Puss looked up and saw the church tower looming up in the dark. At once
she began to meouw and caterwaul with all her might. She hoped that some
one in one of the houses near the river bank might catch the sound. But
none seemed to hear or heed. At last, when Puss was nearly dead with
howling, a light appeared at one of the windows. This showed that some
one was up and moving. It was a boy, who was named Dirck, after the
saint Theodoric, who had first, long ago, built a church in the village.
Then Puss opened her mouth and lungs again and set up a regular
cat-scream. This wakened all her other relatives in the village and
every Tom and Kitty made answer, until there was a cat concert of meouws
and caterwauls.

The boy heard, rushed down-stairs, and, opening the door, listened. The
wind blew out his candle, but the brave lad was guided by the sound
which Pussy made. Reaching the bank, he threw off his wooden klomps,
plunged into the boiling waters, and, seizing the cradle, towed it
ashore. Then he woke up his mother and showed her his prize. The way
that baby laughed and crowed, and patted the horn of milk, and kicked up
its toes in delight over the warm milk, which was brought, was a joy to
see. Near the hearth, in the middle of the floor, Dub-belt-je', the
puss, was given some straw for a bed and, after purring joyfully, was
soon, like the baby, sound asleep.

Thus the cat warned the boy, and the boy saved the baby, that was very
welcome in a family where there were no girls, but only a boy. When
Honig-je' grew up to be a young woman, she looked as lovely as a
princess and in the church was married to Dirck! It was the month of
April and all the world was waking to flowers, when the wedding
procession came out of the church and the air was sweet with the opening