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166 master promised to do so, took the penny, and set out on his journey. And while on his travels he came once upon some children on the sea-shore, who carried a cat with them which they were about to kill, and then throw into the water. When the master saw this, he hastened down to them and demanded,—

"What are you doing, children?"

And they answered him,—

"This cat does nothing but harm, and we are going to kill it."

Then he drew out the penny of his old servant, and offered it to the children for the cat. The children were glad of the offer, took the penny, and gave the cat to the merchant. He, however, took the cat on board his ship and set sail.

As he pursued his voyage, there arose one day a violent storm, which carried the vessel heaven knows where, so that for a whole three months he could not find his right way. When the storm abated, the master of the ship, not knowing where he was, sailed on a little farther, and at last landed before a fortress.

As soon as it was known in the fortress that a ship from a foreign land had come to shore, a great many people streamed down to see it, and one of them, a man of importance and very rich, invited the master of the ship home to supper. When he came to the house,