THE CAT AND THE MOUSE

The Magic Bed
A Book of East Indian Tales
The Cat and the Mouse
A Book of Persian Tales
The Jeweled Sea
A Book of Chinese Tales
The Magic Jaw Bone
A Book of South Sea Islands Tales
The Man Elephant
A Book of African Tales
The Enchanted Castle
A Book of Tales from Flower Land

Fifty Cents Each

* * * * *

Copyright, 1906
by Henry Altemus

INTRODUCTION

Persia is rich in folk lore. For hundreds and hundreds of years the
stories in this book, and many others as well, have been told to the
wondering boys and girls of that country, who, as they hear them,
picture their native land as one of roses and tulips, where beautiful
fairies build their castles in the rosy morn, and black gnomes fly
around in the darkness of midnight.

A land, too, where the sun gleams like a fire above the blue mountains,
and the water lilies are mirrored in the deep lakes. A land where the
eyes of the tigers gleam through the reeds by the riverside, and
dark-eyed, sunburned people are quick to love and quick to hate.

The belief in the "Ghool," or "Old Man of the Desert," is still
prevalent in Persia, which probably accounts for the popularity of the
story of "The Son of the Soap Seller." The other stories selected for
this volume are great favorites, but the story of "The Cat and the
Mouse" is perhaps the most popular of all.

The frontispiece to this volume is a reduced facsimile of a whole page
in a Persian book, showing both the pictures and the reading as they
were published in Persia. The other illustrations for "The Cat and the
Mouse" are copies of drawings by a Persian artist.

"Two friends on one carpet may with contentment sleep;
Two monarchs in one kingdom the peace can never keep.
While earth revolves, and little children play,
Cats over mice will always hold the sway."

H. J.

CONTENTS

The Cat and The Mouse
The Son of the Soap Seller
The King's Treasure
The King and The Fisherman

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Frontispiece
"Nobody was happier than this cat"
"'Now will you take off my head?'"
"The cat had a rosary of beads"
"The mice began to make merry"
"Discreetly they bore their gifts"
"And they went forward trembling"
"Five mice he caught"
"The King was sitting on his throne"
"The armies fell upon each other"
"So he mounted his elephant"
"The lion sprang upon the Princess"
"'O brothers, buy my pure soap'"
"Things became blacker and blacker"
"Leading a fine lion by a chain"
"They set forth on their journey"
"The rain fell in torrents"
"'Give me a drink of water'"

THE CAT AND THE MOUSE