE RATHER RUDE TO\n    PUSS                                                86\n\n    THE MILLER OF THE DEE                               88\n\n    PUSS, JR., RENDERS A MOTHER AID                     93\n\n    THE MILKMAN'S HORSE, OLD NAGGETTY NOGG              96\n\n    WHO IS A MAN'S MOST FAITHFUL FRIEND?                99\n\n    PUSS BUYS A PAIR OF BOOTS MADE FOR HIS FAMOUS\n    SIRE                                               102\n\n    PUSS MEETS A MODEST MENDING MAN AND A JOLLY\n    MILLER                                             105\n\n    PUSS OVERHEARS A PROPOSAL AND IS INVITED TO A\n    WEDDING                                            110\n\n    PUSS AND SEVERAL ACQUAINTANCES JOURNEY TO THE\n    WEDDING                                            113\n\n    THE GUESTS ARRIVE SAFELY AT THE WEDDING            116\n\n    PUSS IS WELCOMED AT THE WEDDING                    119\n\n    THE BRIDE RECEIVES SOME HANDSOME PRESENTS          122\n\n    PUSS MAKES A NEW FRIEND AND GAINS A STEED          125\n\n    PUSS MEETS A HUNTER AND THEY BOTH LEARN THAT\n    THE OWL IS A USEFUL BIRD                           130\n\n    PUSS GOES ON A SHOPPING TRIP TO MAKE A LITTLE\n    MAID HAPPY                                         133\n\n    PUSS CONVERSES WITH AN INTELLIGENT GRAY\n    DONKEY                                             136\n\n    PUSS MEETS A HAPPY FARMER BUT MISSES A GOOD\n    MEAL                                               139\n\n    PUSS HELPS A STRANGER CATCH A RUNAWAY PIG          142\n\n    PUSS HELPS A LITTLE BOY WHO IS IN TROUBLE          147\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n    PUSS, JR., TRUDGED ALONG BRAVELY               Page 17\n\n    \"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BUY WITH THE\n    MONEY?\" PUSS ASKED                               \"  27\n\n    PUSS JOINED IN THE CHASE TO HELP THE QUEEN       \"  37\n\n    OUT ON A LIMB, FROM WHICH HE DANGLED HIS\n    RED-TOPPED BOOTS                                 \"  47\n\n    \"GOOD MORNING, MA'AM,\" SAID HE, LIFTING\n    HIS CAP POLITELY                                 \"  71\n\n    \"AREN'T WE GREAT FRIENDS?\" ASKED THE\n    MILLER                                           \"  89\n\n    \"IF I'D AS MUCH MONEY AS I COULD SPEND\"          \" 107\n\n    \"I GUESS YOU ARE RIGHT, MY GOOD SIR,\" SAID\n    PUSS                                             \" 127\n\n    \"TO MARKET, TO MARKET, TO BUY A FAT PIG\"         \" 143\n\n\n\n\nTHE ADVENTURES OF PUSS IN BOOTS, JR.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS IN BOOTS, JR., BEGINS HIS TRAVELS\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPuss had made a great discovery in the garret. It seems strange that he\nshould have found something more important than a rat or mouse, but he\nhad. From the moment he had seen the picture-book he was a changed cat!\n\n\"Yes,\" he said, holding it a little to one side, so that the light from\nthe small attic window would show the picture more distinctly, \"this is\ncertainly a portrait of my father.\"\n\nIt was the story of \"Puss in Boots,\" and on the cover was a beautiful\npicture of a cat wearing a magnificent pair of boots with shiny red\ntops. Puss sat down and opened the book. The further he read the more\nexcited he became. When he had finished he jumped up and, proudly\nlooking at the portrait of his handsome father, he exclaimed, with\nflashing eyes, \"From to-day I shall call myself 'Puss in Boots, Junior';\nI shall go forth in search of adventure, just as my father did, and I\nshall not rest until I have found him!\"\n\nHe looked around to see if he could find a pair of boots like those in\nthe picture.\n\nTo his delight he saw in a corner the very pair he wanted, and they had\nred tops, too. He slipped them on and looked at himself in an old\ncracked mirror which stood against the wall.\n\nOn a peg near by hung a cap, dusty, but not a bit shabby or worn.\nPlacing it on his head, he hunted around until he found an old cane with\na bent handle. \"There's a cane in the picture--I suppose they called it\na staff in those days; at any rate, I'm now complete; I'm a real Puss in\nBoots, Junior!\" and with these words he scampered down the stairs as\nfast as he dared, not yet being used to his new-found boots.\n\n\"Hurray!\" he cried, as he reached the front door, and he took a hop,\nskip, and jump across the piazza, holding his tail gracefully in his\nleft paw. \"Hurray!\"\n\nDown the steps he skipped, two at a time, down the walk to the gate, his\nheels clattering on the stone pavement, rat-a-tat-tat, like a\ncavalryman. The road was dusty, but he went along gaily, the sun shining\non the bright-red tops of his boots, making him very proud indeed.\n\nHe hadn't gone very far when he heard a funny little squeak, and,\nlooking to the side of the road from which the sound came, he saw a\nsmall pig stuck between two boards in the fence.\n\n\"Squeak, squeak! Oh, help me out!\" cried Piggie.\n\nPuss in Boots, Jr., ran up and, with the help of his cane, pried the\nboards apart so that the little pig could just squeeze himself through.\n\"Squeak, squeak! Oh, thank you!\" cried the little fellow. \"I wish I\ncould do something to repay you!\"\n\n\"You can,\" replied Puss, Jr., who had by this time grown very hungry, \"I\nwould like something to eat.\"\n\n\"Come with me,\" said Piggie. \"Mother always gets some milk from the\ndairymaid about this time. Come.\" And he took Puss, Jr., by the front\npaw and started to run across the field.\n\n\"Hold on! I mean, let go!\" cried Puss in Boots, Jr. \"How do you know\nyour mother will want visitors for lunch?\"\n\n\"She'll be only too delighted, especially when she knows how you pulled\nme out of the fence. You're not bashful, are you?\"\n\n\"No-o-o!\" replied Puss, Jr., \"but you see I've never lunched with pigs\nbefore!\"\n\n\"Oh, don't let that worry you,\" replied his little friend, who seemed to\nbe pretty sure of himself for so small a pig. \"Come along!\"\n\nAnd Puss did.\n\n\n\n\nA VISIT TO PIGGIE'S MAMMA\n\n\nPuss, Jr., followed his friend the little pig, whom he had so\nfortunately rescued from between the fence boards, across the field and\ninto the woods. Indeed, he was so hungry by this time that he felt he\nwould be brave enough to follow a lion. Just then he heard some one\nsinging in a high, squeaky voice:\n\n    \"This little Pig went to market,\n     This little Pig stayed at home,\n     This little Pig had roast beef,\n     This little Pig had none,\n     This little Pig cried, 'Wee, wee, wee!'\n     All the way home.\"\n\n\"That's mother,\" replied the little pig in answer to an inquiring look\nfrom Puss, Jr. \"She always sings that when any of us is naughty. You\nsee,\" he added, apologetically, \"I should not have tried to get through\nthe fence and out on the road.\"\n\n\"Oh, I understand,\" replied Puss, Jr. \"Is that your house?\"\n\n\"Yes, and there's mother.\"\n\nPuss, Jr., saw a very nice-looking lady pig standing in the doorway of a\nqueer little cabin. She had on a blue gingham apron over a short skirt\nof gray, and a very tight-fitting shirt-waist, which was stretched\nalmost to the bursting-point as she raised her right forefoot to shade\nher eyes.\n\n\"Well, here you are at last!\" she exclaimed to Piggie. \"But look at your\ntrousers; you've torn a big hole in them!\"\n\nHe looked ruefully at the rent in his little blue jeans. \"I got stuck in\nthe fence,\" he whimpered.\n\n\"He'd be there yet if I hadn't pulled him out,\" volunteered Puss, Jr.,\nhoping to divert her attention from his little friend.\n\nMrs. Porker, for that was her name, turned and looked at him, as much as\nto say, \"Where did you come from?\" but she didn't; she only very\npolitely remarked: \"Thank you for helping Piggie. I'm sorry to say he\ndoes not always mind mother. But come, you both are hungry, I know.\" And\nshe led the way into the cabin.\n\nAt a round table in the room two little pigs were already eating their\ndinner. \"What is your name?\" asked Mrs. Porker in a kindly tone, pushing\na chair up next to hers for Puss.\n\n\"Puss in Boots, Junior, madam,\" he replied, with a polite bow.\n\n\"This is Wiggie and this is Tiggie,\" said their mother, and the two\nsmall pigs got up and shook hands with him.\n\nThey had a merry lunch, and he was surprised to see how clean and well\nbehaved the Porker family was.\n\n\"You know,\" said Mrs. Porker, as if reading his thoughts, \"that pigs are\nreally the cleanest of animals, only man is so cruel to pigs--he shuts\nthem up in small pens and makes them appear quite the opposite. Just\nread the books about us and you will see. Yes,\" she continued, \"when\npigs are allowed to run around they are clean as they can be; only when\nthey are little they are often most disobedient.\" And she looked at\nPiggie, who got very red in the face.\n\n\"I don't believe he'll disobey again,\" answered Puss, Jr. \"You have such\na nice playground here in the woods I shouldn't think he would want to\nrun away to that dusty road again; just look at my boots.\" And he thrust\nhis foot out and showed the bright-red tops all dingy with the day's\ntravel.\n\nLunch was now over, and after politely thanking Mrs. Porker for her\ngoodness Puss said good-by to the three little pigs.\n\n\"Don't forget me,\" called out Piggie as Puss, Jr., climbed over the\nfence.\n\n\"Of course I won't,\" he called back, and waved his paw to Piggie in the\ndoorway.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS SEES THE COW JUMP OVER THE MOON\n\n\nPuss, Jr., trudged along bravely for some time, but, finding it very\ndusty, he left the road and climbed over the low stone wall that\nbordered the big pasture on his right.\n\n\"It's funny to see the moon in the daytime,\" he remarked as he crossed\nthe long green meadow dotted everywhere with yellow cowslips; \"I don't\nunderstand it,\" and he looked curiously at the big, white moon which\nhung low in the skies just overhead. As he spoke, across the grass\nhopped a big silver spoon, closely followed by a dish with a blue\nborder, which rolled along over the ground at a great rate.\n\n\"Wow, wow! Ha, ha!\" laughed a little dog from the other side of the\nfence. \"Keep on rolling; you'll tire him out pretty soon.\"\n\nPuss, Jr., watched the funny race with much amusement until he was\nstartled by a voice at his side, saying, \"Glad to see you,\" and, turning\naround, he saw a small cat with a fiddle under her paw.\n\n[Illustration: PUSS, JR., TRUDGED ALONG BRAVELY]\n\n\"Hey diddle-diddle,\" she sang in a high, sweet voice, and scratched away\non the strings like a player in an orchestra.\n\n\"Tell me,\" Puss, Jr., said to her as the music stopped for a moment,\n\"why is the moon out to-day? I thought it only came out at night.\"\n\n\"Why, don't you know?\" she replied. \"It is going to let the cow jump\nover it to-day.\"\n\n\"Indeed! and when does that happen?\"\n\n\"Oh, any minute now; in fact, there she comes through the gate.\" And,\nsure enough, across the fields a beautiful black-and-white cow came\nleisurely toward them.\n\n\"Good morning,\" she exclaimed, as she neared our two friends, and,\nturning to the cat with the fiddle, she said: \"Are you ready? If you\nare, just strike up a lively tune so that I can get into step before I\ntry for my jump.\"\n\nPuss, Jr., was so interested that he forgot to ask another question, but\nstood still while the cow commenced to prance around, keeping perfect\ntime to the music.\n\n\"Faster, faster!\" she called, as she swung into a canter. \"I'm going to\nget a flying start; you know, if you get a flying start the higher you\nwill fly when you do fly.\"\n\nThis undoubtedly was true, for in a moment more she rose gracefully from\nthe ground toward the moon.\n\n\"Be careful!\" screamed the Man in the Moon, leaning out as she\napproached near enough for his voice to reach her. \"Be careful and don't\nclip off a piece with your hoof as you go over!\"\n\nShe did as he told her, and sailed over in a long, sweeping curve and\nlanded safely in a patch of clover at the other end of the field.\n\n\"Great!\" exclaimed Puss, Jr. \"You did it splendidly!\"\n\n\"Oh, that's nothing!\" she answered, although she seemed rather proud of\nher feat. \"Oh, that's nothing at all!\"\n\n\"I don't agree with you,\" he replied. \"I should think you'd be very\nproud of your feet; they're as good as wings.\"\n\nThe Jumping Cow paid no more attention to him, but munched away at the\nclover like an ordinary cow.\n\n\"She won't say another word to-day,\" whispered the cat behind her\nfiddle; \"but if you're around this way to-morrow morning and it's a nice\nday she may try another jump.\"\n\n\"I'm sorry,\" Puss, Jr., replied, \"but by that time I shall be far away\nupon my journey. Thank you just the same.\" And with these words he took\noff his hat to Miss Pussy and resumed his travels along the cool, shady\npath through the woods.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS MEETS YANKEE DOODLE DANDY\n\n\nThe broad highway was somewhat dusty and not nearly so pleasant as the\ncool, shady path through the woods. At the same time Puss felt that it\nwas leading him on toward his journey's end, and the thought that then\nhe would find his dear father made his heart beat fast with hope.\n\nHe began to whistle, when suddenly he heard the sound of hoofbeats. Then\na voice commenced singing, loudly and clearly:\n\n    \"Yankee Doodle came to town,\n       Riding on a pony;\n     He stuck a feather in his cap\n       And called it macaroni.\n\n    \"Yankee Doodle came to town,\n       Yankee Doodle dandy,\n     He stuck a feather in his cap\n       And called it sugar candy.\"\n\nDown the road came a pony at a mad gallop, and seated upon his back was\na very queer-looking person. In his cap was a long feather and in his\nright hand was a big whip. The pony was galloping along at a great rate,\nand every now and again his rider would give a tremendous whoop, like an\nIndian brave. \"Yankee Doodle Dandy!\" he yelled, and then the pony would\nstand up on his hind legs and neigh.\n\n\"Look out!\" yelled the rider, as he approached Puss. \"Don't you see you\nare in the way?\"\n\n\"Am I?\" said Puss, drawing to one side of the road.\n\n\"Well, not now,\" said the rider, drawing rein and looking at Puss with a\ngood deal of interest. \"Where's your horse?\"\n\n\"Where's my horse?\" repeated Puss, looking about as if he expected to\nfind one.\n\n\"Yes, where's your steed?\" continued the stranger.\n\n\"Haven't got any,\" said Puss. \"My two legs are all that I have to carry\nme.\"\n\n\"Get up behind me,\" said the stranger. \"My name is Yankee Doodle Dandy,\nand a Yankee is always willing to give a fellow-traveler a lift, whether\nhe be on the high seas or on the road.\"\n\n\"Thank you, my fellow-traveler,\" replied Puss, and he sprang nimbly to\nthe saddle and clung tightly to the coat-tails of Yankee Doodle Dandy.\n\n\"Git-ap!\" cried the latter, and away went the pony down the road. In a\nshort time the towers and church steeples of a town came into view.\n\nSuddenly a queer-looking figure tumbled down from the sky on to the road\njust in front of them. Yankee Doodle Dandy reined in his horse just in\ntime; otherwise he would have run over the Man in the Moon.\n\n\"Why don't you fall any other place but right in front of my horse?\"\nasked Yankee Doodle Dandy, in a stern voice.\n\n\"Couldn't help it,\" answered the Man in the Moon. \"You must remember\nit's not such an easy thing to hit the exact spot you intend to when you\njump all the way from the moon. It's almost impossible. I've even heard\nthat an aeroplane has some difficulty in dropping bombs so that they hit\nthe mark.\"\n\n\"Well, I've heard that, too,\" admitted Yankee Doodle Dandy, \"although up\nto this time Yankeeville has not suffered from any air attacks.\"\n\n\"Well, don't be too sure,\" answered the Man in the Moon. \"I've seen a\nfew things from my moon house that you never even dreamed of.\"\n\n\"Did you never hear the rhyme about the Man in the Moon?\" Puss asked,\npolitely.\n\n\"No, I never did,\" said the Man in the Moon.\n\n\"What!\" exclaimed Puss in surprise.\n\n    \"The Man in the Moon came tumbling down\n       And asked the way to Norwich;\n     He went by the south and burnt his mouth\n       With eating cold pease porridge.\"\n\n\"Ha, ha!\" laughed the Man in the Moon, \"you are joking; I'm sure you\nare,\" and he turned his footsteps toward the south.\n\n\"'He went by the south and burnt his mouth,'\" said Puss.