“Hello, is this little thing your King? I thought that your King was a lion at least. I should never have come for such a tiny creature. Bah! you are no more than a speck.” Then he turned about and stamped out of the court, eating everything that came in his way.
What could the King do? He was very, very angry, but he had to swallow his wrath and make the best of it. However, he made up his mind that he would take revenge.
And one day, the Camel’s nose-string became caught in a creeper so that he could not get away.
Then Sandy, the Fox, came along and he laughed, “He-he-he! You are at our mercy now. He-he-he!” And away ran the Fox and told the King.
The King came with the Fox and when he found that the Camel was a prisoner he said, “Oh, Camel, boastful Camel, you despised my words and now see the result of your wickedness. You are punished for your sins.”
“Oh, mighty King,” said the Camel very humbly, for he knew now that he was caught, “I do indeed confess my fault and I pray you to forgive me. I will be your faithful servant from now on, if you will only save me.”
The Mouse King was not spiteful and, as soon as he heard the Camel beg for forgiveness, his heart grew very soft and he said, “Camel, oh, Camel, I will set you free but hereafter you shall be my servant.”
Then the little Mouse climbed up on the creeper and gnawed, and gnawed through the Camel’s nose-string and set the camel free.
The big Camel kept his word and he became the servant of the Mouse King. He was so big and strong that he could carry loads which would have needed thousands of Mice, and so he could do more work in one day than a whole army of Mice could do in a week.
The Mouse King commanded the Camel to build strong walls and forts around the city and to make everything so strong that he had no fear of his enemies.