The cat invited them to alight and led the way into a long dining-hall. There the servants had prepared a magnificent feast, for now they, as well as the castle and everything in it, belonged to Jack.
The King and the Princess took their places at the table, and Jack sat between them. They ate and drank and feasted to their hearts’ content, and the King had never tasted more delicious food, and it was all served on golden plates far finer than those he ate from in his own castle.
At the end of the feast the King turned to Jack and said, “My dear Marquis, you must be a very rich man.”
“I am so rich,” answered Jack, “that I really do not know how much I have.”
“It seems to me,” said the King, “that you ought to marry a princess, for no everyday girl would do for you.”
Yes, Jack would like to marry a princess, but it would have to be the right princess.
“Then how would my daughter do?” asked the King.
At that Jack was ready to jump out of his skin with joy, for the Princess was so sweet and pretty that he loved her already. “Yes, she would do better than anyone else in the world.” And the Princess did not say nay.
So Jack went back with the King and the Princess to his own palace, and then the Princess and Jack were married, and lived happily ever after.
The little cat lived in the palace with them, and always the softest cushion, and the warmest corner by the fire were left for him.