At last Puss stopped before the drawbridge of a mighty castle owned by the richest and most powerful ogre in the whole country-side. The cat begged that the warder would announce him to the Ogre as one who had heard so much of his magnificence that he could not pass by without seeing it. The Ogre, who was very vain, was pleased by this compliment, and received Puss with the greatest kindness. After a while, the cat said: “They tell me that you can change yourself into any shape you please; that, in a moment, you can become a lion or a tiger, or any tremendous thing you wish to be.” “So I can,” said the Ogre, “and just to show you, I’ll turn into a lion.” In the wink of an eye there he was, roaring away, and poor Puss was so frightened that he ran up to the top of the house, slipping at each step, for his fine, shiny boots were never made to climb roofs. “Come down,” cried the Ogre, changing back into his real shape. “I won’t hurt you! Come down!” Very much scared, Puss clambered down, and, as soon as his voice came back to him, he said, “They say, too,--but this I cannot believe,--that you can take the shape of the tiniest animal, a mouse, for instance.” “Of course I can,” said the Ogre, proudly. “Just watch me.” He at once became a little mouse scampering over the floor, and Puss, like a flash, sprang on him and ate him up! By this time the coach had drawn up to the gate-ways of the castle, and Puss, seeing it stop, ran to throw open the doors, crying: “Welcome, your Majesty! Welcome to the castle of the Marquis of Carabas!” “Is this yours also, my dear Marquis,” cried the King. “What splendid battlements, and what a noble gate-way! Come, let us enter, and see if the interior is as fine, too.” As he spoke, he walked into the castle, and the Marquis gave his hand to the pretty Princess, and led her in. Puss flung wide the doors of the banqueting-hall and showed a long table covered with a fine repast, for the Ogre had invited friends to dinner that day, and this feast was prepared for them. The King, the Marquis, and the pretty Princess ate it in their stead; and at the close his Majesty said, in great good humor, to the young man, “It all depends upon you, Marquis, whether or not you’re my son-in-law.” The Marquis, who was in love with the Princess quite as much as she was with him, gladly consented, and that very evening the wedding was celebrated. So the poor miller’s son became the heir of a mighty king, and, as for Puss, who had brought him all this good-fortune, he became a great lord, and caught rats and mice only for his own amusement. * * * * * The last Kitty-Cat Tale was finished.