After this the cat walked on again till he met a wedding procession. At the head came the king with his newly made bride, and behind him marched a company of soldiers, and behind them tramped ever and ever so many elephants, two and two, and two and two, and two and two, and a great many more.
“Cat,” said the happy king, kindly, “turn out of the road a little, or my elephants may trample you to death.”
“King,” said the cat, “you don’t know me. I’ve eaten a basketful of cakes, I’ve eaten my friend the parrot, I’ve eaten a miserable man and his donkey, and shall I blush to eat a beggarly king? No, surely not.” And—gullup, gulloo—down went the king, down went the queen, down went the soldiers, bayonets and all, down went the elephants, two and two and two and two.
After this the cat walked on more slowly, for he was somewhat heavy. On the way two landcrabs went scuttling across the road. “Run away, run away, Pussycat,” they squeaked, “or we might nip you.”
“Ha, ha, ha!” laughed the cat, shaking his fat sides. “Ho, ho, ho!” he roared, showing his teeth; “you don’t know me. I’ve eaten a basketful of cakes, I’ve eaten my friend the parrot, I’ve eaten a miserable man and his donkey, I’ve eaten a king and his bride, I’ve eaten a company of soldiers, I’ve eaten a herd of elephants, two and two, and shall I blush to eat two silly little landcrabs? Nay, not so.” And he pounced upon the landcrabs, gullup, gulloo, gulloo, gullup, in two swallows they were inside the cat.
But—when their eyes were used to the darkness, the landcrabs made out the king sitting with his head in his hands, very unhappy. Across his knee lay the newly made bride in a dead faint. Near them the company of soldiers were trying to form fours. Behind these the elephants were trumpeting, the donkey was braying, the parrot was whetting his beak on his own claws, and the old woman was scolding the cat roundly. In a corner they made out a great pile of cakes.
The landcrabs said, “His sides are soft: let’s get out.” Nip, nip, they went, nip, nip, nip. And out they scuttled. Then out walked the king with his bride on his arm, out marched the soldiers, out tramped the elephants, two and two, out went the man and his donkey without any beating, out hobbled the old woman, and out flew the parrot.
And the cat had to spend a night and a day sewing up his sides.
—Eastern folk tale