As soon as the Emperor heard of this mishap he ordered out his hounds to hunt the cat that had decoyed away his daughter. But the cat, when he saw himself chased, took refuge in the cleft of a rock into which the hounds could not follow him. So they returned home from a bootless chase.
Then the cat crept out, transformed himself back into a fox, and followed Kumrikusha, who by this time had brought the Princess home to the Beg.
The Emperor, convinced that he should not recover his daughter by peaceful means, levied an immense army and declared war against the beasts. When Reinecke heard of this he summoned the other animals that lived with the Beg, and which, as I have told you, were a Bear, a Wolf, a Mouse, a Mole, and the bird Kumrikusha, and spoke to them thus:
“Listen! The Emperor, with his whole army, is marching against us to exterminate us. Very well; let us also summon our forces, that we may make a brave stand against him. Master Petz, how many bears can you muster?”
“More than three hundred.”
“And you, Isegrim?”
“I can bring five hundred wolves.”
“And you, Mouse—speak up; how great is your command?”
“I can bring three thousand mice.”
“And how many moles can you bring, Mole?”