\n\n\"We can't help it,\" said Yankee Doodle; \"he will go that way.\"\n\n\n\n\nPUSS SINGS A SONG AND HELPS A BEGGAR\n\n\nAfter he had said good-by to Yankee Doodle Dandy, Puss, Jr., had a good\ntime playing all the morning with some little boys whom he met. One of\nthe little boys got out his hobby-horse and he and Puss, Jr., took turns\ngalloping up and down the sidewalk.\n\n    \"I had a little hobby-horse,\n       And it was dapple gray;\n     Its head was made of pea straw,\n       Its tail was made of hay,\"\n\nsang his mother from the front porch. \"My little boy has had a fine\ntime,\" she said, \"but he must come in now and rest, for it is almost\nluncheon-time.\"\n\n\"And I must be going,\" said Puss, Jr., \"for I have many miles yet to\ntravel ere I find my father, Puss in Boots.\"\n\n\"You have been so kind,\" said the little boy's mother as she shook hands\nwith Puss.\n\n\"Good-by!\" cried the little boy, quite sorrowfully, waving his hat as\nPuss disappeared down the street.\n\n\"Heigh-ho!\" said Puss to himself, \"once more on my journey. I'm a\nwandering minstrel, as it were,\" and to suit his words he began to sing:\n\n    \"A wandering little cat am I,\n       Seeking father cat,\n     In my paw my trusty staff,\n       On my head my hat\n     With the magic plume the owl\n       Gave to me one day.\n     When the journey ends I'll have\n       Lots of time to play!\"\n\n\"A pussy-cat poet!\" cried a voice close at hand.\n\nPuss, Jr., started and turned. At his side stood a beggar-man.\n\n\"I'm hungry,\" said the poor fellow, \"and poets, I hear, are always\ngenerous,\" and he held out his hat for Puss to drop in a penny.\n\n\"Are they?\" inquired Puss, with a grin; he put his hand into his pocket\nand took out a sixpence. \"Here, my good man,\" he said, \"take this little\npiece of money. It is more than I will get for the song which you seem\nto admire so much.\n\n\"What are you going to buy with the money?\" he asked, after they had\nwalked along for some time. They had left the city and were now in the\ncountry.\n\n[Illustration: \"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BUY WITH THE MONEY?\" PUSS ASKED]\n\n\n\"I'm going to get some pease porridge hot,\" answered the beggar. \"I'm\ngoing to spend that sixpence in short order! I haven't had a thing to\neat since yesterday morning.\"\n\n\"I have never gone hungry so long as that,\" said Puss. \"I think I've\nbeen pretty lucky since I started out to find my father, Puss in Boots.\"\n\n\"Puss in Boots!\" exclaimed the beggar-man with surprise. \"Why, I once\nstopped at a castle where there was a most wonderful cat. He was the\nseneschal, I think, and a most intelligent animal.\"\n\n\"Where was the castle?\" asked Puss. \"I mean, in what country?\"\n\n\"I don't remember,\" replied the beggar-man. \"You see, I have begged at\nso many back doors and so many postern gates that I have them all\njumbled up together in my memory.\"\n\n\"Dear me,\" said Puss. \"Will I ever find anybody who really knows where\nmy father lives?\"\n\n    \"Pease porridge hot,\n       Pease porridge cold,\n     Pease porridge in the pot,\n       Nine days old.\"\n\nAlong the road came a man with a big white apron over his coat. In front\nof him he wheeled a little cart in which was a large pot of porridge.\n\n    \"Some like it hot,\n       Some like it cold,\n     Some like it in the pot,\n       Nine days old.\"\n\n\"Well, it won't be in that pot even nine minutes!\" cried the beggar-man.\n\"Here, my good friend,\" he cried, \"give me sixpence worth of your\nporridge, and be quick about it.\"\n\n\"Don't be in a hurry,\" said the porridge-man. \"Where's the sixpence?\"\n\n\"Here in my good right hand,\" replied the beggar-man.\n\n\"Ah!\" said the porridge-man, \"you shall have your porridge.\"\n\n\"I will also have some,\" said Puss.\n\n\"Hot or cold?\" asked the man.\n\n\"You take yours hot and I'll take mine cold,\" said the beggar-man, and\nin a few minutes the porridge was all gone.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS FOLLOWS WEE WILLIE WINKIE\n\n\nThe vesper bells were ringing as Puss, Jr., entered the great gate that\nled into the city of Babylon. Along the street the lamps were being\nlighted and their flickering gleams sent the shadows hiding in building\nand alley.\n\nPuss, however, in spite of shadows, trudged on with a brave heart,\nwaiting for an opportunity to get his supper and a comfortable place to\nsleep.\n\nSuddenly he was startled by a strange sight. A small boy in his\nnightgown came racing down the street:\n\n    \"Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town,\n     Up-stairs and down-stairs in his nightgown,\n     Rapping at the windows, crying through the lock,\n     'Are the children in their beds? It's past eight o'clock!'\"\n\n\"Wait for me!\" cried Puss, Jr., but Wee Willie Winkie did not stop. On\nhe ran, turning the next corner before Puss could overtake him. Half-way\ndown the block Puss stopped and ran up the steps of a small house.\nLifting the big brass knocker, he let it fall with a rap that soon\nbrought a maid to the door.\n\n\"Goodness me!\" she exclaimed. \"What have we here?\"\n\n\"Is anybody at home?\" said Puss, flicking the dust off the red tops of\nhis boots in a most unconcerned way, as if, indeed, he had been\naccustomed to making calls all his life.\n\nThe maid held out a little silver tray. \"I will take your card.\"\n\nPoor Puss! He didn't have any!\n\n\"But I'm Puss in Boots, Junior,\" he said, with such a lovely purr that\nthe maid opened the door wide:\n\n\"Come in, dear Puss, Junior.\"\n\nJust then Wee Willie Winkie ran down the stairs, crying: \"Are the\nchildren in their beds? It's past eight o'clock.\" Closing the front\ndoor, he whispered through the keyhole, \"Are the children in their\nbeds?\" And before he reached the sidewalk he turned back and, rapping on\nthe window, cried, \"It's past eight o'clock!\"\n\n\"Little kittens don't need Wee Willie Winkie, I guess,\" said the maid,\ntickling Puss, Jr.'s, head.\n\n    \"Hush-a-bye, baby, lie still with thy daddy;\n       Thy mammy has gone to the mill\n     To get some meal to bake a cake,\n       So pray, my dear baby, lie still.\"\n\nThe lullaby made Puss, Jr., sleepy, for the man's voice was low and\ntender, and Puss was very tired.\n\nIn a sleepy voice he asked, \"And has the mother gone to the mill to get\nthe meal for the cake?\"\n\n\"Indeed she has,\" replied the maid.\n\nAfter this she went into the kitchen. Puss gazed about him for a while\nand then dropped off to sleep, hearing the drowsy voice of the man\nup-stairs singing:\n\n    \"Hush-a-bye, baby, lie still with thy daddy.\"\n\nAll was very quiet. \"Tick-tock, tick-tock,\" said the big clock, and a\nmouse peeped out of his hole and laughed to himself when he saw Puss\nfast asleep. He tiptoed over to the red-topped boots that had fallen off\nPuss, Jr.'s, tired little feet, and even crawled inside. Perhaps he\nwanted to tell his father how brave he had been to go inside a big cat's\nhigh-top boots while the owner snored close by. Presently he ran over to\nthe hole in the wall. I imagine it did not take him long to tell his\nstory, for in a few minutes three little mice crept out and tiptoed over\nto where Puss lay sleeping so soundly.\n\n\"Did you ever see any nicer boots than these?\"\n\nMr. Mouse put on a very wise expression.\n\n\"They are certainly a very fine pair of boots,\" said he, \"and they have\nthe mark of a royal cobbler.\"\n\n\"Gracious me! how interesting!\" cried Mrs. Mouse; \"let me take a\nlook.\" And she inspected Puss, Jr.'s, footwear with much interest.\n\"Beautifully made,\" she said. \"This must be a royal cat, for otherwise\nwhy should he have a royal cobbler?\"\n\n\"I only hope he is not a royal mouser,\" replied Mr. Mouse, \"and I think,\nnow that we have seen all we have, we had better return, for who knows\nwhen he may awake?\"\n\nSo they scampered off, leaving Puss, Jr., still sound asleep.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS, JR., MEETS THREE JOLLY WELSHMEN AND THE QUEEN OF HEARTS\n\n\nAs Puss, Jr., staff in hand, wandered down the green hills to the\nlowlands, he came to a sandy beach, and there stood three jolly Welshmen\nlooking toward the sea:\n\n    One said it was a ship,\n      The other he said \"Nay,\"\n    The third one said it was a house\n      With the chimney blown away.\n\n\"It's nothing of the sort,\" cried Puss, Jr., jumping nimbly about, \"it's\nnothing of the sort.\"\n\n\"Perhaps it's a submarine,\" suggested one of the three jolly Welshmen,\nwalking over to inspect the little craft.\n\n\"Wrong again,\" tooted a little owl who was perched upon a tree close by.\n\n\"It looks like a cheese,\" suggested the smallest of the three jolly\nWelshmen.\n\n\"Nonsense,\" answered Puss, Jr. \"Who ever heard of a person sailing about\nin a cheese?\"\n\n\"Well, I didn't mean a Swiss cheese,\" replied the Welshman who up to\nthis time had said nothing. \"Swiss cheeses are full of holes. I guess\nthey wouldn't float very long.\"\n\n\"This boat has a big crack in it,\" said Puss. \"Just look and see for\nyourself.\"\n\n\"Crackers and cheese!\" laughed one of the three jolly Welshmen. \"How do\nyou like my joke?\"\n\n\"It makes me feel hungry,\" said Puss, Jr. \"I've had nothing to eat for a\nlong time.\"\n\n\"Come with us, then,\" said the three jolly Welshmen; \"we'll take you to\nsee the Queen.\"\n\n\"I don't look very neat,\" replied Puss, rubbing the salt spray from his\nboot-tops.\n\n\"Neither do I,\" cried the little owl, preening his feathers and\nstretching out his tail. \"I'm all ruffled up.\"\n\n\"Well, the Queen's making tarts to-day,\" cried the three jolly Welshmen\nall at once. \"We're going, anyway.\"\n\nPuss, Jr., and the little owl waited no longer, but followed the three\nWelshmen at once. In the distance could be seen the turrets of a stately\ncastle. On arriving at the postern gate they were admitted after a\nslight delay. In the courtyard all was bustle and excitement. On long\ntables were spread the most delicious-looking tarts--raspberry,\nstrawberry, lemon, apple, and all the other delicious varieties that\ncould be imagined. Puss, Jr.'s, mouth fairly watered at the sight, and\nthe little owl could hardly restrain himself from picking out\nstrawberries that protruded from under the crust of a tart near at hand.\nThe three jolly Welshmen also showed signs of impatience. They were as\nanxious to taste the tarts as were their small companions.\n\n[Illustration: PUSS JOINED IN THE CHASE TO HELP THE QUEEN]\n\nAt that instant a great commotion arose. The Knave of Hearts was seen\nrushing away with a whole trayful of tarts. After him ran the Queen,\nholding up her long train so as to run faster. Puss joined in the chase\nto help the Queen.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS LEARNS WHERE HIS FATHER IS AND RECEIVES A TART FROM THE QUEEN\n\n\nThe Knave of Hearts was a pretty good runner, and Puss, Jr., found it no\neasy task to catch him. Finally, however, he did, and after some\ndifficulty brought him back to the castle. As they entered the postern\ngate,\n\n    The King of Hearts\n    Called for those tarts,\n    And beat the Knave full sore.\n\n\"I'm glad I didn't take a tart,\" said Puss, in a whisper to his little\nfriend the owl, while the three jolly Welshmen looked much relieved to\nthink that they had not touched one, either. At this point the Queen\ncame graciously forward and offered them all a tart apiece.\n\n\"How do you like it?\" she asked Puss, smiling in a kind way. \"You\ndeserve much more than a tart for having caught that naughty Knave. What\ncan I do to reward you?\"\n\nPuss carefully wiped his whiskers with his pocket-handkerchief before\nreplying. \"Your Majesty,\" he answered, \"I am in search of my illustrious\nfather, Puss in Boots. Could you but direct me to him I shall consider\nyou have more than repaid me for my trouble.\"\n\n\"Come into the castle,\" said the Queen, \"and I will have my seneschal\ninquire. No doubt he will know, as he is a very wise man and an old\nretainer.\" So saying, she led the way into the castle, followed by Puss,\nJr., and the little owl.\n\n\"Puss in Boots? Puss in Boots?\" repeated the old man, in an inquiring\ntone, talking half to himself. \"Why, is he not in the employ of my Lord\nof Carabas?\"\n\n\"Yes, indeed!\" cried the Queen. \"Now I remember. My dear Puss in Boots,\nJunior, you still have a long journey before you; but to the brave all\nthings are possible. Although he lives far beyond the border-line of\nMother Goose Land, a good traveler need not despair.\"\n\n\"No, indeed, your Highness,\" replied Puss, Jr., \"I have a good heart and\nstrong legs. 'Tis but a question of time before I see him, for danger I\nfear not, neither stony roads nor stormy seas.\"\n\n\"Bravely said,\" cried the Queen. \"But who is your little friend?\" she\nadded, turning to look at the owl, who had perched himself on the\nshoulder of Puss, Jr.\n\n\"He is the owner of the 'beautiful pea-green boat,'\" replied Puss, \"and\nto him I owe much, for had he not come to my rescue when the Giant of\nthe Bean-stalk pursued me I should have been captured. His boat was on\nthe shore and we sailed away just in time.\"\n\n\"Most exciting,\" said the Queen; \"and so that is how you landed on\nCranberry Tart Island?\"\n\n\"Yes, your Highness,\" said Puss, \"but I did not know it was an island\nnor that it was called 'Cranberry Tart.'\"\n\n\"Well, it is,\" replied the Queen, \"and if you will spend the night here\nI will see that you reach the mainland to-morrow without delay.\"\n\nSo Puss, Jr., consented to spend the night in the stately castle of Tart\nIsland.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS CROSSES A WONDERFUL BRIDGE\n\n\nThe next morning, bright and early, Puss, Jr., left the stately castle\nof Cranberry Tart Island and continued his journey. The Queen had bidden\nhim a kind farewell, at the same time instructing one of her retainers\nto show him the bridge connecting Cranberry Tart Island with the\nmainland.\n\nOn arriving at the bridge Puss, Jr., was most surprised to see that it\nwas built entirely of gingerbread. \"Goodness!\" he exclaimed to himself,\n\"if many stopped on their way over to take a bite, there would soon be\nno bridge left.\"\n\nProbably the builder had been aware of this fact, for at the entrance of\nthe bridge was displayed a large sign which read as follows:\n\n    No loitering allowed on the bridge. The gingerbread must not be\n    eaten, under penalty of a fine and imprisonment.\n\n\"It looks pretty stale, anyway,\" tooted the little owl, who blinked and\nwinked in the early morning light as he flew beside Puss, Jr.\n\n\"You can't see very well, my dear friend,\" answered Puss. \"It looks\nperfectly delicious to me.\"\n\n\"Never mind how it looks,\" said the retainer, overhearing Puss, Jr.'s,\nremark. \"You must obey the law.\"\n\n\"I have no intention of not obeying,\" answered Puss, \"nor would I\nendanger our safety by biting off a piece. Should the bridge fall into\nthe water I should be forced to swim, and swimming is no easy matter for\na cat, especially with high-top boots.\"\n\n\"Wisely said,\" replied the retainer. \"And now that we have crossed over\nsafely, I will leave you to pursue your journey, for you need no further\nhelp from me.\"\n\n\"Thank you,\" cried Puss, Jr.\n\n\"Yet there is one thing I would warn you of,\" replied the retainer,\npausing before taking himself off. \"In yonder forest is a gingerbread\ncottage. Beware of it, for within lives a wicked witch.\" With these\nwords he turned away and crossed the gingerbread bridge that led back to\nCranberry Tart Island.\n\n\"A gingerbread cottage,\" laughed Puss to himself, following the path\nthat led into the forest:\n\n    \"A gingerbread bridge\n     And a gingerbread house,\n     A gingerbread cat\n     And a gingerbread mouse.\n     But the gingerbread cat\n     Ate the gingerbread mouse\n     As she ran on the bridge\n     From the gingerbread house.