“O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken,” said the cat. “I have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the manger, and I’m thinking over whether I ought not to eat you up as well,” said she, and seized the leaf-sweeper and ate him up.
Then she came to a stone-pile. There stood the weasel, looking about him.
“Good-day, weasel on the stone-pile,” said the cat.
“Good-day, cat,” said the weasel. “Have you had anything to eat yet to-day?”
“O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken,” said the cat. “I have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the manger and the leaf-sweeper in the orchard, and I’m thinking over whether I ought not to eat you as well,” said the cat, and seized the weasel and ate him up.
After she had gone a while, she came to a hazel-bush. There sat the squirrel, gathering nuts.
“Good-day, squirrel in the bush,” said the cat.
“Good-day, cat! Have you already had anything to eat yet to-day?” said the squirrel.
“O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken,” said the cat. “I have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the manger and the leaf-sweeper in the orchard and the weasel on the stone-pile, and I’m thinking over whether I ought not to eat you up as well,” said she, and seized the squirrel and ate him up.
After she had gone a little while longer, she met Reynard the fox, who was peeping out of the edge of the forest.