Then the queen of the mice held a council.

"These cats will eat every one of us," she said, "if the
captain of the ship does not shut the ferocious animals up.
Let us send a deputation to him of the bravest among us."

Several mice offered themselves for this mission and set
out to find the young captain.

"Captain," said they, "go away quickly from our island,
or we shall perish, every mouse of us."

"Willingly," replied the young captain, "upon one
condition. That is that you shall first bring me back a bronze
ring which some clever magician has stolen from me. If
you do not do this I will land all my cats upon your
island, and you shall be exterminated."

The mice withdrew in great dismay. "What is to be
done?" said the Queen. "How can we find this bronze
ring?" She held a new council, calling in mice from every
quarter of the globe, but nobody knew where the bronze
ring was. Suddenly three mice arrived from a very distant
country. One was blind, the second lame, and the
third had her ears cropped.

"Ho, ho, ho!" said the new-comers. "We come from a
far distant country."

"Do you know where the bronze ring is which the genii