\"\n\n\n\n\nPUSS IN BOOTS, JR., VISITS THE OLD WOMAN IN THE SHOE\n\n\nIt was now about high noon; but the air was cool and balmy, for the sun\nhardly penetrated the deep recesses of the green forest. As Puss trudged\nalong he sang a little song to himself. I think he must have been\nsomething of a poet, for unconsciously his words rhymed and the air also\nwas of his own making. A little brown wren, who was hopping along on the\ngreen moss that covered the floor of the great forest, heard him, and\nshe told it to some one who afterward told it to me. And this is the way\nthe little song went:\n\n    Through the woods, the cool woods,\n    The green woods, sweet with balm and fir,\n    To the music of the breeze\n    Singing softly through the trees\n    This the song I purr:--\n    Happy he who travels far,\n    Travels far and free,\n    Over valley, over hill,\n    Over smiling lea;\n    Never weary of the road,\n    Happy that he be\n    Just a jolly traveler\n    Wandering, like me!\n\nAs Puss finished his song he emerged from the woods and found himself\nupon a broad highway. \"This must be the road that will lead me to my\nfather's home,\" he said to himself, and joyfully proceeded on his\njourney.\n\nIn the distance he saw what looked like a queer little house, but as he\ndrew nearer he saw it wasn't a house at all, but a big shoe. So many\nchildren were playing around, running in and out, that he would have\nfound it difficult to count them, even if he had tried.\n\n\"Hello!\" he called out to a little boy who was the only one who hadn't\nrun into the shoe to tell mother that a big cat with boots on was coming\nup the garden walk.\n\n\"Hello!\" Puss, Jr., said again, and the little fellow bashfully put out\nhis hand.\n\n\"You have pretty boots,\" he said, looking down at them.\n\n\"Yes,\" answered their owner, \"I'm rather proud of them myself; but what\nare your little brothers and sisters afraid of?\" he added, as he noticed\nthem peeking at him out of the window. \"I won't hurt them.\"\n\nJust then the Old Woman Who Lived in the Shoe came out, and, seeing one\nof her children talking to a strange cat who wore boots, she hurried up\nto them and asked:\n\n\"Are you Puss in Boots?\"\n\n[Illustration: OUT ON A LIMB, FROM WHICH HE DANGLED HIS RED-TOPPED\nBOOTS]\n\n\"No, ma'am, but I'm his son,\" was the quick reply. \"I'm Puss in Boots,\nJunior.\"\n\n\"Oh, of course,\" she said. \"I knew your father years ago, and for a\nmoment I forgot how time flies. Yes, we were very good friends in those\nold days. He was a very fine cat.\"\n\nPuss, Jr., nodded politely.\n\n\"Won't you come in?\" the Old Woman asked, turning toward her shoe house,\n\"though you may find it difficult, as I can hardly find room for all my\nchildren. I suppose people think I'm very cross,\" she continued, as they\nmanaged to squeeze past the children in the hallway, \"because I give\nthem all a whipping before putting them to bed; but if I didn't, those I\nput to bed first wouldn't lie still. You see, by the time I get the last\none to bed it's time to take the first one up for breakfast.\"\n\nPuss, Jr., felt very sorry for her, as she didn't seem cross a bit, and\nthe children clung to her skirt in a loving manner.\n\n\"Will you have a bowl of broth?\" she asked. \"It is about lunch-time, and\nI'm going to give the children some.\"\n\nHe thanked her, and said he would gladly, as he was hungry and tired. He\nsat down with the children, who had by this time arranged themselves in\na row, each one with an empty bowl in his hands. The broth tasted very\ngood, and Puss, Jr., felt so much better after eating it that he\nproposed a game of tag. They all ran outside and stood around in a ring\nwhile he counted \"eeny, meeny, miney, mo,\" till all were out except\nhimself.\n\n\"You're it!\" the children cried, gleefully.\n\nWhat a frolic followed! He finally caught the biggest boy, making\nbelieve for some time to miss the little tots, who screamed with fun as\nhe chased them in and out among the trees.\n\nIt was a different matter, however, when it came to catch Puss, Jr. At\nlast, with a jump, he ran up a tree and out on a limb, from which he\ndangled his red-topped boots over their heads. When every one gave up,\nhe came down, and, after thanking the Old Woman for her kindness with a\nflourish and bow, he resumed his journey.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS, JR., JOINS THE CIRCUS\n\n\nAs Puss, Jr., neared a pretty village his attention was attracted to a\nlarge tent in a field. Gaily colored wagons were standing close by, and\nevery now and then a roar or a growl could be heard quite distinctly.\n\n\"A circus!\" cried Puss, and he hastened forward and entered a small\nopening in the fence. As he approached the great tent he heard a voice\nsinging; it came from a little side-tent. It was a woman's voice, quite\nsoft and low:\n\n    \"Oh, mother, I'm to be married\n       To Mr. Punchinello;\n     To Mr. Pun, to Mr. Chin, to\n       Mr. Nel, to Mr. Lo,\n     Mr. Pun, Mr. Chin, Mr. Nel, Mr. Lo,\n       To Mr. Punchinello.\"\n\nAs the last words died away a clown came from behind a circus-wagon.\n\n\"Nello, Nello!\" he called.\n\n\"What is it, Punch?\" inquired the owner of the pretty voice, appearing\nin the doorway of her tent. But before he could answer she exclaimed:\n\"Oh, look! See the cat with red-topped boots!\"\n\nThe clown turned and gazed at Puss, Jr., who came forward and put out\nhis paw.\n\n\"Won't you join our circus?\" said the clown, with an engaging smile.\n\nPuss did not reply for a moment. He was thinking it over quite\nseriously. Whether or not it would interfere with his finding his father\nwas the question. While he stood debating as to what was the thing to\ndo, the circus-lady came out of her tent and cried:\n\n\"Oh, _do_ join our circus, Sir Puss! I am sure you would be a great\nattraction. Every child in town would want to see a cat who wore boots!\"\n\nAt this Puss, Jr.'s, face was all smiles. In fact, his whiskers curled\nup in a most laughable way, making his little face quite irresistible.\n\n\"Thank you both very much,\" he replied, \"but before I answer I must tell\nyou that I am in search of my illustrious parent, the famous Puss in\nBoots. If I join your circus how am I to find my dear father?\"\n\n\"Easy as not,\" answered the clown, quickly. \"We are always on the move.\nA new town 'most every day. We never linger long in any one spot.\"\n\n\"No, indeed, we don't!\" cried the circus-lady. \"We give a performance\nthis afternoon and to-night, and then we pack up and are off again.\"\n\n\"You can have one of the circus-horses to ride,\" suggested the clown, by\nway of encouragement; \"you need not travel on foot if you join us.\"\n\n\"That's a big inducement,\" admitted Puss, Jr.\n\n\"It's a merry life,\" added the circus-lady, \"and when all the little\nchildren clap their hands and cry 'Bravo!' it's very exciting.\"\n\n\"I'll join,\" said Puss; \"here's my paw!\"\n\n\"And here's my hand,\" said the clown.\n\n\"And here's mine,\" cried the circus-lady.\n\n\"Come with me,\" said the clown, \"and I'll put your name on the program\nand you shall be a regular circus performer from now on.\"\n\nAnd that is how Puss, Jr., joined the circus.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS, JR., PROVES TO BE A WONDERFUL CIRCUS PERFORMER\n\n\nIt was about eight-thirty o'clock in the evening. The big tent was all\naglow with lights. A long line of people reached from the dusty roadway\nto the ticket-office. Flaring torches threw strange streaks of light\nover the field, lighting up the circus-wagons with their gleaming red\nbodies and yellow wheels.\n\nNow and then the roars of the lions and the trumpetings of the elephants\ncould be heard, then the music of the band, a bugle-call, a shrill\nvoice, a snap of whips--all the familiar sounds of a traveling circus,\nas the evening breeze ruffled the many flags that decked the great white\ntent. Puss, Jr., stood by the side of the clown in the tan-bark ring and\nlooked about him. On all sides were eager faces. Hundreds of children\nscreamed and yelled as the clown came forward and motioned for silence.\nWhen the sounds had died away he spoke, loud and clear:\n\n\"Ladies and gentlemen and little children, we have with us to-night the\nson of the famous Puss in Boots, the well-known nursery character,\ndearly loved by old and young. Puss, Junior, is in search of his father,\nbut in the meantime has consented to join our circus. I venture to say\nthat no other circus in the world has so wonderful a cat among its\nperformers. You will all be charmed to see him act. His first\nperformance will be to ride around the ring on our beautiful Arabian\nhorse, White Marvel!\" As the clown finished Puss jumped nimbly to the\nhorse's back and commenced riding around the ring as if he had been\naccustomed to this sort of thing all his life.\n\nThe children clapped their hands, and the grown-ups smiled and nodded\napprovingly. The white horse broke into a gallop, but Puss stood first\non one leg and then on the other, bowing gracefully here and there. Not\nonce did he lose his balance, although he wore his red-topped boots, and\nto stand on the bare back of a horse under such conditions is not the\neasiest thing in the world.\n\nWhen the clown brought out a wooden ring covered with tissue-paper the\ncrowd held its breath. Would Puss, Jr., dare jump through it? Around\ngalloped the big white horse in a swift canter, Puss balancing himself\non one leg. As he neared the clown, who stood on a big blue barrel close\nto the ringside, Puss gathered himself together for the jump. Through\nthe tissue-paper he went like a bird on the wing, and landed safely on\nthe horse's back.\n\nA wild round of applause greeted his daring deed. The children clapped\ntheir hands and screamed, forgetting in their excitement to eat their\npeanuts and candy popcorn. The man who carried the pink lemonade in\nfunny little glasses all set in rows in a tin tray stood still to watch.\nHe forgot to cry, \"Anybody want some delicious, pink lemonade?\" because\nhe was so excited over the success of the new member of the circus\nfamily.\n\nThen all the rest of the actor folk did their stunts; the monkeys played\nbaseball, and the elephants had a boxing-match, and when all was over\nthe clown and the circus-lady ran up to Puss, Jr., and said, \"You were\nthe star performer of the whole show!\" which, of course, pleased Puss\nimmensely.\n\n\n\n\nA TERRIBLE FIGHT STOPPED BY USING PLUM-CAKE\n\n\nAs the circus entered a town one bright, sunny morning, the lion and the\nunicorn escaped from their cages. Great was the excitement! All the\ncircus people started after them with long ropes, hoping to be able to\nlasso them.\n\nAt first the townsfolk were greatly frightened, but gradually, as they\nfound out that the lion and the unicorn paid little attention to them,\ntheir fear gave way to interest. It seems that the lion was an enemy of\nthe unicorn, and as soon as they were free they began to fight.\n\n    The Lion and the Unicorn were fighting for the crown,\n    The Lion beat the Unicorn all around the town.\n    Some gave them white bread, and some gave them brown,\n    Some gave them plum-cake and sent them out of town.\n\nIf it had not been for the plum-cake I verily believe they would have\nbeen fighting still. But as soon as the unicorn saw the plum-cake he\nsaid to the lion:\n\n\"What's the use of fighting, Leon? Let's have a truce. In fact, I'm\nhungry.\"\n\n\"So am I,\" replied the lion. \"I haven't had a sweet thing since I joined\nthe circus. And you know how hard it is to see all the little boys and\ngirls eating candy and popcorn and not be able to get even one little\npiece.\"\n\n\"That's quite true,\" replied the unicorn. \"People seem to think all I\nrequire is hay. And as for you, they think raw meat is enough.\"\n\nWith these friendly words they stopped fighting and began to eat the\nplum-cake. All the townsfolk stood by watching them. When the circus-men\narrived on the scene they were too surprised for the moment to do a\nthing. They just stood still and watched the two animals eat the cake,\neven waiting until the lion had picked up the last crumb and the unicorn\nthe last raisin. Then they came forward very quietly and threw a rope\nfirst over the lion's head and then over the unicorn's, and led them\nback to their cages. Puss, Jr., who had by this time arrived on the\nscene, turned to the people and said:\n\n\"Ladies and gentlemen, it was very kind of you to give plum-cake to our\nanimals. It only goes to show what kindness will do. I hope you will\nappreciate how much we thank you for what you have done, and also that\nyou will come to our show to-night. I can assure you we will give you a\ndouble bill to show you how much we appreciate what you have done for\nus.\"\n\n\"Hurrah!\" cried the crowd. \"Three cheers for Sir Cat!\"\n\nThat night there was a tremendous attendance. The tent was crowded.\nEverybody was in a jolly frame of mind. All the circus people did their\nbest. Puss, Jr., jumped through three hoops without touching the back of\nthe big white horse, and the clown was funnier than he had ever been in\nall his life. The circus-lady never looked so pretty, nor did she ever\nride so well before. And it took the ticket-seller all night to count\nthe money.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS, JR., MEETS ANOTHER CAT AND MORALIZES ON CONTENTMENT\n\n\nFor some time Puss, Jr., traveled with the circus, but at last, finding\nthat he could make better time if he traveled alone, he said good-by and\nstarted off by himself. Perhaps he remembered the old saying, \"He\ntravels faster who travels alone.\" At any rate, he made up his mind on\nthis point and set bravely out by himself.\n\nBut he was not lonely, for he was continually seeing new sights and new\npeople.\n\nOne morning as he trudged along a road bordered by green meadows he saw\nat some little distance ahead a large apple-tree. As he drew near a\npussy-cat ran up the trunk.\n\n    Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a tree,\n    Up went Pussy-Cat, and down went he;\n    Down came Pussy-Cat, away Robin ran;\n    Said Little Robin Redbreast, \"Catch me if you can!\"\n    Little Robin Redbreast jumped upon a wall,\n    Pussy-Cat jumped after him, and almost got a fall;\n    Little Robin chirp'd and sang, and what did Pussy say?\n    Pussy-Cat said, \"Mew,\" and Robin flew away.\n\n\"What are you trying to do?\" asked Puss in Boots, Jr., stopping in front\nof the tree and looking up at the pussy-cat, who sat upon the wall,\nlooking after the robin, who had flown away.\n\n\"I'm not trying to do anything,\" replied the pussy-cat, crossly, \"but I\nwas wishing I had wings.\"\n\n\"They would be very nice,\" replied Puss, Jr., reflectively; \"they would\nbe most convenient at times.\"\n\n\"Indeed they would!\" answered the pussy-cat; \"they'd be lots better even\nthan red-topped boots.\"\n\nPuss looked down at his feet. \"Perhaps,\" he answered, \"but I have found\nmy boots most helpful. Do you know,\" he continued, \"if people would be a\nlittle more contented with what they have I think they'd get more.\"\n\nThe pussy-cat did not answer for a few minutes. Then she said: \"What you\nsay is very true. I suppose I ought to be thankful that I have such nice\nstrong claws. It's not hard work climbing trees, and, as far as running\ngoes, my legs carry me very well. Perhaps I don't need wings, after\nall.\"\n\n\"Well, I never saw a flying cat,\" admitted Puss, Jr., \"although I've\nseen some remarkable things since I started out to find my father, Puss\nin Boots.\"\n\n\"So you are a traveler,\" said the pussy-cat, jumping down from the wall\nand walking up to Puss. \"How long have you been seeking your father?\"\n\n\"A long, long time,\" replied Puss, Jr. \"Do you know, sometimes I almost\nget discouraged, for this is a big world and at times I feel so very,\nvery small.\"\n\n\"Well, you come home with me,\" said the pussy-cat, \"and get a good rest.\nI think you're tired out.\" This was the truth, for he had traveled far\nthat day.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS MEETS MOTHER GOOSE\n\n\n    \"Oh, my pretty cock, oh, my handsome cock,\n       I pray you do not crow before day,\n     And your comb shall be made of the very beaten gold,\n       And your wings of the silver so gray.\"\n\nPuss, Jr., opened his eyes sleepily to find himself in Mother Goose's\narms. They were seated on a gander's back, who was flying along as if\nsuch a thing as traveling with two passengers was nothing at all. As\nMother Goose finished her little verse, the gander alighted on the roof\nof a big red barn on which a weathercock sedately turned this way and\nthat in the early morning breeze. The sun was just coming up, for it was\nearly, very early. Puss rubbed his eyes and sat up. \"And how's my little\npussy-cat?