“And I will go too,” said Sootface.
Now the cat and the gardener’s son had brought out the witch’s book of magic to study as they rested by the wayside, and they determined to see if it would give them any advice for the journey.
The cat placed the book open before them on the grass and repeated a song he had heard the witch sing:
“Flames and salt,
And queens and kings,
And monkeys’ tails,
And golden rings.”
Then they all could see how the letters on the page were jumping about, and how they were arranging themselves into a verse. When the verse was made they read it, and found that it told the gardener’s son to go back to the witch’s hut before starting and cut a stick from the cherry-tree; so he obeyed at once, and presently returned with a good strong staff in his hand, and at sunset they set off for the kingdom of the Princess’s sister.
For some days they got on very well. Sootface marched first, capering and dancing with delight at having escaped from the cruel old witch; the gardener’s son followed, his cherry-stick in his hand, and giving his arm to the Princess when she was tired. But, as they were on foot, their progress was very slow, and, having very little money between them, they began to wonder how they should get enough food for each day. The gardener’s son and the Princess did not like begging, so the cat ran forward to every village as they approached it, and, with many a sad tale and wonderful antic, asked alms from door to door. Sometimes he said that his father had died and required decent burial; sometimes that he was the eldest of fourteen and was charged with the education of his brothers and sisters, and he always managed to bring back a little money from the charitably disposed persons whom he met.
But, at last, they came to a part of the world where everybody was mean and misers were found in abundance; in one village twenty of them lived in a row in the principal street. They would give Sootface nothing and even leaned out of their windows to shake their fists at him as he passed, and he returned empty-handed to his friends. Finding that things had come to such a pass, they opened the book of magic and Sootface sat in front of it repeating his verse. When he had done this the letters jumped about as before, and soon there was quite a clear verse upon the page. This is what it said: