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Rainbow Cat

[63] <h2 class="nobreak">NINE The Third Adventure of the Rainbow Cat</h2> WHEN the Rainbow Cat left the land of the Tree-goblins he travelled for some time until he came to a delightful country called the Bountiful Land. It was a marvellous country. There were deep forests there, and great meadows full of the loveliest flowers, such as only grow in gardens in other countries; the sky was nearly always blue, and the people who lived in that land were happy and contented. That is to say, they would have been but for one thing. In the very middle of the country there was a great castle built high upon a rock, and in this castle—so the inhabitants of the place told the Rainbow Cat—there lived a cruel and wicked giantess who tyrannised over the people and constantly took away their goods, sometimes even their children. The Rainbow Cat did not meet with any one who had actually seen the giantess face to face, but terrible tales were told of her doings and of her horrible appearance. She was three times the[64] height of an ordinary man, it was said. Her hair was like knotted ropes, her eyes flamed fire; when she blew her nose, the sound was like thunder; when she sneezed, forests swayed as beneath a hurricane; when she stamped her foot, whole villages collapsed. Besides being a giantess she was reported to be able to work magic, and that frightened the people more than anything else. On dark nights she would come down from her castle, they told him, in a chariot drawn by six dragons, and when the people heard the noise of it they fled into their houses and locked the doors and barred the windows. From within they could hear their barns and granaries being ransacked, and the opening of the doors of sheds and stables, whence their best cattle and horses were carried off. But sometimes a great voice would be heard shouting in the dark, “Throw out your treasures or I will take your children.” Then the terrified people opened their windows and threw out their treasures in fear and trembling. And notices would mysteriously appear in the villages, threatening that unless certain things were delivered up at the castle gates, the giantess would come down and take a terrible revenge. The things were conveyed up the rocky path by terrified villagers, who left them in front of[65] the gates as commanded. They always came back with most alarming stories of what they had observed. One man had seen the giantess’s shoes being cleaned by a servant in the courtyard. They were as big, he said, as a hay waggon. <div class="figcenter"><ANTIMG src="images/i_065.jpg" alt="" /></div> Another was so frightened by the sight of her washing hanging out on the line that he ran all the way home and did not get over it for weeks. But the worst thing of all was that children who had wandered a little way from home disappeared and never came back. Others who escaped would tell how an enormous cloaked figure had suddenly sprung out from behind a tree, seized one of their comrades, and made off into the woods. [66]The thing had grown so bad that people dare not let their children out of their sight for a moment, and they were growing so afraid of the visits of the giantess that all happiness was rapidly vanishing out of the land. The fame of the Rainbow Cat’s wisdom had already reached this country, and the people were delighted to see him and implored him to come to their assistance. The Rainbow Cat felt that this was a very serious matter indeed, but he was exceedingly sorry for the people and promised to do all he could to help them. So on the evening of the second day after his arrival, he took his little bag, which contained, among other things, the lightning which the Thunder Giant had given him and the bottle of fairy water from Tree-goblin-land, and quietly set off for the castle of the giantess. He said nothing of his purpose to the kind folk with whom he was staying—he knew it would only make them fearfully anxious. He just said he was going out for a little walk in order to think the matter over. He climbed lightly and softly up the rocky path until he came right under the castle walls. There were two immense stone towers, one at each end of the castle, and from the high chimney of one of them great clouds of evil-looking smoke[67] were pouring forth—green and purple and black. “Aha,” said the Rainbow Cat to himself, “that’s where she’s busy at her horrible tricks, is it?” So he sat down outside the tower, opened his bag, and dabbed his eyes with water from his little bottle, so that he was able to see right through the wall into the inside of the tower. To his great astonishment, he saw no giantess, but a very nasty-looking old wizard with a long grey beard and an enormously tall hat, who sat in a large room in front of a great open fire. All manner of strange and terrible-looking things hung upon the walls of the room or were stowed away in cupboards, and the floor and tables were piled with books of magic. A great bunch of keys hung from the girdle of the wizard, who was busily stirring something which was bubbling over the fire in a big black pot, from which came the smoke that the Rainbow Cat had noticed pouring from the chimney. The firelight shone on the labels of the keys, so that the Rainbow Cat was able to read what was written on them. “Gold Chest—Silver Chest—Jewel Chest—Giantess’s Room—Prisoners’ Room—Giantess’s Garden”: these were some of the names he read on the labels, and he began to understand things[68] a little better. But he thought he would make a few more investigations. So he picked up his little bag and walked softly off to the other end of the castle, sat down on the ground at the foot of the tower there, and again bathed his eyes with fairy water. This time he found himself looking into a big room full of children. They were all very busy. Some of them were sorting strange-looking herbs, some of them were grinding queer substances with heavy stones, some of them were anxiously measuring out liquids drop by drop from one bottle into another. They all looked pale and tired; they did not laugh and talk over their work as one would expect children to do. And then the door of the room opened and in walked—who but the giantess herself! But imagine the surprise of the Rainbow Cat upon discovering that, although she was indeed immensely tall, she was otherwise by no means a terrible-looking person, but had, on the contrary, a sweet and charming face and beautiful golden hair. The children all came running up to her as soon as she appeared, and seemed delighted to see her. She bent down and lifted some of them up into[69] her arms, and was so gentle and sweet with them all that it was a joy to see her. The Rainbow Cat lost no further time; he took his mandolin, and sitting there at the foot of the tower, he began playing a little tune. He daren’t play very loud for fear the wizard should hear him in the other tower, but fortunately the wind was in the right direction, and in any case he felt pretty certain that the wizard was too much taken up with his enchantments to pay attention to anything else. But the giantess heard, for of course giantesses have very much larger ears than ordinary people and hear much better, and she put her head out of the window and saw the Rainbow Cat sitting there in the dusk and asked him who he was and what he was doing. “I am a friend,” said the Rainbow Cat. “Help me to come up.” So the giantess let down her ribbon waist-belt with the bag she kept her handkerchief in tied to the bottom of it, and this was so large that the Rainbow Cat was easily able to get into it together with his precious bag and mandolin. The giantess hauled him up to the window-sill and asked him to come in and sit down and tell her what he was doing there and all about himself, for she saw that he was no ordinary creature.[70] And when he had explained to her why he was there and what he had learnt in the Bountiful Country, she told him her own tale. How the wicked magician had stolen her away from home when she was quite young and had brought her to this castle, and how he kept her shut up, while with his magic spells he did all sorts of evil things. “I know the people think it is all my doing,” said the poor giantess. “He can turn an old wash-tub and six beans into a chariot drawn by flaming dragons, and when he flies out he wears a great cloak over his tall hat, so that every one takes him for me. “He makes these poor children help him in his wicked work, and keeps them prisoners just as he does me. “He does not even give us enough to eat. If we are not soon rescued we shall all die. He grows worse every day.” Big tears fell from the giantess’s eyes. Each one made a little pool where it fell. “Don’t cry,” said the Rainbow Cat, “all will yet be well. My magic is stronger than his. When once I get at him I’ll soon finish him off. Will you take me to him?” But the giantess was afraid; she said she dare not disturb him. “Besides,” she said, “he would never let you in, he is so suspicious.” [71]“It’s got to be done somehow,” said the Rainbow Cat, “if you’re to be set free.” He sat softly strumming on his mandolin and thinking, and suddenly the giantess had an idea. “He loves music,” she said. “He says it helps his brain to work. If you could pretend to be a wandering musician——” The Rainbow Cat leapt with joy. “The very thing, my dear,” he said. “Have you by any chance got a peacock’s feather to lend me?” This the giantess was able to provide. “Thank you very much,” said the Rainbow Cat. “You will see; in an hour’s time you will all be free. Good-bye for the present.” He was so excited that he jumped clean out of the window—mandolin, bag and all. But he was quite all right. You know, even ordinary cats are supposed always to fall on their feet, and of course a fairy cat——! When he reached the ground he wrapped himself in his cloak, pulled his hat well over his eyes and