J. F. Campbell Collection > Household stories

THE POOR MILLER S SON AND THE CAT. 337
^cl SO much so, that they did not intend that he shoukl ever have the
mill, even after them. But all three went out together, and as soon as
they got away from the village the two eldest brothers said to the stupid
Hans, " You may as well remain here ; in all your lifetime you will
never find a horse." Nevertheless Hans went with them, and when
night came on they arrived at a hollow where they laid down to sleep.
The two clever brothers waited till Hans was fast asleep, and then they
got up and walked off, leaving Hans snoring. Now they thought they
had done a very clever thing, but we shall see how they fared. By-
and-by the sun arose and awoke Hans, who, when he found himself
lying in a deep hollow, peeped all around him, and exclaimed, " Oh,
Heavens! where have I got to?" He soon got up and scrambled out
of the hollow into the forest, thinking to himself, " Here am I all alone,
what shall I do to get at a horse?" While he ruminated, a little tor-
toiseshell Cat came up, and asked in a most friendly manner, " Where
are you going, Hans?" "Ah! you can help me," said Hans. "Yes,
I know very well what you wish," replied the Cat ; " you want a fine
horse : come with me, and for seven years be my faithful servant, and
then I will give you a handsomer steed than you ever saw."
" Well," thought Hans to himself, " this is a wonderful Cat ! but still
I may as well see if this will be true."
So the Cat took him into its enchanted castle, where there were
many other Cats who waited upon it, jumping quickly up and down the
steps, and bustling about in first-rate style. In the evening when they
sat down to table three cats had to play music ; one played the violon-
cello, a second the violin, and a third blew a trumpet so loudly that its
cheeks seemed as if they would burst. When they had finished dinner
the table was drawn away, and the Cat said, " Now, Hans, come and
dance with me." " No, no," replied he, " I cannot dance with a Cat !
I never learnt how ! "
" Then take him to bed," cried the Cat to its attendants ; and they
lighted him at once to his sleeping apartment, where one drew 00^*1118
shoes, another his stockings, while a third blew out the light. The
following morning the servant-cats made their appearance again, and
helped him out of bed : one drew on his stockings, another buckled on
his garters, a third fetched his shoes, a fourth washed his face, and a
fifth wiped it with her tail. " That was done well and gently," said
Hans to the last. But all day long Hans had to cut wood for the Cat,
and for that purpose he received an axe of silver and wedges and saws
of the same metal, while the mallet was made of copper.
Here Hans remained making himself useful. Every day he had
good eating and drinking, but he saw nobody except the tortoiseshell Cat
and her attendants. One day the Cat said to him, " Go and mow my
meadow and dry the grass well ;" and she gave him a scythe made of
silver and a whetstone of gold, which she bade him bring back safe.
Hans went off and did what he was told ; and, when it was finished, he
took home the scythe, whetstone, and hay, and asked the Cat if she