\" asked Mother Goose, stroking him kindly. \"Did he have a good\nnight's sleep?\"\n\n\"Yes, indeed, thank you,\" answered Puss, now thoroughly awake and\nremembering how he had met Mother Goose the previous day, and how\nfortunate it was that she had agreed to take him back to Mother Goose\nLand.\n\n\"Cock-a-doodle-do!\" said the weathercock.\n\n\"Crow as much as you like,\" said Mother Goose. \"Now that Puss is awake\nyou can make all the noise you wish. At first I thought we were not\ngoing to stop on your barn, Sir Chantecler, and that was the reason I\nasked you to delay your early morning crow so that we could be far away\nbefore you commenced. Puss is in need of all the sleep he can get, for\nin a few days he will be on his feet again. He has still a long ways to\ngo ere he finds his famous father, Puss in Boots.\"\n\n\"Well,\" answered the weathercock, \"I didn't crow before day, so kindly\ngive me a gold comb and silver wings.\"\n\n\"That I will,\" answered Mother Goose, \"this very evening.\"\n\n\"And who will bring them?\" asked the weathercock, for he was very vain,\nand is sometimes called a weather-vane, perhaps for that reason. \"Who\nwill bring them to me, and how am I to know that a gold comb will be\nbecoming or that silver wings will suit my complexion?\"\n\n\"Leave that to me,\" said Mother Goose, with a lofty air. \"Weathercocks\nonly know of the breezes that blow; they swing back and forth when the\nwind's from the north, the south, east or west--they are never at rest.\"\n\n\"More poetry from Mother Goose,\" sighed the weathercock. \"If people must\ntalk, why do they want to rhyme it out? Let them talk in good old\nprose. It suits me best.\"\n\nMother Goose evidently did not hear his remarks, for she was busily\nfeeding the gander. Puss was stretching his legs by walking along the\nroof and watching some sparrows who were chirping under the eaves.\nPresently she called Puss. \"We are off again,\" she cried; \"get aboard\nthe goose-ship!\" When they were comfortably seated she turned to the\nweathercock and said: \"This evening the sun will gild your comb and\nsilver your wings just before he goes behind yonder western hill.\nGood-by!\"\n\nThe weathercock did not reply, and the gander did not wait, but flew\naway with his two passengers safely sitting on his back.\n\n\n\n\nTRIPPING WITH THE STARS\n\n\n    \"Twinkle, twinkle, little star,\n     How I wonder what you are!\n     Up above the world so high,\n     Like a diamond in the sky.\"\n\nPuss repeated this little rhyme to himself as he looked at a lovely star\nthat shone in the heavens with a soft and silvery light.\n\n\"I always liked that little song,\" said Mother Goose. \"I've heard it\ntime and again. Mothers always sing that to their babies just before\nthey go to sleep.\"\n\n\"Do they?\" asked Puss. \"Mine never did. She used to sing about little\nmice and birds.\"\n\nMother Goose laughed heartily. \"It all depends on whose little baby you\nare,\" she said, \"but I guess it all comes out all right in the end.\"\n\nThe gander said never a word. He was doubtless too busy propelling his\ngreat wings and steering with his tail to pay much attention to what his\ntwo passengers were saying.\n\nI don't know whether there was a sign up like the ones they have in the\ncars, \"Don't talk to the motorman,\" or not. At any rate, the gander\nobserved the law, for he made no answer. On and on they went, through\nthe night. Past cloud and star, over river and valley, hill and dale,\nswiftly and silently, for after these few remarks both Mother Goose and\nPuss grew very sleepy.\n\nIt must have been well on toward morning before they awoke. Nestled on a\nsoft, feathery gander's back, with the wind singing lullabies as you\ntravel swiftly underneath the stars, is quite sufficient to keep any one\nasleep. It was indeed a mighty fine cradle, and if the morning sun had\nnot poked his golden fingers into Puss, Jr.'s, eyes he might still have\nbeen sound asleep.\n\n\"Mother Goose,\" he cried, touching the dear old lady gently on the\nshoulder, \"we are getting very near the earth. It's time for you to wake\nup.\"\n\n\"To be sure it is,\" she replied, rubbing her eyes and arranging her\ncurls beneath her old peaked hat; \"to be sure, and, dearie me! I believe\nI have actually overslept!\"\n\nThey were now close to the earth. The cocks were crowing lustily in the\nbarn-yards, and every now and then the bark of a dog, faint but clear,\nwould come to their ears.\n\n\"It's funny to look at a house from the outside in the early morning,\"\nsaid Puss. \"I've always looked out from the inside.\"\n\n\"Of course you have, my dear little traveler,\" answered Mother Goose,\n\"but now that you are on your journey to find your famous father, Puss\nin Boots, you will see many things very differently.\"\n\n\"Well,\" said the gander, for the first time speaking, \"I'm a bit tired,\nso I think I will alight near this old barn.\"\n\nPuss was delighted, for he wanted once more to feel himself on earth.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS FINDS ADVENTURE AT THE TOP OF JACK'S FAMOUS BEAN-STALK\n\n\nThe next morning as Puss, Jr., went journeying along he came in sight of\na modest little cottage, in the garden of which was growing an immense\nbean-stalk, reaching up and up until its top was hidden in the clouds.\nOn approaching the front gate, a motherly-looking woman appeared in the\ndoorway and looked curiously at Puss.\n\n\"Good morning, ma'am,\" said he, lifting his cap politely.\n\n\"Good morning,\" she replied, at the same time wiping a tear from her\neyes. \"Have you seen anything of my son Jack?\"\n\n\"No, ma'am,\" answered Puss. \"Has he not yet climbed down the\nbean-stalk?\"\n\n\"What!\" exclaimed the good woman. \"Do you mean to tell me he has climbed\nup this giant bean-stalk?\"\n\n\"Indeed he has,\" answered Puss, \"and if you will permit me I will climb\nup also. Maybe I shall find him near the top, or possibly entangled in\nthe vines.\"\n\nThe good woman gladly gave her consent and Puss sprang nimbly up the\nvine-like ladder. Up and up he climbed until he was lost to sight amid\nthe white clouds in the sky. At last he reached the top, and, looking\nabout him curiously, wondered which way to turn. Suddenly he heard a\ngentle cackling near at hand, and a small hen crawled out of a thicket\nthat lay to the right of the path.\n\n\"I'm tired to death laying golden eggs for that greedy giant,\n\n    \"To lay every day\n     Is all work and no play,\"\n\nshe continued, unconsciously making a little rhyme.\n\n\"But where is Jack?\" asked Puss, after he had consoled her by saying\nthat there was much harder work in the world than laying golden eggs.\n\n\"Oh, he's up at the giant's house, hiding somewhere,\" she replied.\n\n\"Won't you show me the way?\" said Puss, \"for I have a message from his\nmother to deliver to him.\"\n\n\"Come along; follow me,\" she cackled, and Puss walked by her side,\npolitely helping her over the rough places, as the path became steeper\nand steeper. Near the top of the hill was the giant's house. But Puss\nwas not afraid and boldly followed the little hen through the great\ndoorway and presently found himself in the presence of the giant.\n\n[Illustration: \"GOOD MORNING, MA'AM,\" SAID HE, LIFTING HIS CAP\nPOLITELY]\n\n\"Come, chick,\" cried the giant, not noticing Puss. \"Come, chick, and lay\nme a gold egg!\"\n\n\"I'm so tired to-day,\" she replied, \"won't you let me off just for\nonce?\"\n\n\"No, siree!\" roared the giant. \"Lay! lay!\"\n\n\"How dare you be so cruel, Sir Giant!\" roared Puss as loud as he could,\nstepping forward and brandishing his staff.\n\n\"Heighty tighty!\" laughed the giant, \"on one condition will I let off\nthe little hen, and that is that you spend the night in my house and\ntell me some of your adventures.\"\n\nPuss, Jr., bowed low and graciously. He was able now to reward the\nlittle hen for showing him the way, and as the guest of the giant, it\nwould be much easier to find Jack. Puss made up his mind toward midnight\nto hunt over the entire house for him.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS DISCOVERS WHERE JACK IS HIDING\n\n\nPuss, Jr., found the giant a very agreeable host. Perhaps it was because\nPuss told so many interesting stories of what he had seen and done since\nleaving the garret.\n\n\"By the time you find your father,\" roared the giant, for even when he\nwhispered it sounded like thunder, \"you will have traveled far and wide,\nmy dear friend.\"\n\nThey were seated in the giant's great living-room. A huge pipe was in\nhis mouth, the smoke from which rose in a cloud as big as that from a\nfactory chimney. Puss, Jr., was not the least bit dismayed, however, for\nhe was naturally a brave cat, and his many adventures had given him an\nair of assurance as well as a liberal education. He sat opposite the\ngiant and recounted his adventures one after another, much to the\ndelight of his great host. All the while, however, Puss was scheming as\nto the best way to discover Jack. He had made up his mind firmly that\nafter his long climb up the bean-stalk, and the fact that he had been\nso lucky as to make a friend of the giant, he would allow nothing to\nturn him aside.\n\nFinally the giant fell sound asleep. Puss carefully opened the door and\ntiptoed into the kitchen, where the giant's wife was washing up the\nsupper-dishes. As he entered he noticed that the oven door was open just\na crack. \"My good woman,\" said Puss, \"your husband is asleep, so I have\ntaken this opportunity to thank you for the very fine supper of which I\nhave just partaken.\"\n\nThe giant's wife started at the sound of his voice and immediately\nwalked over and stood in front of the oven as if to guard it from view.\n\n\"Ha, ha!\" said Puss to himself. \"I'll wager Jack is in the oven. I\nwonder why the good woman mistrusts me.\n\n\"Madam,\" said Puss, \"I'm in search of a little boy named Jack, and I\nhave a message from his mother for him. Jack of the wonderful\nbean-stalk, and I am sure he is in yonder oven.\"\n\nPuss, Jr., heard a scratching sound, then a creak, and in a moment Jack\nstepped from behind the giant's wife, after carefully closing the oven\ndoor.\n\n\"How do you do,\" said Jack, coming forward, \"and what does mother want?\"\n\n\"She is worried about you,\" replied Puss, Jr., \"and asked me to tell\nyou, should I have the good fortune of meeting you, that she hoped you\nwould return home, for she is so lonely.\"\n\n\"That I will,\" answered Jack, \"as soon as I have the opportunity.\" He\nhad hardly finished speaking when the heavy tread of the giant was\nheard. Jack jumped back into the oven, while the giant's wife commenced\ntalking to Puss, Jr., as if nothing whatever had happened.\n\n\"Why did you leave me?\" roared the giant, turning fiercely to Puss.\n\n\"Why did you fall asleep?\" asked Puss. \"Were my tales not of sufficient\ninterest to keep you awake?\"\n\n\"They were,\" replied the giant, somewhat taken aback by the answer he\nreceived. \"I guess I have the habit of falling asleep after supper. It's\nmighty difficult to break a habit.\"\n\n\"It is, indeed,\" said Puss. \"I feel sleepy myself. Will you allow me not\nto break my habit of going to bed early?\"\n\nThe giant laughed long and loud. \"Show him his room, mother,\" he said,\nturning to his wife. So Puss said good night and followed her up-stairs,\nhaving made up his mind to meet Jack at midnight.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS AND JACK MAKE A BOLD RESCUE\n\n\nIt was midnight in the giant's house. Puss Jr., heard the great clock\nstrike twelve. Softly he tiptoed down the stairs, holding his boots in\none paw and his staff and cap in the other. When he reached the great\nliving-room he peeped cautiously in.\n\nThere sat the giant in the big arm-chair, fast asleep, the poor little\nhen that laid the golden eggs lying on the table, not daring to move.\n\n\"How dare he break his word?\" said Puss to himself. \"He promised if I\ntold him stories last night that he would not make the little hen lay\nher daily golden egg. Now he has gone and broken his promise.\"\n\nThe little hen moved uneasily and looked appealingly at Puss.\n\n\"What can I do?\" he said to himself. Suddenly a bright idea came into\nhis head, and, turning toward the kitchen, he opened the door very\nsoftly and peered in. To his great delight he saw Jack sound asleep in\nthe big rocking-chair that the giant's wife sat in during the few\nmoments of the day in which she was not hard at work. Puss, Jr.,\ncarefully set his boots down near the door and walked over to Jack.\nFearing he might let out a cry of surprise upon seeing him, Puss paused.\n\n\"How shall I waken him without startling him?\" he asked himself. It was\nindeed a problem. Should Jack give a scream the giant would wake and\nrush in. Then all would be lost. It was a trying moment for Puss, Jr.\n\nSuddenly an owl hooted outside. Jack slowly opened his eyes.\n\n\"'S-sh!\" cautioned Puss, quietly, \"be careful!\"\n\n\"Don't worry,\" replied Jack in a whisper. \"I've no desire to make the\nacquaintance of the giant. He wouldn't care for my stories. He'd just\neat me up.\"\n\n\"That he would,\" said Puss. \"He's no good, either. He broke his promise\nto me last night,\" and then Puss told Jack how the giant had said he\nwould let the little hen off for once if Puss would tell some of his\nadventures.\n\n\"And I spent all last evening telling him stories till I was tired out,\"\nconcluded Puss, \"and now he has kept that poor little hen by his side\nall night long. She's in the great living-room on the table, not daring\nto move. And the giant has the gold egg tightly grasped in his hand.\"\n\n\"Let's rescue the little hen,\" said Puss.\n\n\"How can we?\" asked Jack.\n\n\"Why, just run off with her,\" replied Puss.\n\n\"Where to?\" said Jack, for he was still rather sleepy and his mind was\nnot working as rapidly as Puss, Jr.'s.\n\n\"Take her home to your mother,\" whispered Puss. Together they crept into\nthe room where the giant still lay snoring. Jack carefully picked up the\nlittle hen and started for the door. As he did so he knocked Puss,\nJr.'s, staff from his paw.\n\n\"Run!\" cried Puss, as the giant opened his eyes. They fell upon Puss,\nfor Jack had disappeared down the bean-stalk.\n\n\"You have stolen my hen!\" he roared.\n\nPuss darted in another direction and the giant after him. Just then the\nlittle owl, who had awakened Jack, flew near and called out:\n\n    \"The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea\n       In a beautiful pea-green boat.\"\n\nAnd this is the way Puss, Jr., escaped from the wicked giant.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS, JR., MEETS MR. ROWLEY FROG\n\n\nThe following day Puss, Jr., was trudging along near the edge of a\nforest. The land was rather low and marshy, and the path was none too\ndry. He gingerly picked his way, avoiding as well as possible the muddy\nspots. Of a sudden his attention was arrested by a funny sight.\n\nA few feet in front of him, as he rounded a curve in the path, was a\nfrog. On his head rested a large stove-pipe hat, much worn and\nweather-beaten. A large cigar was in his mouth, on which he puffed away\nvigorously, the clouds of smoke streaming out behind him like a long\ngray feather.\n\n\"Hello, Mr. Rowley!\" cried Puss.\n\nThe frog turned. Taking the cigar out of his mouth, he answered, \"How do\nyou know my name?\"\n\n\"Just a good guess of mine, perhaps,\" replied Puss. \"But, anyway,\nthere's a famous Mr. Rowley in _Mother Goose_, so I took a chance.\"\n\n\"Well, I don't want you to try to stop me,\" said Rowley, \"for I had\nenough fuss when I left home. You see, my people didn't want me to go at\nall.\"\n\n\"Then why did you?\" asked Puss, who by this time had come up to the\nfrog.\n\n\"Because I was tired to death of the old pond,\" replied Rowley. \"One has\ngot to see the world some time, and when one is young is the time and\nnot when one is old.\"\n\n\"Yes, 'every dog must have his day,'\" quoted Puss.\n\n\"And every frog, too,\" answered Rowley, pushing his high hat down on his\nhead more securely and replacing the cigar between his lips.\n\n\"And where are you going?\" asked Puss.\n\n    \"A frog he would a-wooing go,\n       Heigh-ho! says Rowley.\n     Whether his mother would let him or no.\n     With a rowley powley, gammon and spinach,\n      Heigh-ho! says Anthony Rowley.\"\n\n\"Well, then, Anthony!