Puss in Boots, Jr., and the Good Gray Horse

E-text prepared by Suzanne Shell, Emmy, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)
THE GOOD GRAY HORSE RUNS AWAY WITH PUSS JUNIOR AND THE LITTLE OLD MAN. Puss-in-Boots Jr. and the Good Gray Horse. Frontispiece.
AUTHOR OF LITTLE JACK RABBIT BOOKS, LITTLE JOURNEYS TO HAPPYLAND, PUSS IN BOOTS BOOKS, Etc.
PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS NEW YORK Made in the United States of America
Copyright, 1921, by Harper & Brothers Printed in the United States of America G-V

ONE morning as little Puss, Junior, on his Good Gray Horse rode through Mother Goose country he saw a spider sitting in her tiny lace house. She kept very still, for the early dewdrops still clung to the delicate web. And as the sun shone down they looked for all the world like diamonds on a piece of lace. So little Puss, Junior, stretched out his paw and, would you believe it, instead of a drop of water he picked off a real diamond.
Ha, ha! cried the little black spider. The witch's feather in your hat has changed the dewdrop into a diamond. But I have no use for precious stones, so you may have it. The flies that come to my net are more to my liking. And then she tied the strings of her little black bonnet and put on her black silk mitts and waited for a fly to make a call.
Well, after putting the diamond in his pocket, Puss rode away, and by and by, after a while he came to a steep hill. And, oh, dear me! it was a dreadfully steep hill, for Puss had missed his way and there was no path or road for him to follow. And while he waited, not knowing what to do, he heard a little voice say:
If I bring four wings to you To fasten on your horse's shoe Will you give me for my locket The sparkling diamond in your pocket?
How do I know my Good Gray Horse can fly with these wings? asked Puss.
He may try them first, said the voice, and out from behind a stump jumped a little dwarf, dressed in green, with a red turban on his head. Quick as a wink he fastened a wing to each foot of the Good Gray Horse. And then he clicked his tongue against his teeth and away went the Good Gray Horse up in the air like a great bird.