Having made this long speech the Captain suddenly remembered the
Court etiquette, became very hot and red, went out of the room
backwards, and instantly fell over the seventeen cats who all swore
at him, which so confused the poor man that he rolled down the
stairs and out into the court where the twenty-seven cats were
having rations of mouse-pie served out to them; and the Captain
rolled into the middle of the pie, scalded himself badly with the
gravy, and was thankful to jump on his horse and ride away with his
soldiers to report matters to the King.

The King was so pleased with his promptitude that he made him the
General of the Flying Squadron, which only fights in the air, and
conferred on him the medal of the Society for the Suppression of
Superfluous Salamanders, whereat the Captain was overjoyed.

But this is a digression, and I only told you because I wanted you
to see that virtue is always rewarded.

Now for the poor Princess.

Well, she cried a little, of course, but the cats brought her some
mouse-pie, which she found very good, and she was soon quite happy
playing with some of the kittens and nearly forgot all about the
Dreadful Griffin; but he did not forget about HER, oh dear no! He
flew after the Captain when he galloped away with the Princess, but
when he saw the White Cats he shook with ague so fearfully that his
teeth rolled about in his mouth like billiard balls and he had to
go and get a new set before he could eat his dinner. Well, he was
in a perfect fury, and how to get at the Princess he did not know.
He swallowed several buckets of hot brimstone, rolled his head in a