\" cried Puss, taking the frog by the arm, \"let us\nbe comrades. For it is lonesome business, this traveling alone, and I\nwould have a good friend to talk to while we trudge along.\"\n\n\"But I already have a companion,\" answered Mr. Rowley. \"Don't you\nremember the second verse in _Mother Goose_?\"\n\n\"Not exactly,\" replied Puss, Jr.\n\n\"Well, this is the way it goes,\" answered the frog. \"It's describing me,\nof course.\"\n\n    \"So off he set with his opera hat,\n       Heigh-ho! says Rowley.\n     And on the road he met with a rat.\n     'Pray, Mr. Rat, will you go with me?'\n       Heigh-ho! says Rowley,\n     'Kind Mrs. Mousey for to see?'\"\n\nAt that moment the rat jumped out of the bushes. \"Don't be afraid,\" said\nPuss, Jr.\n\n\"All right,\" replied the rat, \"I sha'n't.\"\n\n\"Glad to have seen you both,\" said Puss, Jr. \"I can't tarry long, for I\nmust continue my journey.\"\n\n\n\n\nPUSS IS HEARTILY WELCOMED BY JACK THE JUMPER\n\n\nIt was near nightfall. Puss, Jr., was weary and footsore, for he had\ntraveled far. No one had given him a thing to eat all day, and he was\nfaint from want of food. Darkness was coming upon him and he looked\nabout him to find a place to sleep.\n\nIn the distance a little light caught his eye, and, hastening his steps\ntoward it, he soon came to a small cottage. Looking through the open\ndoor, he was surprised to see resting on the floor a small brass\ncandlestick. It was the flame from this that had attracted his attention\nand drawn his weary feet forward.\n\n            Jack be nimble,\n            Jack be quick,\n    And Jack jump over the candlestick.\n\nOver the candlestick leaped a small boy, and with a laugh turned toward\nthe open door.\n\n\"Can _you_ jump over a lighted candlestick?\" he asked.\n\n\"I never tried,\" said Puss, \"but I guess I can.\"\n\n\"Don't singe your tail!\" cried Jack, as Puss prepared himself for the\njump.\n\n\"Don't worry,\" replied Puss, Jr. \"I think too much of my tail to spoil\none single little hair.\"\n\nGathering himself together, Puss jumped nimbly over the candle.\n\n\"Good for you!\" cried the little boy.\n\n\"Oh, that's nothing,\" replied Puss. \"I once belonged to a circus.\"\n\n\"You did?\" cried the little boy. \"Tell me about it.\"\n\n\"Well,\" said Puss, \"there isn't much to tell. I was walking along one\nday and came up to a big tent. A man asked me if I would not like to\njoin, and I said yes.\"\n\n\"What did you do?\" asked the little boy.\n\n\"Oh, I rode a horse around the ring. I jumped through hoops covered with\ntissue-paper, and I never slipped off. It was pretty good fun,\" sighed\nPuss, Jr. \"But, dear me, I'm so hungry! Can't you get me some milk?\"\n\n\"Of course I can,\" replied the little boy; \"you just sit down and see\nthat the candle doesn't blow out, and I'll run and tell mother.\" In a\nfew minutes he returned, followed by a motherly-looking woman.\n\n\"Why, it's Puss in Boots!\" she said.\n\n\"No, madam,\" replied Puss; \"but I'm his son, and have been these many\nmonths trying to find my dear father.\"\n\n\"And you haven't found him yet?\" said the good woman.\n\n\"No, not yet,\" replied our little hero, \"but I hope to very soon.\"\n\n\"Well, you shall have a good supper,\" said the kind woman, \"for my\nlittle boy tells me you are hungry.\"\n\nIn a few minutes Puss was eating a hearty supper, and then he followed\nthe little boy up to his bedroom, where they both slept soundly all\nnight long after mother had blown out the light.\n\n\n\n\nOLD KING COLE'S FIDDLERS ARE RATHER RUDE TO PUSS\n\n\n    Old King Cole was a merry old soul,\n    And a merry old soul was he;\n    And he called for his pipe,\n    And he called for his bowl,\n    And he called for his fiddlers three.\n    And every fiddler, he had a fine fiddle,\n    And a very fine fiddle had he;\n    \"Tweedle dee, tweedle dee,\" said the fiddlers;\n    \"Oh, there's none so rare as can compare,\n    With Old King Cole and his fiddlers three.\"\n\nCole Castle was a very magnificent one. Puss looked up at the great\nwalls and sighed. \"I wish I would find my dear father here, but I\nsuppose I won't.\"\n\n\"No, you won't,\" cried a voice, and one of the three fiddlers poked his\nhead out of a window and laughed loud and long. \"There are no cats in\nthis castle.\"\n\n\"No cats allowed here,\" cried the third fiddler, appearing at the\npostern gate.\n\nPuss, Jr., almost felt like crying. \"Did you ever hear of Puss in\nBoots?\" he asked.\n\n\"Certainly,\" replied all three fiddlers at once, \"but he doesn't live\nhere. No cats do. We make all the noise in this castle. You don't think\nfor a moment Old King Cole could stand any more noise, do you?\"\n\n\"My father wouldn't make any noise,\" replied Puss, Jr., indignantly.\n\n\"I never heard of a cat that didn't,\" said one of the fiddlers.\n\n\"All cats make an awful noise at night,\" said another.\n\n\"They meow and cry like everything on the back fence,\" said the third\nfiddler. \"They make more noise than a fiddle, and a worse noise than a\nfiddle out of tune.\"\n\n\"I don't like you,\" said Puss. \"People who don't like cats are not to be\ntrusted.\"\n\n\"Ha, ha!\" laughed all three fiddlers, \"you're jealous of us!\"\n\n\"Not the least,\" replied Puss, stoutly. \"I'm not jealous at all. I'm\njust indignant that you should make such a remark about my family.\"\n\n\"No harm meant,\" said the three fiddlers, \"no harm meant, my good Sir\nCat.\"\n\n\"Very well, we won't argue the matter,\" said Puss, \"for a traveler has\nno time to argue if he would reach his journey's end. Time is precious,\nand I must be on my way. Only let me tell you, I have heard many a\nfiddle that made a worse noise than a cat,\" and with this parting remark\nour little hero continued on his way.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MILLER OF THE DEE\n\n\n\"What a lovely old mill!\" thought Puss, Jr. \"Is that your 'hush-a-by\nbaby upon the tree-top'?\" he asked the miller on entering the old mill.\n\n\"No, sir-ee!\" answered the jolly miller, with a jolly laugh. \"Haven't\nyou ever heard the song about me? This is the way it goes:\n\n    \"There was a jolly miller once\n       Lived on the River Dee;\n     He worked and sang from morn till night,\n       No lark so blithe as he.\n\n    \"And this the burden of his song\n       Forever used to be:\n     'I care for nobody! No, not I!\n       And nobody cares for me!'\"\n\n\"Doesn't anybody care for you?\" asked Puss. \"It seems strange, for you\nare so jolly.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"AREN'T WE GREAT FRIENDS?\" ASKED THE MILLER]\n\n\"Well,\" answered the miller, \"you see, it's this way: I am here all\nalone all day; there's no room in the mill except for me and the sacks\nof corn. It all belongs to me, even the old willow-tree. I let a little\nwoman who lives quite near here hang the cradle on the limb every\nmorning. As she goes to work in the village, she puts her baby in the\ncradle and the wind rocks it to sleep until she comes back at noon. Then\nshe goes away again and comes back at evening and takes the cradle home\nwith her. The baby is very good; that is, it has been so far; but you\ncan never tell how long a baby will be good.\"\n\n\"That's true of every one,\" said Puss, with much gravity.\n\n\"If it ever starts crying--that is, a long crying spell, she'll have to\nget another willow-tree or another baby. I can't be bothered with a\ncrying baby so close at hand.\"\n\n\"But you haven't answered my question yet,\" said Puss.\n\n\"Oh,\" replied the miller. \"You mean because I care for nobody and nobody\ncares for me.\"\n\n\"Yes; I don't quite understand it.\"\n\n\"Come inside and I'll explain it to you,\" said the miller.\n\nPuss walked inside and sat down on a bag of flour. \"All I do is to grind\ncorn for people,\" continued the miller, sitting down on a dusty stool.\n\"They bring their corn in to be ground and then they leave. When they\ncome back the corn is ready for them,--that is, the flour. They take it\naway and I'm left all alone. So what do I do? Well, I make friends with\na little mouse and a big rat that live in the old mill.\" As he spoke\nthe little mouse ran out of her hole and sat down by the miller. \"We are\ngreat friends, aren't we, mousie?\" he said.\n\nThe little mouse squeaked, \"Yes, Mr. Miller.\"\n\nThen the big rat came out and sat down by the miller, only on the other\nside.\n\n\"Aren't we great friends?\" asked the miller.\n\nThe rat said, \"You are the best friend I have.\" At which the miller\nsmiled and Puss grinned.\n\n\"Animals make good friends,\" said the miller.\n\n\"Yes, indeed,\" replied Puss, \"but rats and mice are so destructive. They\neat your corn.\"\n\n\"Not much,\" said the miller; \"only a little bit.\"\n\n\"We only eat what we need,\" said the mouse and the rat in chorus.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS, JR., RENDERS A MOTHER AID\n\n\nPuss, Jr., was very much interested in the jolly miller and his two\nsmall friends, the rat and the mouse. It seemed strange to Puss that a\nmiller should have two such friends as these. But when he thought it\nover he saw there was much reason to the miller's words.\n\nAt the time the miller was talking the mouse and the rat kept a close\nwatch on Puss, Jr. They knew from experience, most likely, that cats are\nnot millers, and although Puss, Jr., with his boots and cap, his clothes\nand staff, did not resemble an ordinary cat, at the same time he was a\ncat. So the rat and the mouse kept at a safe distance.\n\n\"Tell your little friends,\" said Puss to the jolly miller, \"that I won't\nhurt a hair of them.\"\n\n\"Mousie,\" said the miller, leaning over and patting the little mouse,\n\"Sir Cat says he will not harm a hair of your tiny head.\"\n\n\"That's very kind of him,\" replied the little mouse in a squeaky voice.\n\nThe rat made the same answer when the miller patted him.\n\nJust then the mother of the baby who was in the cradle on the tree-top\ncame by. She smiled at the miller, who took off his rusty, dusty cap.\n\"There she goes,\" he said to Puss. \"She's going to take the cradle down\nnow. She'll take 'cradle, and baby, and all' home with her.\"\n\nPuss stepped to the doorway to watch her. First she stood on tiptoe and\nlooked into the cradle. Then she smiled and leaned over and kissed the\nbaby, who began to crow and clap his hands. After she had kissed him\nmany times she lifted him out of the cradle and danced him up and down\non her knee. As she danced him gently up and down, she sang:\n\n    \"Down in the village, all the day long,\n     Mother's been singing a sweet little song;\n     Just to herself she's been singing all day,\n     While baby's been rocking and rocking away:\n     'Hush-a-by, baby, upon the tree-top,\n     Mother is watching the tick-tocky clock;\n     Counting the minutes go by until she\n     Will be taking her baby boy down from the tree.'\"\n\nThen she laid the baby over her shoulder and, picking up the cradle,\nstarted off for home.\n\n\"Let me carry the cradle for you,\" said Puss, Jr., running out of the\nmill.\n\n\"That would be a great help,\" she replied, \"for baby is getting very\nheavy, and mother has been working hard all day.\"\n\nSo Puss put the cradle on his shoulder and, bowing to the miller,\nfollowed after her, while the baby kicked and crowed and tried to reach\ndown and pull his whiskers. And Puss tickled the baby's hand and winked\nat the baby, who gurgled and laughed and tried to pull the feather out\nof Puss, Jr.'s, cap. And the little mother forgot all about her own\nweariness, for baby lay so warm against her neck and his laugh tinkled\nso sweetly in her ear!\n\n\n\n\nTHE MILKMAN'S HORSE, OLD NAGGETTY NOGG\n\n\n    \"Jockety jog, jockety jog!\n     Over the hills, and over the bog.\n\n    \"Jockety jog, jockety jog!\n     Many a mile this day I've trod.\n\n    \"Jockety jog, jockety jog!\n     I'm the milkman's horse, old Naggetty Nogg.\"\n\n\"Are you really?\" exclaimed Puss, Jr., looking up into the face of the\nold white horse. \"And is your name 'Naggetty Nogg'?\"\n\n\"Yes, that's my name,\" replied the old horse. \"You see, every horse is a\nnag. So in some way or another they got to calling me 'Naggetty,' and\nthen, after a while, they added on the 'Nogg.'\"\n\n\"Yes, every one has at least two names,\" replied Puss, \"and it is\nnatural that you should have two, just like everybody. I like the name\n'Naggetty Nogg' very much. It's quite fine.\"\n\n\"It sounds 'horsy' all right,\" he answered, giving his tail a sweep to\nbrush off some flies that had settled on his side. \"It sounds real\nhorsy.\"\n\n\"And it fits you perfectly,\" said Puss. \"You couldn't have chosen a\nbetter name.\"\n\n\"But I didn't choose it,\" replied the old horse, quickly; \"it was given\nto me. You see, my master and I start out early every morning. First we\ngo to the farm to get the milk. It's so early in the morning that it's\nquite dark sometimes--that is, in the winter-time. The farmer comes out\nand opens the milk-house door with his key. The milk is all kept in\ngreat big pans in long rows. It's very cool inside, for the milk-house\nis built over a spring that bubbles away all the time, running out of\nthe old stone milk-house down to the meadows, where the cows drink it\nand the little fish swim in it. I know, because one time when my right\nforefoot was hurt they put me out in the meadow and many a good drink\nI've had from that same little brook. The bottom is all bright little\nstones, and the ferns hang over the edge of the bank, and the little\nbirds hop down and drink. Oh, it's very pleasant out there in the\nmeadow. I sometimes wish my old foot would go lame again so that I might\nenjoy the green grass and the cool breezes. But that wouldn't do at all.\nMy master would lose money. He would have to hire another horse. And\nthen, too, I would miss the mothers who come out to get the nice fresh\nmilk from my master. Sometimes they have a baby in their arms and two\nor three small children hanging on to their skirts. And they always pat\nmy nose and say:\n\n\"'How is old Naggetty Nogg to-day?' Sometimes I get a lump of sugar,\ntoo.\"\n\n\"You make me wish that I could drive a milk-wagon,\" said Puss, Jr.,\nwith a sigh. \"I'd like to be a milkman if I had a Naggetty Nogg to\ndrive.\"\n\n\n\n\nWHO IS A MAN'S MOST FAITHFUL FRIEND?\n\n\n\"What is your master's name?\" asked Puss, Jr., as the old white\nmilk-horse paused in his story.\n\n    \"Jockety jog, jockety jog!\n     My master's name is Roundey K. Rogg.\n\n    \"Jockety jog, jockety jog!\n     He's a good man; he drinks no grog.\n\n    \"Jockety jog, jockety jog!\n     Never does he old Naggetty flog.\"\n\n\"That's a blessing,\" said Puss, Jr. \"I've seen so many poor horses\nwhipped. It's a shame that a man can hurt a horse.\"\n\n\"Yes, a horse is a man's most faithful friend,\" replied old Naggetty.\n\"He works for him all the time.\"\n\n\"Don't you get tired?\" asked Puss.\n\n\"No-o-o,\" replied the old horse, \"not very tired. You see, when we start\nout we have the cans full. So we go very slowly so as not to churn the\nmilk or spill it. If we went too fast the tops of the cans might fly\noff. Then on our way home, when all the milk has been delivered and all\nthe hungry little children have had all they can drink, we come along at\na good clip. The cans bump and make a most cheerful noise. And every\nstep is nearer home, where my supper of oats is waiting for me, and my\ngood master's supper is waiting for him.\"\n\n\"I'd like to climb up into your wagon and go home with you,\" said Puss.\n\"Do you suppose your master would object?\"\n\n\"You can ask him,\" replied the old horse. \"But you mustn't climb up\nuntil you do.\"\n\n\"Certainly not,\" replied Puss, indignantly. \"I wouldn't take such a\nliberty. Tell me more about him.\" The old horse whisked his tail and\ncommenced:\n\n    \"Jockety jog, jockety jog!\n     I'll bear him safe through all this fog.\n\n    \"Jockety jog, jockety jog!\n     How the darkness this way doth clog.\"\n\nThe old horse paused. \"I was thinking of a dark night some time ago. The\nmoon was hidden behind the clouds and not a star was to be seen. We had\ngone a long ways out of our usual track, for my master had heard of a\npoor woman who had a sick baby, and he said he must take her some fresh\nmilk. When we started back for home it was already pretty dark, but I\nknew the road. My master left it all to me. He just let the reins hang\ndown over the dashboard and gave me my head. So I kept along, taking\ngood care not to stumble. The tin cans bumped and banged together and\nthe wheels creaked over the rough places. Master began to sing his\nfavorite song:\n\n    \"Place the little candle-light\n     In the window clear and bright.