李同舟

After a day of hard fighting， the cats， led by the prince and the White Cat， pushed the rats back to the beaches. The rats quickly took to the sea in boats made of eggshells.

Despite their great fear of water， the cats put to sea in vessels made of cork. With her tiny  gold sword grasped tightly in one paw， the White Cat captained her navy from the lead ship. The prince， who was too large to sail with them， stayed onshore and cheered his friend on.

The battle was long and ferocious①. But at last the White Cat and her fleet defeated the rats and sent them swimming toward their distant island home.

For weeks， there was one victory celebration after another. The prince forgot how quickly time was passing until the White Cat said， “As much as it saddens me to see you go， the time has come for you to return to your father. Take this walnut， but do not break it open until you are in his presence. It will satisfy his wish.”

“My beloved White Cat， I would rather stay here with you.”

But the white cat shook her head sadly， so the prince kissed her paw and said good-bye.

This time the prince was the last of the brothers to return home. When he entered the throne room， each of his brothers had already produced linen of such fine quality that the king could not decide between them.

The youngest held up the walnut and cracked it. However， instead of a piece of linen， he found a hazelnut inside. He cracked the hazelnut and found a cherry pit. His brothers looked at each other and smiled. The king chuckled to himself.

The prince grew very red， but he proceeded to break the cherry pit. Inside he found a grain of wheat. His brothers laughed and made fun of him. The prince ignored them and confidently opened the kernel of wheat. Inside， was a single tiny mustard seed. He looked at it and thought， White Cat， have you played a joke on me？

At that moment， he heard a familiar voice， a whisper that only he could hear： “Have you so little faith in your friend？” it said.

Ashamed of his doubts， the prince opened the mustard seed and， to the amazement of all， drew out a piece of linen four hundred yards long， on which were painted all kinds of birds，  animals， and fish， as well as trees， fruit， and the sun， moon， and stars. There were portraits of all the reigning kings and queens of the world. In one corner was a picture of the White Cat herself.

The cloth was passed three times through the eye of the thinnest needle.

Before the king could proclaim his youngest son the winner， the two elder sons complained that the contest had not been won fairly. The fate of the kingdom should not be decided by a piece of cloth， they argued.

The king drew a long sigh. Then he said， “Go and travel for yet another year. Whichever of you brings home the most beautiful young lady shall marry her and be crowned king. But marked my words： this time my decision will be final.”

Though the youngest prince felt cheated twice over， he was too respectful of his father to complain. He set out at once on the long， familiar road back to his beloved White Cat.

When he arrived at the castle， he was escorted② to a high tower. The White Cat was watching the sky through a tall window. She greeted him warmly， but there was sadness in her voice.

“What troubles you， my dear friend？” he asked.

“Today the wizard-dwarf Migonnet arrives to ask for my hand in marriage. He gave me five years to agree. When he finds I will not marry him， he will destroy me.”

“Why dont you fight him with your troops？”

“He has cast a spell over this land and all who live here. We cannot fight him. But my heart remains my own， I would rather die than marry him.”

“Then I will challenge him for you！” cried the prince.

“No， I beg you. He is too powerful.”

But the prince would not listen. Seeing she could not change his mind， the White Cat gave him the bracelet she always wore. From it dangled③ a silver cats paw with tiny diamond claws.

“Take this，” she said. “Its my own good-luck charm. Perhaps it will help protect you from Migonnets spells. ”

Since the bracelet was too small to fit his wrist， the prince hung it from a chain around his neck so it would be near his heart.

Suddenly the White Cat cried， “He is coming！”

The prince looked where she pointed. Charging through the air was a chariot drawn by a winged salamander④. Goblings mounted on ostriches rode alongside.

In the chariot sat the wizard. He was very short， with birds claws for hands and feet. His head was enormous， and his red nose was so big and thick a dozen crows could have perched on it.

The White Cat and the prince ran from the tower room and shouted for the guards to secure the palace. Invisible hands quickly sealed the doors and windows.

Suddenly Migonnets chariot burst through the great doors of the main hall. The prince drew his sword. At a signal from the dwarf-wizard， the salamander sent a burst of flame at the young man. But the prince was not harmed. The charm the White Cat had given him kept him safe from the salamanders fire.

The prince rushed forward and lopped off the monsters head as it lunged toward him. The fire died away.

The wizard leaped to the ground in a rage. He raised his want， but the prince sliced it in two with one stroke of his sword. Miginnet transformed himself into an enormous two-headed roc. The prince and the two-headed roc fought back and forth along the length of the great hall. The creatures wings swept the hangings from the walls， and the crystal chandeliers crashed to the floor.

All the while， the white cat and her servants could do no more than watch. Suddenly the white cat shouted， “cut between the heads—that may be the way to kill him！” the prince summoned all of his strength， raised his sword， and sliced the heads apart. With a birdlike screech from one head and an almost human cry of despair from the other， the creature collapsed. （To be continued）

Notes：

①ferocious /f??r????s/ adj. 激烈的，兇猛的 ②escort /Is?k??t/ v. 护送，陪同

③dangle /?d?l/ v. 摇摆    ④salamander /?s?l?m?nd?/ n. 火蜥蜴，火怪

True （T） or false （F）.

1. When the White Cat captained her navy fighting against the rats， the prince stayed onshore because of fear.

2. The prince began to suspect the White Cat when they he saw a single tiny mustard in the kernel.

3. The prince was too respectful of his brothers， so he didnt complain when he was cheated again.

4. The White Cat begged the prince to help her.

5. The White Cat had to marry because Migonnet cast a spell on her.