"To my Lord Marquis of Carabas," replied the reapers, and the King was
very well pleased with it, as well as the Marquis, whom he congratulated
thereupon. The Master Cat, who went always before, said the same thing
to all he met, and the King was astonished at the vast estates of my
Lord Marquis of Carabas.

Monsieur Puss came at last to a stately castle, the master of which was
an Ogre, the richest ever known; for all the lands which the King had
then passed through belonged to this castle. The Cat, who had taken care
to inform himself who this Ogre was and what he could do, asked to speak
with him, saying he could not pass so near his castle without having the
honor of paying his respects to him.

The Ogre received him as civilly as an Ogre could do, and made him sit
down.

"I have been assured," said the Cat, "that you have the gift of being
able to change yourself into all sorts of creatures you have a mind to;
that you can, for example, transform yourself into a lion, or elephant,
and the like."

"That is true," answered the Ogre, roughly; "and to convince you, you
shall see me now become a lion."

Puss was so terrified at the sight of a lion so near him that he
immediately climbed into the gutter, not without much trouble and
danger, because of his boots, which were of no use at all to him for
walking upon the tiles. A little while after, when Puss saw that the
Ogre had resumed his natural form, he came down, and owned he had been
very much frightened.