\n     Tho' the night be dim and dark\n     I shall see its tiny spark.\"\n\n\n\n\nPUSS BUYS A PAIR OF BOOTS MADE FOR HIS FAMOUS SIRE\n\n\n    Solomon Grundy,\n    Born on a Monday,\n    Christened on Tuesday,\n    Married on Wednesday,\n    Took ill on Thursday,\n    Worse on Friday,\n    Died on Saturday,\n    Buried on Sunday.\n    This is the end of\n    Solomon Grundy.\n\nPuss, Jr., stood before a little shop. In the window was this sign. \"Too\nbad,\" said Puss to himself; \"he had such a nice little store.\"\n\n\"He did that!\" cried a voice. Puss looked up and saw a little old woman.\nOn her head was a queer green bonnet and over her shoulders hung a faded\nred shawl. \"Are you Mrs. Grundy?\" asked Puss. For some reason he felt\nsure it was, so he was not at all surprised when she answered yes.\n\n\"And do you still run the little shop?\" he asked.\n\n\"Yes, my good Sir Cat,\" she replied, \"and I have a very fine pair of\nred-topped boots which I would like to sell you.\"\n\n\"I guess I need a new pair,\" said Puss, Jr., looking down at his own.\nThere was a big hole in the toe of one and the other was minus a heel.\n\n\"Walk in,\" said little old Mrs. Grundy, \"and you may try them on.\" Puss\nfollowed her into the store and sat down. Mrs. Grundy climbed up a\nlittle step-ladder and took down a box from the top shelf. \"This pair of\nboots,\" she said, \"was made once upon a time, very long ago, for a very\nfamous cat whose name was Puss in Boots.\"\n\nAt these words Puss, Jr., jumped off his seat and threw his paws around\nMrs. Grundy.\n\n\"Gracious me!\" she cried, \"what are you doing?\"\n\n\"Oh, my dear madam,\" cried Puss, \"the famous cat you mention is my\nfather--I am Puss in Boots, Junior.\"\n\n\"Is that possible?\" exclaimed Mrs. Grundy, letting the box fall with a\nbang to the floor. \"Is that possible? I'm so glad that I saved these\nboots all these years. And to think that his son will wear them,\" she\nadded, sitting down in her excitement.\n\n\"But I don't care much about the boots!\" cried Puss, Jr. \"I want so\nbadly to find my father. Can't you tell me where he lives?\"\n\nMrs. Grundy looked puzzled. \"I did know, my little friend,\" she replied,\n\"but I have clean forgotten now. Indeed I have,\" she added, in a\nsympathetic voice, seeing how disappointed poor little Puss looked.\n\n\"Just the same, I will pay you well for the boots,\" said Puss, Jr., \"and\nbe on my way at once. One never can tell what each day may bring, and I\nmight find my father, although it grieves me to think you have forgotten\njust where he lives.\"\n\n\n\n\nPUSS MEETS A MODEST MENDING MAN AND A JOLLY MILLER\n\n\n    \"If I'd as much money as I could spend\n     I never would cry old chairs to mend;\n     Old chairs to mend, old chairs to mend,\n     I never would cry old chairs to mend.\n\n    \"If I'd as much money as I could tell,\n      I never would cry old clothes to sell;\n     Old clothes to sell, old clothes to sell,\n     I never would cry old clothes to sell.\"\n\n\"Well, what would you do?\" asked Puss, Jr., coming up to the funny\nlittle man who was singing this song as he journeyed along over the\nroadway down the hill, across the bridge to the creaking mill.\n\n\"I'd buy a little house and a little cow and a little pig, and I'd live\nall the days of my life as happy as could be,\" replied the funny little\nman.\n\n\"That wouldn't take such an awful lot of money,\" replied Puss. \"You said\nin your song if you had 'as much money as you could spend.' I should\nthink that would mean a big castle and a big automobile and a big yacht,\nand, and--\"\n\n\"I couldn't spend more than a little, for I've never had much practice\nin spending,\" answered the funny little man.\n\nBefore Puss could make reply they crossed the bridge and found\nthemselves opposite the old mill. In the doorway stood the miller all\ncovered with flour. His hat was dusty, too; even his hair and eyelashes\nwere white with the dusty flour.\n\n\"Any old chairs to mend?\" asked the funny little man.\n\n\"I have a stool here that has lost a leg,\" replied the miller, \"and an\nold clock that has lost a hand, and my wife has a pitcher that has lost\na mouth and a needle that has no eye. Can you mend them all?\"\n\n\"You'd better call in the doctor,\" said the funny little man; \"he's the\nperson you want.\"\n\n\"Ha, ha!\" roared the miller, \"I was only joking.\"\n\n\"So was I,\" answered the little man. \"Give me the stool. I will heal\nthat patient first, then will see about the others.\"\n\nThe miller presently brought out the injured stool, and while it was\nbeing mended he and Puss, Jr., had a talk.\n\n[Illustration: \"IF I'D AS MUCH MONEY AS I COULD SPEND\"]\n\n\"Yes,\" said the miller as Puss seated himself on a sack of flour, \"I'm a\nbusy man. It's grind, grind all day long. Red corn and yellow corn and\nwhite corn from the cribs of the farmers. From the fields to my mill,\nand then from here to the baker or the kitchen, and then into cakes for\nlittle children. The big wheel goes round and round all day long and the\nwater splashes and gurgles as it turns it. And then I tie up the sacks\nafter they are well filled, and then the wagon comes and takes them\naway. Every day the same thing, year in and year out.\"\n\n\"It's nice and cool,\" said Puss, \"and the flour smells sweet, and it's\nhome, you know. I'm a little tired with my long journey and wish I could\nfind my dear father.\"\n\n\"Cheer up,\" said the miller. \"You'll find him soon, I'm sure of that.\"\n\n\n\n\nPUSS OVERHEARS A PROPOSAL AND IS INVITED TO A WEDDING\n\n\n    It was a merry time,\n      When Jenny Wren was young,\n    So neatly as she danced,\n      And so sweetly as she sung--\n\n    Robin Redbreast lost his heart;\n      He was a gallant bird;\n    He doffed his hat to Jenny,\n      And thus to her he said:\n\n    \"My dearest Jenny Wren,\n      If you will but be mine,\n    You shall dine on cherry pie,\n      And drink nice currant wine.\"\n\n    \"I'll dress you like a goldfinch,\n      Or like a peacock gay;\n    So if you'll have me, Jenny,\n      Let us appoint the day.\"\n\nWhile on his journey Puss, Jr., paused to listen to this sweet song. On\na branch above him sat Robin Redbreast. With his hat held in one claw he\nbowed most beautifully to a little wren that sat on a limb just below\nhim. \"I'll dress you like a goldfinch,\" repeated Robin, swinging his\nbeautiful green hat with its long black feather up and down in the\nbreeze.\n\n    Jenny blushed behind her fan,\n      And thus declared her mind:\n    \"Then let it be to-morrow, Bob;\n      I'll take your offer kind.\n\n    \"Cherry pie is very good,\n      So is currant wine;\n    But I'll wear my russet gown,\n      And never dress too fine.\"\n\n\"I'd like to buy her a beautiful gold dress,\" said Robin Redbreast,\nturning to look at Puss, Jr., who stood very quietly at the foot of the\ntree.\n\n\"I think her little russet gown is much nicer,\" replied Puss. \"To tell\nyou the truth, she wouldn't look very much like a wren if you dressed\nher like a goldfinch.\"\n\n\"Of course I wouldn't,\" chirruped little Jenny Wren; \"and, besides, I\nwouldn't feel at all like myself. I might think Robin had married a\ngoldfinch instead of me; and I don't want to think that.\"\n\n\"Of course you don't,\" said Puss, kindly.\n\n\"You are both right,\" said Robin Redbreast. \"I only thought for the\nmoment that she would like a different gown, but she shall have her\nway. There is only one little bird in the world for me, and that is\nJenny Wren.\"\n\nJenny hid her face behind her fan, for she was I blushing very hard.\nIndeed, her cheeks were I almost as red as Robin's breast.\n\n\"To-morrow, then, shall be our wedding-day,\" said Robin, \"and you are\ninvited, my dear Puss, Junior.\"\n\n\n\n\nPUSS AND SEVERAL ACQUAINTANCES JOURNEY TO THE WEDDING\n\n\n    Robin rose up early,\n      Before the break of day;\n    He flew to Jenny Wren's house,\n      To sing a roundelay.\n\n    He met the Cock and Hen,\n      And bade the Cock declare,\n    This should be his wedding-day,\n      With Jenny Wren, the fair.\n\n    The Cock then blew his horn,\n      To let the neighbors know\n    This was Robin's wedding-day,\n      And they might see the show.\n\nPuss, Jr., was also up bright and early. He carefully polished his\nred-top boots and dusted his cap with the long feather in it. Then he\nstarted out for the woods.\n\n\"Cock-a-doodle-do!\" cried the rooster.\n\n\"How do you doodle-do, my noble Sir Chanticleer?\" asked Puss, bowing. \"I\nam on my way to Cock Robin's wedding; he has given me an invitation,\"\nhe added, as the rooster stopped crowing to listen.\n\nA little squirrel ran down from his tree and stood upright on his hind\nlegs as Puss came to the edge of the woods. \"Follow me,\" said Puss.\n\"There is to be a fine wedding in your forest city this morning.\" So the\nlittle squirrel ran after Puss.\n\nPresently they came to a little pond. On a big log sat a very\nfriendly-looking old bullfrog. \"Ker-chunk, ker-chunk!\" he cried.\n\n\"Get off your log and come with us,\" said Puss, Jr. \"There is to be a\ngrand wedding in the woods.\"\n\nThe bullfrog jumped off his log into the water with a great splash and\nswam to the shore. Scrambling up the bank, he followed Puss and the\nsquirrel. The three had only gone a little ways when they came to a\nchipmunk.\n\n\"Hello, Chip!\" cried the little squirrel. \"Don't you want to join us?\"\n\n\"Where are you going?\"\n\n\"To a wedding,\" said Puss, Jr.\n\n\"All right,\" said the chipmunk, and he ran up and joined Puss, Jr.'s,\nlittle party. After going for some distance they came to a brook.\n\n\"How shall we get across?\" asked Puss, Jr.\n\n\"I'm all right,\" said the bullfrog. \"I'll swim.\" And with a beautiful\ndive he landed in the middle of the stream and swam away to the other\nbank.\n\n\"I wish my boots were rubber,\" said Puss. \"I might wade across and carry\nyou two on my back.\"\n\nWhile they were wondering what to do, a muskrat swam up to the bank and\nsaid: \"Why don't you walk over Beaver Dam? It's only a little distance\nfrom here.\"\n\n\"Will it be perfectly safe?\" asked the little squirrel, timidly.\n\n\"Certainly, my dear friends,\" replied the muskrat. \"You run along the\nbank and I'll show you the way.\"\n\nSo Puss and his small comrades followed the little muskrat till they\nreached Beaver Dam.\n\n\n\n\nTHE GUESTS ARRIVE SAFELY AT THE WEDDING\n\n\nPuss, Jr., continued on his way with his small comrades, the squirrel,\nthe old bullfrog, the chipmunk, the muskrat, the beaver (who had joined\nthem without being asked after they had paid him for crossing his dam),\nand the timid little rabbit. Presently they saw in the distance the\nwedding procession of Cock Robin and Jenny Wren.\n\n    And first came Parson Rook,\n      With his spectacles and band,\n    And one of Mother Hubbard's books\n      He held within his hand.\n\n    The Sparrow and the Tomtit,\n      And many more, were there.\n    All came to see the wedding\n      Of Jenny Wren, the fair.\n\n    Then followed him the Lark,\n      For he could sweetly sing,\n    And he was to be the clerk\n      At Cock Robin's wedding.\n\n\"Let us make haste,\" cried Puss, Jr., \"or we shall be late.\"\n\n\"Please don't go so fast,\" begged the old bullfrog. \"I'm a very poor\nwalker.\"\n\n\"Here, climb up on my back,\" said the squirrel. \"You can lean against my\ntail. It will keep you from falling off.\"\n\nThis helped matters a great deal, and our little friends moved forward\nat a good pace. The old bullfrog was also much relieved. He was pretty\ntired and every once in a while gasped for breath. He was not too weary,\nhowever, to catch several flies on the way, and he winked quite solemnly\nat Puss, who grinned in return. As they neared the wedding procession\nthey heard the lark singing.\n\n    He sang of Robin's love\n      For little Jenny Wren;\n    And when he came unto the end,\n      Then he began again.\n\n    The Goldfinch came on next,\n      To give away the bride;\n    The Linnet, being bridesmaid,\n      Walked by Jenny's side;\n\n    And as she was a-walking,\n      Said, \"Upon my word,\n    I think that your Cock Robin\n      Is a very pretty bird.\"\n\n\"I think he is,\" whispered Puss, Jr., to the squirrel.\n\n\"So do I,\" said the chipmunk.\n\n\"Ker-chunk,\" said the old bullfrog, \"he has a fine red vest. I always\nlike white waistcoats, though,\" he added, looking down at his own; \"but\nthen, you know, everybody doesn't like the same thing.\"\n\n\n\n\nPUSS IS WELCOMED AT THE WEDDING\n\n\nAll the birds of the forest seemed to be at the wedding of Cock Robin\nand little Jenny Wren, as Puss, Jr., and his little friends sat down\nbeneath a big tree. The little squirrel cuddled up to Puss, while the\nchipmunk sat close by. The muskrat and the beaver stood near at hand,\nwhile the rabbit and the old bullfrog, who had climbed off the\nsquirrel's back, looked out from behind the tree trunk. They were the\nmost timid of all, so they hid behind the tree.\n\nAll the birds were singing as sweetly as could be. It was certainly very\nbeautiful wedding music. Perhaps the most exquisite strains came from\n\n    The Blackbird and the Thrush,\n      And charming Nightingale,\n    Whose soft note sweetly echoes\n      Through every grove and dale;\n\n    The Bullfinch walked by Robin,\n      And thus to him did say:\n    \"Pray mark, friend Robin Redbreast,\n      That Goldfinch dressed so gay;\n\n    \"What though her gay apparel\n      Becomes her very well,\n    Yet Jenny's modest dress and look\n      Must bear away the bell.\"\n\nJust then Parson Rook looked over at them. \"Why, Puss in Boots, Junior!\"\nhe called out. \"Come over here,\" and, turning to the wedding guests, he\nsaid: \"There is the son of the famous Puss in Boots. We are honored to\nhave so illustrious a person with us. And delighted, too, for he is a\ngreat traveler and a jolly good fellow.\"\n\nPuss, Jr., arose and bowed.\n\n\"Bring your little friends with you, also,\" said Parson Rook, \"for all\nthe forest folk are welcome. Who is there more loved, I would like to\nknow, than Robin Redbreast and little Jenny Wren?\"\n\n\"Nobody!\" croaked the old bullfrog.\n\n\"No one,\" said Puss, Jr.\n\n\"We all love Robin and Jenny,\" cried the squirrel and the chipmunk.\n\n\"And so do I,\" \"And so do I,\" cried the beaver and the rabbit together.\nAs they finished the birds began to sing the wedding-march.\n\n    Then came the bride and bridegroom,\n      Quite plainly was she dressed,\n    And blushed so much, her cheeks were\n      As red as Robin's breast.\n\n    But Robin cheered her up;\n      \"My pretty Jen,\" said he,\n    \"We're going to be married,\n      And happy we shall be.\"\n\n\"I'm going to give her a gold piece for good luck,\" whispered Puss.\n\n\"I've got a nut,\" said the little squirrel.\n\n\"And so have I!\" said the chipmunk. \"We'll each give her a nut.\"\n\n\"I'll give her a fresh-water pearl,\" said the old bullfrog.\n\nThe rabbit and the beaver looked at each other. \"We'll have to run home\nand get something,\" they cried.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BRIDE RECEIVES SOME HANDSOME PRESENTS\n\n\n\"Don't be gone long,\" cried Puss, Jr., as the rabbit and the beaver ran\noff to their homes to get a present for Jenny Wren. \"You had better\nhurry, or the wedding will be over by the time you return.\"\n\n\"Don't worry about me,\" said the rabbit, whisking away at a great rate.\n\n\"I'll be back, never fear,\" said the beaver.\n\nPuss watched them out of sight, then he heard the parson begin again:\n\n    \"Oh, then,\" says Parson Rook,\n      \"Who gives this maid away?\"\n    \"I do,\" says the Goldfinch,\n      \"And her fortune I will pay;\n\n    \"Here's a bag of grain of many sorts,\n      And other things besides;\n    Now happy be the bridegroom,\n      And happy be the bride.\"\n\nPresently the rabbit returned. \"Do you think she will like this?\" he\nasked Puss, Jr., holding up a little white powder-puff. \"I made it all\nmyself. I had it put away in a little box for safe-keeping.\"\n\n\"It's very pretty,\" said Puss, Jr., with a smile. \"What little bunny's\ntail did you cut off to make it with?