"I can't till midnight," said the cat, "or all will be spoiled, and the charm won't work."
XIX
Before he left home the Prince would have stamped about and made a great uproar at being obliged to wait even a minute for anything he wanted; but of late he had learned, among other lessons, the lesson of patience; so he neither stormed nor cried, but entering the palace seated himself where he could see the great hall-clock and watch for midnight.
He was so weary, however, that he could not keep his eyes open, and presently he was as sound asleep as a dormouse. At length the cat touched him on the shoulder, her claws pricking him so that he sprang up in a hurry.
"Wake up!" said the cat; "the clock will strike twelve in seven minutes."
"Why, have I been asleep?" asked the Prince, rubbing his eyes.
"It looks like it," replied the cat. "Why did you leave the Court shut up in the box?"