“Meow! meow!” cried the cat; “give me my tail!”
“Bring me my milk and I will give you your tail,” said the old woman.
The cat went to the goat and said: “Goat, kind goat, do give me some milk! I will give it to the old woman and get back my tail.”
“Bring me some boughs from yonder tree, and I will give you milk,” answered the goat.
The cat went to the tree and said, “O good tree, do give me some boughs! I will take them to the goat, get a little milk and give it to the old woman, and get back my tail.”
“Bring me some water and I will give you some boughs,” answered the tree.
The cat went to the water-carrier and said, “Kind water-carrier, give me some water! I will take it to the tree and get some boughs, give them to the goat and get some milk, and give it to the old woman and get my tail.”
“Bring me a pair of shoes and I will give you some water,” said the water-carrier.
The cat went to the shoemaker and said, “Shoemaker, good shoemaker, do give me a pair of shoes! I will give them to the water-carrier, who will give me some water; I will take it to the tree and get some boughs for the goat; she will give me some milk, which I will take to the old woman and get my tail.”
“Bring me an egg and I will give you a pair of shoes,” said the shoemaker.