Page:Stories and story-telling (1915).djvu/187

 went scuttling across the road. "Run away, run away, Pussycat," they squeaked, "or we might nip you."

"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the cat, shaking his fat sides. "Ho, ho, ho!" he roared, showing his teeth; "you don't know me. I've eaten a basketful of cakes, I've eaten my friend the parrot, I've eaten a miserable man and his donkey, I've eaten a king and his bride, I've eaten a company of soldiers, I've eaten a herd of elephants, two and two, and shall I blush to eat two silly little landcrabs? Nay, not so." And he pounced upon the landcrabs, gullup, gulloo, gulloo, gullup, in two swallows they were inside the cat.

But—when their eyes were used to the darkness, the landcrabs made out the king sitting with his head in his hands, very unhappy. Across his knee lay the newly made bride in a dead faint. Near them the company of soldiers were trying to form fours. Behind these the elephants were trumpeting, the donkey was braying, the parrot was whetting his beak on his own claws, and the old woman was scolding the cat roundly. In a corner they made out a great pile of cakes.

The landcrabs said, "His sides are soft: let's get out." Nip, nip, they went, nip, nip, nip. And out they scuttled. Then out walked the king with his bride on his arm, out marched the soldiers, out tramped the elephants, two and two, out went the