“Ah!” replied the cat, “there you sit in your gray coat and long tail, thinking nonsense. That comes of never going out.”
The mouse busied herself during the cat’s absence in putting the house in order, but meanwhile greedy puss licked the grease-pot clean out. “When it is all done one will rest in peace,” thought he to himself, and as soon as night came he went home fat and tired. The mouse, however, again asked what name the third child had received. “It will not please you any better,” answered the cat, “for he is called All-out.”
“All-out!” exclaimed the mouse; “well, that is certainly the most curious name by far. I have never yet seen it in print. All-out! What can that mean?” and, shaking her head, she rolled herself up and went to sleep.
After that nobody else asked the cat to stand godfather; but the winter had arrived, and nothing more was to be picked up out of doors; so the mouse bethought herself of their store of provision, and said, “Come, friend cat, we will go to our grease-pot which we laid by; it will taste well now.”
“Yes, indeed,” replied the cat; “it will taste as well as if you stroked your tongue against the window.”
So they set out on their journey, and when they arrived at the church the pot stood in its old place—but it was empty! “Ah,” said the mouse, “I see what has happened; now I know you are indeed a faithful friend. You have eaten the whole as you stood godfather; first Top-off, then Half-out, then——”
“Will you be quiet?” cried the cat. “Not a word, or I’ll eat you.” But the poor mouse had “All-out” at her tongue’s end, and had scarcely uttered it when the cat made a spring, seized her in his mouth, and swallowed her.
This happens every day in the world.
Old Sultan
A certain peasant had a trusty dog called Sultan, who had grown quite old in his service, and had lost all his teeth, so that he could not hold anything fast. One day the peasant stood with his wife at the house door and said: “This morning I shall shoot old Sultan, for he is no longer of any use.” His wife, however, compassionating the poor animal, replied: “Well, since he has served us so long and so faithfully, I think we may very well afford him food for the rest of his life.” “Eh, what?” replied her husband; “you are not very clever; he has not a tooth in his head, and never a thief is afraid of him, so he must trot off. If he has served us, he has also received his dinner every day.”