\"\n\n\"Not mine,\" replied the rabbit; \"but don't ask me too many questions.\"\n\nJust then the beaver came panting up. \"Whew!\" he cried. \"I'd rather\ntravel by water than by land; but, anyhow, I'm here. How do you think\nshe will like my present?\" and he held up a little gold ring.\n\n\"Just the thing!\" cried Puss. \"But where did you get it?\"\n\n\"Oh, I found it on the bottom of the brook one day,\" replied the beaver,\n\"so I picked it up and hung it on a nail; I thought it might come in\nhandy some day.\"\n\n\"When shall we give her the present?\" asked the squirrel.\n\n\"Wait, wait,\" said Puss; \"they are not yet married. Listen to Parson\nRook:\n\n    \"And will you have her, Robin,\n      To be your wedded wife?\"\n    \"Yes, I will,\" says Robin,\n      \"And love her all my life.\"\n\n    \"And will you have him, Jenny,\n      Your husband now to be?\"\n    \"Yes, I will,\" says Jenny,\n      \"And love him heartily!\"\n\n    Then on her finger fair\n      Cock Robin put the ring;\n    \"You're married now,\" says Parson Rook,\n      While loud the lark did sing:\n\n    \"Happy be the bridegroom,\n      And happy be the bride,\n    And may not man, nor bird, nor beast,\n      This happy pair divide.\"\n\n\n\n\nPUSS MAKES A NEW FRIEND AND GAINS A STEED\n\n\n\"Heigh-ho!\" cried Puss, Jr., swinging his cane, as he marched merrily\nalong--\"heigh-ho for a short journey and a happy ending!\"\n\n\"Well said, my merrie Lord Cat,\" cried a voice. A tinker by the roadside\nlooked up as Puss was about to pass him by.\n\n    \"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.\n     If turnips were watches,\n     I'd wear one at my side.\n     And if 'ifs' and 'ands'\n     Were pots and pans,\n     There'd be no work for tinkers!\"\n\n\"I guess you are right, my good sir,\" said Puss, pausing and looking at\nthe old tins that the tinker had set down on the ground. \"If wishes were\nhorses, I'd have one at once, for four legs are better than two, and\nhorses' legs are meant to travel, while a cat's are not made especially\nfor that purpose.\"\n\n\"You are an observing cat,\" said the tinker, with a twinkle in his eye.\n\n\"I speak from experience, my good man,\" said Puss, \"for I have used my\nlegs for traveling these many miles, and when I look at a horse, I\ncannot help thinking he has the better of me as far as legs go.\"\n\n\"And when I look at my legs,\" said the tinker, \"I think how well they\nwould look astride of a good gray horse.\"\n\n\"Let us both make a wish,\" suggested Puss, half in fun and half in\nearnest. \"Wishes do come true at times, you know.\"\n\n\"Very good,\" replied the tinker, \"I'm wishing.\"\n\n\"And so am I,\" said Puss.\n\nTo their utter astonishment they heard a shrill neigh close at hand,\nand, turning to see what manner of steed had answered so quickly their\nwishes, they beheld two fine gray horses in the meadow close by. Leaning\ntheir heads over the fence rail, the two animals gazed at them with\nexpectant eyes.\n\n\"Why, they already have on their saddles and bridles!\" cried the tinker,\nwith amazement. \"Are you a fairy cat? Do your wishes always come true?\"\n\n\"That is a nice question to answer,\" replied Puss, \"but in this case,\nyou can see for yourself.\"\n\n\"Well,\" said the tinker, \"let us not refuse this stroke of good luck. I,\nfor one, shall mount one of yonder steeds.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"I GUESS YOU ARE RIGHT, MY GOOD SIR,\" SAID PUSS]\n\n\"And I will ride the other,\" cried Puss, nimbly springing over the\nfence. Thrusting his foot into the stirrup, he sprang into the saddle\nand waited for his friend the tinker. Alas for the clumsy tinker! As he\nattempted to mount, the bundle of old tins made such a rattle that both\nhorses jumped in fright, and in another moment ran off at a great rate.\nPuss clung tightly to the reins, and, on looking back, saw the\nbewildered tinker still standing by the fence, while his horse careered\nacross the meadow, kicking up his heels and snorting at a great rate.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS MEETS A HUNTER AND THEY BOTH LEARN THAT THE OWL IS A USEFUL BIRD\n\n\n\"Well, that was a clumsy tinker,\" said Puss to himself, as he guided his\ngood gray horse into the highway. \"But I suppose he is no rider, and\ntherefore is safer upon his own two legs. At any rate, I cannot stop to\ninquire, nor would I be of any assistance. So I shall ride away,\nthankful at my good luck in having a steed for a mere wish. As wishes\nare horses, pussy-cats may ride,\" he said, with a laugh.\n\nThe gray horse proved a good roadster and covered many a mile before\nmidday. Presently, on coming to a crossway, Puss decided to take the\nroad that led through the woods. He had hardly entered when he saw a\nfunny little man dressed like a huntsman. In his right hand he carried a\nbow and on his back was a quiver full of arrows.\n\nA small dog ran along at his heels, snuffing about continually, as if\nexpecting to find a rabbit or a squirrel. Before Puss had gone much\nfarther, the funny little huntsman paused under a large tree, from a\nhole in which an old owl looked out, winking and blinking his eyes.\n\n    There was an owl lived in an oak,\n      Whiskey, Whaskey, Weedle;\n    And all the words he ever spoke\n      Were Fiddle, Faddle, Feedle.\n\n    A sportsman chanced to come that way,\n      Whiskey, Whaskey, Weedle;\n    Said he, \"I'll shoot you, silly bird!\"\n      So Fiddle, Faddle, Feedle.\n\n\"Bow-wow!\" yelped the little dog, suddenly catching sight of the old\nowl.\n\n\"There now, you've gone and done it!\" cried the funny little hunter, as\nthe owl quickly drew in his head. \"You're a fine hunting-dog, you are!\"\n\nThe little dog hung his tail and walked away. In another moment, on\ncatching sight of Puss on his big gray horse, he set up another wild\nbarking.\n\n\"What's the matter now?\" inquired the little huntsman. \"Oh, it's you, is\nit?\" he exclaimed, suddenly seeing Puss.\n\n\"Your little dog is a better watchman than a hunter,\" said Puss, with a\ngrin; \"that is, he's a good old scout.\"\n\n\"Well, I'm glad to find out he's good for something,\" said the little\nhunter, \"for he made me just now lose a good shot at an old owl that has\nbeen hooting and tooting around my house for many nights. I would have\nliked to put an arrow through his old head.\"\n\n\"You would, eh?\" screamed the owl, suddenly poking his head through the\nhole. \"Let me tell you, my good sir, that I have caught more rats and\nmice in your old barn than your cat has. Is this the way that you repay\na useful friend like me?\"\n\nThe little hunter dropped his bow. \"I never thought of that,\" he said,\napologetically.\n\n\"Well, next time think before you shoot,\" cried the owl; \"it may save\nyou many a miss!\"\n\n\n\n\nPUSS GOES ON A SHOPPING TRIP TO MAKE A LITTLE MAID HAPPY\n\n\n    \"The rose is red, the violet blue;\n     The gillyflower's sweet, and so are you.\n     These are the words you bade me say\n     For a pair of new gloves on Easter Day.\"\n\nPuss, Jr., looked down from his horse at a little girl who was swinging\non the front gate. He pulled up his good gray horse:\n\n\"A pair of new gloves on Easter Day? Is that what you want the most?\"\n\n\"Yes, indeed,\" cried the little girl. \"I've got a new bonnet with red\nribbons on it, and also a gown of yellow and brown; a pair of silk hose\nof the color of rose, and a lovely new pin with a big diamond in. A\nparasol, too, of purple and blue.\"\n\n\"Wait a minute,\" said Puss, \"you talk so fast, and your words all rhyme,\nand you've got so many things, of so many different colors that--that I\nreally don't remember whether you said you had a pair of gloves, after\nall.\"\n\n\"No, my dear pussy-cat,\" said the little maid, with a pout. \"I have new\nshoes, and new _everything_ but gloves. Now won't you bring me a pair\nfor Easter Day?\"\n\n\"Where shall I buy them?\" asked Puss. \"I don't see any shops about, and\nif I must go all the way to London for them you'll never receive them in\ntime for this Easter.\"\n\n\"Not far from here,\" cried the little maid, \"is a tiny shop where they\nmake beautiful gloves. Take the first road to your right and then turn\nto your left, and then turn to your right, and then you'll see it.\"\n\n\"Whew! Mew!\" cried Puss. \"Well, here goes. I'll do the best I can, but\nif I do not return you will know that I turned to the left when I should\nhave turned to the right, and then that I turned to the right when I\nshould have turned to the left, and so got all mixed up and never found\nthe tiny shop where the beautiful gloves are made.\" This was a long\nsentence for Puss, but he was learning how to make conversation after\nthe manner of little girls!\n\nBut his good gray horse must have remembered the directions, for he\nlanded his small master safe at the glove-shop. Puss, Jr., bought a\nlovely pair of gloves and remounted his horse. Soon he was back again in\nfront of the little gate where a short half-hour before the little girl\nhad been swinging back and forth. She had disappeared, but he heard her\nsinging.\n\n\"Where are the gloves for Easter Day?\" she cried, running out of the\ndoor of the cottage.\n\n\"Here they are, my pretty one,\" said Puss.\n\n    \"The rose is red, the violet blue;\n     The gillyflower's sweet, and so are you,\"\n\nsang the little girl as she tried them on.\n\n    \"These are the words you bade me say\n     For a pair of new gloves on Easter Day,\n\n\"Aren't they, dear Puss, Junior?\" she said, with a smile, looking up at\nhim.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS CONVERSES WITH AN INTELLIGENT GRAY DONKEY\n\n\n    \"Donkey, donkey, old and gray,\n     Ope your mouth and gently bray,\n     Lift your ears and blow your horn\n     To wake the world this sleepy morn,\"\n\ncalled Puss, Jr., who always remembered his _Mother Goose_ rhymes\nperfectly.\n\nThe donkey paused in his grazing and looked up. \"This sleepy morn,\" he\nrepeated. \"I don't call this a 'sleepy morn.' I should say it was very\nwide awake.\"\n\n\"I guess it is,\" admitted Puss, \"but, you see, I was only saying a\nlittle rhyme from _Mother Goose_.\"\n\n\"Well, I don't see how it applies to the present situation at all,\"\nreplied the donkey, in a rather ungracious manner. \"The only thing you\nhave right is the donkey part.\"\n\nPuss felt rather crestfallen. To be corrected by a donkey, generally\nconsidered one of the stupidest of animals, was not at all to his\nliking. Puss evidently forgot for the moment that all _Mother Goose_\nanimals are very intelligent, for otherwise how would they have been\ncelebrated in rhyme? But, like a wise cat, he took the rebuke meekly and\nsaid nothing.\n\n\"Well,\" said the donkey, after a pause, \"can I do anything else for you,\nSir Cat? Granting that it is too late to wake the morn, there may be\nother requests with which I will gladly comply.\"\n\n\"Gracious me!\" thought Puss to himself, \"he uses big words.\"\n\nThe donkey cocked up both ears as if awaiting Puss, Jr.'s, reply.\n\n\"Which is the shorter road across Mother Goose Land?\" inquired Puss.\n\n\"I don't know the exact number of miles,\" replied the donkey,\nthoughtfully, \"but the road to your left is the shorter. The one to your\nright leads to the seashore. Gingerbread Bridge is at the ending.\"\n\n\"What!\" exclaimed Puss, Jr. \"Why, you don't say so!\"\n\n\"What do you know about Gingerbread Bridge?\" asked the donkey.\n\n\"I crossed it once, and not so very long ago, either,\" replied Puss.\n\n\"Then you certainly don't want to take Gingerbread Road,\" replied the\ndonkey, \"so it is not hard to choose which way to go.\"\n\n\"Thank you,\" said Puss, turning his horse's head down the road to the\nleft. \"I will take the left road because it is the right road!\"\n\n\"Ha, ha!\" brayed the donkey, \"that's a good joke for a cat. May you have\na pleasant journey!\"\n\n\"Lift your ears and blow your horn; the sheep's in the meadow, the cows'\nin the corn!\" cried Puss, gaily. \"Although the morn is awake, I fear Boy\nBlue is still asleep.\"\n\nAnd with these words our small hero cantered down the road and out of\nsight.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS MEETS A HAPPY FARMER BUT MISSES A GOOD MEAL\n\n\nToward noon of a fine day Puss, Jr., halted his good gray horse near a\nmeadow. Standing near the fence, sharpening his scythe, stood a young\nfarmer. His wide straw hat kept off the sun and his loose shirt and open\ncollar let in the breeze which was blowing across the green grass.\n\n\"Warm day,\" said Puss, as he drew rein.\n\n\"Well,\" replied the farmer, \"it's not so bad. I don't feel it.\" And he\ncommenced to sing:\n\n    \"My maid Mary she minds the dairy,\n       While I go a-hoeing and mowing each morn,\n     Gaily run the reel and the little spinning-wheel,\n       Whilst I am singing and mowing my corn.\"\n\n\"Are farmers always so happy?\" asked Puss when the man stopped singing.\n\nThe farmer smiled and said: \"My good sir, when one is blessed with a\nfine wife and a good farm he can beat a canary-bird at singing.\"\n\n\"You don't say so!\" said Puss, Jr. \"But suppose one has neither, what\nshould such an unlucky one do?\"\n\n\"Don't ask me,\" said the farmer, setting to work again. \"I'm a simple\nman, and what is happiness for me might not be for another.\"\n\nAs he swung his scythe back and forth the tall grass fell in graceful\nrows and the sweet scent of the new-mown hay was everywhere. Suddenly\nPuss saw a field-mouse scampering over the ground. This was too much for\nPuss. He had eaten nothing since breakfast, and he had not had a mouse\nto eat for so long that he had almost forgotten how mice tasted. Jumping\ndown from his good gray horse, he gave chase.\n\n\"Go it, Sir Cat!\" cried the farmer. \"Don't lose him.\"\n\nPuss needed no words of encouragement. He longed for a good run, and his\nmouth fairly watered at the idea of a nice fat little mouse for lunch.\nBut the field-mouse saw him coming and wasted no time. Away he went,\nhopping over the grass and looking wildly about for a place in which to\nhide. A trunk of a fallen tree at no great distance attracted his\nattention, and with a final burst of speed he reached it and crawled\ninto a hole before Puss had the opportunity to seize him by the tail.\n\n\"Oh, pshaw!\" cried Puss, sitting down on the log. \"I surely thought I\nhad him.\"\n\n\"You did, eh?\" squeaked the little mouse, peering out of his hole and\nlaughing at poor Puss. \"I prefer to be inside this log rather than\ninside even so famous a character as Puss in Boots, Junior.\"\n\n\"How do you know my name?\" asked Puss, surprised at what he heard.\n\n\"Why, I'm one of the three blind mice whose tails the farmer's wife cut\noff,\" said the mouse.\n\n\"I thought there was very little tail to you,\" said Puss, \"or else you\nwent into the hole so fast that it made your tail look very short, for I\ncouldn't even get a little hold on it.\"\n\n\"Well, having my tail clipped did me some good,\" said the mouse.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS HELPS A STRANGER CATCH A RUNAWAY PIG\n\n\n    \"To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,\n     Home again, home again, jiggety jig.\n     To market, to market, to buy a fat hog,\n     Home again, home again, jiggety jog.\n     To market, to market, to buy a plum bun,\n     Home again, home again, market is done.\"\n\nA funny little man came dancing down the road. Before him he drove a fat\npig, which squeaked and grunted loudly. To one of its hind legs was\nfastened a rope, the other end of which the funny little man held\ntightly in his hand.\n\n    \"To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,\n     Home again, home again, jiggety jig.\"\n\nsang the little old man. \"How do you like my piggety pig?\" he asked,\nlooking up at Puss, Jr., who had stopped his good gray horse to watch\nthe funny sight.\n\n\"He looks like a fine pig,\" replied Puss.\n\n[Illustration: \"TO MARKET, TO MARKET, TO BUY A FAT PIG\"]\n\n\"Whoa, there, piggety pig!\" cried the old man as the pig began to\nstruggle to get away.\n\n\"Look out!\" cried Puss. But the warning came too late. The pig had\nwriggled his foot out of the noose and went racing down the road.\n\n\"Take me up behind you!\" cried the little old man. \"Then let us follow\nand catch him.\"\n\n\"Jump up! Quick about it!\" cried Puss, Jr.