"They say the balloon has gone up to the moon," cried the crowd.
"Why, I've been up to the moon," said Puss, Junior, "but never will I get excited over that?" But, nevertheless, he walked up to the balloon man and asked. "When does your next balloon go up?"
"In about five minutes," replied the owner of the air craft. "We have an ascension every half hour."
"Well," replied our little hero, "I would like to be one of your passengers!"
"Pay your shilling and you shall have a seat in the basket," answered the owner.
After waiting for perhaps an hour the basket car was filled. My, how the people cheered as the balloon ascended, and when it had almost reached the clouds Puss leaned over the edge of the basket and threw little notes down to the people below. "Tell my good friends that Puss in Boots, Junior, has gone up in a balloon," he wrote on one of them.
On another, he scribbled, "Puss in Boots, Junior, is about to visit the Man in the Moon."
"You had better be careful," said the owner of the balloon, "how do I know we'll reach the moon?"
"If you follow my directions you will," replied Puss, Junior, "for I have been there before and, to tell you the truth, it is a most remarkable place. The moon is an unexplored country."