stuck the peacock’s feather in the front of it. “Now I look just like a wandering musician,” he said, and he went boldly up to the door of the wizard’s tower and pulled the bell. The magician himself came to the door, but he opened it only the tiniest little bit. [72]“Who are you, and what do you want?” he said in a very gruff voice. “I am a poor wandering musician,” said the cat. “May I come in and give you a tune?” The wizard looked at him suspiciously. “What have you got in that bag?” he asked, giving it a kick with his foot, so that the bundle of lightning made a rattling noise. “I’ve got all the major and minor keys in there,” said the Rainbow Cat. “A bunch of them. That’s what makes such a rattle. But I can’t do without them.” “Sing me a song,” said the wizard, “and then I’ll see whether I’ll let you in or not.” So the Rainbow Cat sat down on the doorstep and sang this little song, and the wizard stood just inside the door and listened. THE SONG OF THE GOOSE <div class="poetry-container"> <div class="poetry"> <div class="versefirst">“There once was a goose who lived on a green,</div> <div class="verse">Gold was his beak and his feathers were clean,</div> <div class="verse">A handsomer creature there never was seen,</div> <div class="verse">Heydiddle ho, never was seen;</div> <div class="verse">He lived on a green and he waddled about,</div> <div class="verse">For he said, ‘To be sure I don’t want to get stout,</div> <div class="verse">And, anyway, exercise keeps off the gout;</div> <div class="verse">Heydiddle ho, keeps off the gout.’”</div> </div></div> “I don’t think much of that song,” said the wizard. “The next verse is very good,” said the Rainbow[73] Cat. “But I’m not going to sing it out here in the cold night air. I shall ruin my voice.” “Well, come in,” said the wizard, for he wanted to hear the end of the song, and he let the Rainbow Cat in. But no sooner were they inside the wizard’s room than the Rainbow Cat opened his bag and pulled out the bundle of lightning and let it loose all over the place. You never heard such a commotion! Meanwhile he threw off his cloak, leapt upon the table, and stood there with his hair all standing on end and his eyes darting green and blue fire, while the lightning flashed all round him and round the terrified wizard, who threw himself down on his knees, crying “Mercy, Mercy!”—for he had never seen anything like it before and he was anyway but a cowardly creature at heart. Presently the wizard’s attendants came running to see what was the matter. They dare not come into the room, but stood trembling in the doorway. “Tie him up,” commanded the Rainbow Cat in a great loud voice. The attendants were not at all fond of their master, but in any case they were so frightened of the strange and terrible creature on the table that they did not dare to disobey. So the wizard was tied to the table, and the[74] Rainbow Cat took all his wicked books and his pots and pans and the rest of his nasty paraphernalia and threw them out of the window on to the ground below, where they were burnt later on in a great bonfire. By this time the news had spread all over the castle, and presently the giantess came in, with the children trooping behind her. The wizard had grown black in the face with rage; he knew that even if he were set free he would be utterly powerless. For he had lost all his magic books, and he was truly rather a stupid wizard and could do absolutely nothing without them. As a matter of fact the gentle giantess didn’t want him to be punished, and in the end he was conducted to the borders of the country and threatened with instant death if ever he returned. But that, of course, was later. You can imagine what excitement there was in the land when the Rainbow Cat appeared the next day walking down the road from the castle with the giantess by his side and all the children running in front, and the wicked magician led behind in chains. The Rainbow Cat, having finished his task, soon bade his friends good-bye and set out once more on his travels. The giantess made him a present of the gold[75] ring which she wore on her little finger. He would take nothing else. He wore it as a collar round his neck, where it was always greatly admired. She herself soon became a great favourite among the people of the Bountiful Land. They loved her dearly and were very proud of her. But she always had to be very careful not to sneeze or stamp. People even came from other countries to see her, so that in the end it grew quite embarrassing. But, in time, a giant who had heard much of her beauty and gentleness travelled all the way from Giant-land to visit her, and he married her and took her away to his own home. Her trousseau took some making, I can tell you! All the women in the district sewed at it for six months—and even then she was able to have only six of everything. <hr class="chap" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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