\n\nIn a moment the little old man was on the good gray horse, who\nimmediately set off at a gallop to overtake the piggety pig. It was a\nlong race, for he had a good head start and terror lent wings to his\nfeet.\n\n\"Git up!\" cried Puss, digging his heels into the sides of the good gray\nhorse. \"Git up! Don't you see the pig is getting away from us?\"\n\n\"Neigh, neigh!\" cried the good gray horse as he gave a spring forward.\n\n\"Then go faster!\" screamed the little old man.\n\n\"Gid ap!\" yelled Puss, Jr. At this the horse with leaps and bounds came\ncloser and closer to the fleeing pig.\n\n\"I've got the rope!\" cried the little old man.\n\n\"Make a big noose at one end,\" said Puss, \"and as we draw near throw it\nover his head.\"\n\n\"That I will,\" answered the little old man. \"When I was young I was a\ncowboy. I hope I've not forgotten how to swing a lariat.\"\n\nAs good luck would have it, he had not. All at once the little old man\nswung the rope in the air and the noose fell over the pig's head.\n\n\"I've got him! I've got him!\" cried the old man, and Puss, Jr., pulled\nin his horse. The race was over and the old man, jumping down to the\nground, thanked Puss again and again for his assistance.\n\n\n\n\nPUSS HELPS A LITTLE BOY WHO IS IN TROUBLE\n\n\nThe town of Banbury Cross was very pretty, situated at the corner of two\ncross-roads, close to a sparkling river over which ran a bridge. As\nPuss, Jr., on his good gray horse, whose feet went rackety-rackety,\nrackety-tak over the broad planking, drew rein at the farther end a\nsmall boy, who stood by the side of a pretty little pony, began to sing:\n\n    \"I had a little pony,\n       His name was Dapple-gray,\n     I lent him to a lady\n       To ride a mile away.\n     She whipped him, she lashed him,\n       She rode him through the mire;\n     I would not lend my pony now,\n       For all the lady's hire.\"\n\n\"Neither would I,\" said Puss.\n\nThe little boy opened his eyes very wide. They were blue as the skies\noverhead and were full of tears. \"She whipped him, she lashed him,\"\ncontinued the boy. \"I'll never again lend my pony to anybody.\"\n\n\"I wouldn't lend my good gray horse,\" said Puss, \"for one never knows\nwhether a person is kind to animals or not.\"\n\n\"I never thought a lady would hurt my pony,\" sobbed the boy. \"Just look\nat him. He's all covered with mud.\"\n\n\"So he is,\" said Puss, consolingly; \"but never mind. A good washing will\nfix him up.\"\n\n\"But my father will be angry,\" said the boy. \"He doesn't like to wash my\npony, and I'm too little.\"\n\n\"Let's take your pony down to the riverbank,\" Puss suggested. \"We'll\nfind a shallow spot and wash him off. Perhaps we can ride him a little\nway into the water; that would help.\" Tying his good gray horse to a\npost near by, Puss led the pony down the bank to the river, the little\nboy following.\n\n\"Do you want to ride him in,\" asked Puss, \"or shall I?\"\n\n\"You do it,\" said the little boy. \"I'm afraid.\"\n\nSo Puss jumped on the pony's back and gently urged him into the river.\nAfter going out some distance he stopped, for the water was almost up to\nhis boots. \"I guess I can wash him now,\" cried Puss, and, leaning over,\nfirst on one side and then on the other, he splashed up the water and\nscrubbed off the mud and dirt until the pony was as clean as a whistle.\n\n\"Now,\" exclaimed Puss, \"he looks like himself again.\" The pony seemed\nquite relieved also, for after gaining the bank he neighed and kicked up\nhis heels in a delighted manner.\n\n\"He looks better than ever,\" said the little boy. \"He was really quite\ndusty before I lent him to the lady.\"\n\n\"Yes, he's in fine shape,\" said Puss. \"I must now leave you, for I am on\na long journey.\"\n\n\"Thank you,\" said the boy. \"A pleasant journey to you, my good Sir Cat.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nHow our little hero, Puss in Boots, Jr., at last finds his famous\nfather, Puss in Boots, at the castle of my Lord of Carabas, will be told\nin _Further Adventures of Puss in Boots, Jr._\n\n\nTHE END\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n    _Little Tom Thumb with his tiny spear\n       Follows Puss Boots both far and near.\n     Did you ever see such a brave little cat,\n      With a shiny sword and a feathered hat?_\n\n[Illustration]\n\n    _\"Faster, faster, Good Gray Horse,\n       Hasten swiftly on your course,\n     'Till I see the stately towers\n       Where my father spends his hours.\"_\n\n[Illustration]\n\n    _\"Grandmother Goose your trusty broom\n       Makes spick and span each cottage room,\"\n     Said little Puss Boots, doffing his hat,\n       For he was a most polite little cat._\n\n[Illustration]\n\n    _This funny gnome is puzzled quite\n       Why little Puss Junior is so polite.\n     But Puss has manners very grand\n       I would have everyone understand._\n\n\n\n\nTHE PUSS-IN-BOOTS, Jr. SERIES\n\nBy DAVID CORY\n\nAuthor of \"The Little Jack Rabbit Stories\" and \"Little Journeys to\nHappyland\"\n\nHandsomely Bound. Colored Wrappers. Illustrated. Each Volume Complete in\nItself.\n\n\nTo know Puss Junior once is to love him forever. That's the way all the\nlittle people feel about this young, adventurous cat, son of a very\nfamous father.\n\n    THE ADVENTURES OF PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR.\n    FURTHER ADVENTURES OF PUSS-IN-BOOTS, Jr.\n    PUSS-IN-BOOTS, Jr. IN FAIRYLAND\n    TRAVELS OF PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR.\n    PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR., AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE\n    PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR., IN NEW MOTHER GOOSE LAND\n    PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR., AND THE GOOD GRAY HORSE\n    PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR., AND TOM THUMB\n    PUSS-IN-BOOTS, Jr., AND ROBINSON CRUSOE\n    PUSS-IN-BOOTS, JR., AND THE MAN IN THE MOON\n\n\n\n\nLittle Jack Rabbit Books\n\n(Trademark Registered)\n\nBy DAVID CORY\n\nAuthor of \"Little Journeys to Happyland\"\n\nColored Wrappers With Text Illustrations.\n\n\nA new and unique series about the furred and feathered little people of\nthe wood and meadow.\n\nChildren will eagerly follow the doings of little Jack Rabbit, and the\nclever way in which he escapes from his three enemies, Danny Fox, Mr.\nWicked Wolf and Hungry Hawk will delight the youngsters.\n\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT'S ADVENTURES\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND DANNY FOX\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE SQUIRREL BROTHERS\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND CHIPPY CHIPMUNK\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE BIG BROWN BEAR\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND UNCLE JOHN HARE\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND PROFESSOR CROW\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND OLD MAN WEASEL\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND MR. WICKED WOLF\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND HUNGRY HAWK\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE POLICEMAN DOG\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND MISS MOUSIE\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND UNCLE LUCKY\n    LITTLE JACK RABBIT AND THE YELLOW DOG TRAMP\n\nGROSSET & DUNLAP, _Publishers_, NEW YORK\n\n\n\n\nLITTLE JOURNEYS TO HAPPYLAND\n\nBy DAVID CORY\n\nProfusely Illustrated. Individual Colored Wrappers.\n\nPrinted in large type--easy to read. For children from 6 to 8 years.\n\nA new series of exciting adventures by the author of the LITTLE JACK\nRABBIT books. This series is unique in that it deals with unusual and\nexciting adventures on land and sea and in the air.\n\n\nTHE CRUISE OF THE NOAH'S ARK\n\nThis is a good rainy day story. On just such a day Mr. Noah invites\nMarjorie to go for a trip in Noah's Ark. She gets aboard just in time\nand away it floats out into the big wide world.\n\n\nTHE MAGIC SOAP BUBBLE\n\nThe king of the gnomes has a magic pipe with which he blows a wonderful\nbubble and taking Ed. with him they both have a delightful time in\nGnomeland.\n\n\nTHE ICEBERG EXPRESS\n\nThe Mermaid's magic comb changes little Mary Louise into a mermaid. The\nPolar Bear Porter on the Iceberg Express invites her to take a trip with\nhim and away they go.\n\n\nTHE WIND WAGON\n\nLittle Hero stepped aboard the Wind Wagon and started on a journey to\nmany wonderful places and had a delightful time.\n\n\nTHE MAGIC UMBRELLA\n\nA little old man gave Jimmy the Magic Umbrella which took him to\nHappyland, where he had many adventures.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LITTLE WASHINGTONS SERIES\n\nBy LILLIAN ELIZABETH ROY\n\nHandsomely Bound. Colored Wrappers. Illustrated. For Children 6 to 12\nYears\n\nThis series presents early American history in a manner that impresses\nthe young readers. Because of George and Martha Washington Parke, two\nyoung descendants of the famous General Washington, these stories follow\nexactly the life of the great American, by means of playing they act the\nlife of the Washingtons, both in battles and in society.\n\n\nTHE LITTLE WASHINGTONS\n\nTheir thrilling battles and expeditions generally end in \"punishment\"\nlessons read by Mrs. Parke from the \"Life of Washington.\" The culprits\nlisten intently, for this reading generally gives them new ideas for\nfurther games of Indian warfare and Colonists' battles.\n\n\nTHE LITTLE WASHINGTONS RELATIVES\n\nThe Davis children visit the Parke home and join zealously in the games\nof playing General Washington. So zealously, in fact, that little Jim\nalmost loses his scalp.\n\n\nTHE LITTLE WASHINGTONS' TRAVELS\n\nThe children wage a fierce battle upon the roof of a hotel in New York\nCity. Then, visiting the Davis home in Philadelphia, the patriotic\nWashingtons vanquish the Hessians on a battle-field in the empty lot\nback of the Davis property.\n\n\nTHE LITTLE WASHINGTONS AT SCHOOL\n\nAfter the school-house battle the Washingtons discover a band of gypsies\ncamping near the back road to their homes and incidentally they secure\nthe stolen horse which the gypsies had taken from the \"butter and egg\nfarmer\" of the Parkes.\n\n\nTHE LITTLE WASHINGTONS' HOLIDAYS\n\nThey spend a pleasant summer on two adjoining farms in Vermont. During\nthe voyage they try to capture a \"frigate\" but little Jim is caught and\nabout to be punished by the Captain when his confederates hasten in and\nsave him.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BUNNY BROWN SERIES\n\nBy LAURA LEE HOPE\n\nAuthor of the Popular \"Bobbsey Twins\" Books, Etc\n\nDurably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding. Every Volume\nComplete in Itself.\n\n\nThese stories are eagerly welcomed by the little folks from about five\nto ten years of age. Their eyes fairly dance with delight at the lively\ndoings of inquisitive little Bunny Brown and his cunning, trustful\nsister Sue.\n\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON GRANDPA'S FARM\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE PLAYING CIRCUS\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CAMP-REST-A-WHILE\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT AUNT LU'S CITY HOME\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE BIG WOODS\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON AN AUTO TOUR\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR SHETLAND PONY\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE GIVING A SHOW\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT CHRISTMAS TREE COVE\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE IN THE SUNNY SOUTH\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE KEEPING STORE\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AND THEIR TRICK DOG\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE AT A SUGAR CAMP\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON THE ROLLING OCEAN\n    BUNNY BROWN AND HIS SISTER SUE ON JACK FROST ISLAND\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOBBSEY TWINS BOOKS\n\nFor Little Men and Women\n\nBy LAURA LEE HOPE\n\nAuthor of \"The Bunny Brown Series,\" Etc.\n\nDurably Bound. Illustrated. Uniform Style of Binding. Every Volume\nComplete in Itself.\n\n\nThese books for boys and girls between the ages of three and ten stands\namong children and their parents of this generation where the books of\nLouisa May Alcott stood in former days. The haps and mishaps of this\ninimitable pair of twins, their many adventures and experiences are a\nsource of keen delight to imaginative children everywhere.\n\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SCHOOL\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT SNOW LODGE\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON A HOUSEBOAT\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT MEADOW BROOK\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT HOME\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN A GREAT CITY\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON BLUEBERRY ISLAND\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE GREAT WEST\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT CEDAR CAMP\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE COUNTY FAIR\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS CAMPING OUT\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS AND BABY MAY\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS KEEPING HOUSE\n    THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT CLOVERBANK\n\n\n\n\nTHE HONEY BUNCH BOOKS\n\nBy HELEN LOUISE THORNDYKE\n\nIndividual Colored Wrappers and Text Illustrations Drawn by WALTER S.\nROGERS\n\n\nHoney Bunch is a dainty, thoughtful little girl, and to know her is to\ntake her to your heart at once.\n\nLittle girls everywhere will want to discover what interesting\nexperiences she is having wherever she goes.\n\n    HONEY BUNCH: JUST A LITTLE GIRL\n    HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST VISIT TO THE CITY\n    HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST DAYS ON THE FARM\n    HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST VISIT TO THE SEASHORE\n    HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST LITTLE GARDEN\n    HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST DAYS IN CAMP\n    HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST AUTO TOUR\n    HONEY BUNCH: HER FIRST TRIP ON THE OCEAN\n\n\n\n\nTHE FLYAWAYS STORIES\n\nBy ALICE DALE HARDY\n\nAuthor of The Riddle Club Books\n\nIndividual Colored Jackets and Colored Illustrations by WALTER S. ROGERS\n\nA splendid new line of interesting tales for the little ones,\nintroducing many of the well known characters of fairyland in a series\nof novel adventures. The Flyaways are a happy family and every little\ngirl and boy will want to know all about them.\n\n\nTHE FLYAWAYS AND CINDERELLA\n\nHow the Flyaways went to visit Cinderella only to find that Cinderella's\nPrince had been carried off by the Three Robbers, Rumbo, Hibo and Jobo.\n\"I'll rescue him!\" cried Pa Flyaway and then set out for the stronghold\nof the robbers. A splendid continuation of the original story of\nCinderella.\n\n\nTHE FLYAWAYS AND LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD\n\nOn their way to visit Little Red Riding Hood the Flyaways fell in with\nTommy Tucker and The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe. They told Tommy\nabout the Magic Button on Red Riding Hood's cloak. How the wicked Wolf\nstole the Magic Button and how the wolves plotted to eat up Little Red\nRiding Hood and all her family, and how the Flyaways and King Cole sent\nthe wolves flying, makes a story no children will want to miss.\n\n\nTHE FLYAWAYS AND GOLDILOCKS\n\nThe Flyaways wanted to see not only Goldilocks but also the Three Bears\nand they took a remarkable journey through the air to do so. Tommy even\nrode on a Rocket and met the monstrous Blue Frog. When they arrived at\nGoldilock's house they found that the Three Bears had been there before\nthem and mussed everything up, much to Goldilock's despair. \"We must\ndrive those bears out of the country!\" said Pa Flyaway. Then they\njourneyed underground to the Yellow Palace, and oh! so many things\nhappened after that!\n\n\nGROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK","title":"The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Jr.","tradition":"folklore-oral-tradition","translated_text":null,"word_count":22925}