"Well, when the boots were made and he had put them on, he hung the bag about his neck, and set out for a rabbit warren where lived great numbers of rabbits. Opening the bag he stretched himself out as though he were dead, and waited for a hungry rabbit to poke his nose into the bag to eat the bran. Pretty soon along came a young rabbit and as soon as it had crept in to eat the bran, Puss in Boots pulled the string, and that was the last of the little rabbit. "Then, running off to the palace, he gave it to the king, saying it was a present from his master, my Lord of Carabas, the name he had invented for his young master. Every day he brought some kind of game, until by and by the king thought my Lord of Carabas a great man and Puss in Boots a most wonderful cat, which indeed he was." "He was indeed," said the big giant, moving uneasily on the log on which he was sitting. "Well, one day," continued Ned, "Puss in Boots bade his master bathe in the river, and leave the rest to him. Just then the King passed by. "'Help, help!' cried Puss. 'Robbers have stolen my master's clothes!' "At once the king ordered his guards to the rescue, and fitting out my Lord of Carabas with a new suit of clothes, invited him to ride in the coach with his beautiful daughter. "As they rolled along they came in sight of a castle owned by a bad giant." MAGIC FOOD The Giant cannot understand how Ned can eat cheese. [Illustration] MAGIC FOOD "PUSS IN BOOTS, who had reached the castle in advance of the royal party, opened the door and said with a low bow to the wicked ogre: "'I hear you have the power to change yourself into any animal.' "'That is true,' answered the ogre, so pleased that at once he turned himself into a lion. "'I doubt if you can become as small as a mouse,' said Puss in Boots. "Instantly the ogre changed himself into a mouse, whereupon Puss in Boots pounced upon him and ate him up. "At that moment up drove the coach. Throwing open the castle door, Puss in Boots said with a hospitable bow: "'Welcome to the castle of my Lord of Carabas.' And, to make a long story short," laughed Ned, "his master married the King's daughter and lived happily ever after." "Whew!" gasped the giant. "He certainly was a wonderful cat," and he looked anxiously at the Magic Axe. Presently Ned began to feel hungry, and opening his knapsack, took out his bread and cheese. "What is that white stuff?" asked the giant, who had never seen cheese before. "That is a stone," answered Ned, commencing to eat it with a hungry appetite. "Do you eat stones?" asked the giant. "Oh yes," answered Ned. "That's my regular food, which explains why I'm not so big as you who eat oxen; but it's also the reason why, little as I am, I am ten times as strong as you are. Now take me to your house." The giant looked at the Magic Axe which had so nearly destroyed his forest, and then at Ned eating a stone with apparent relish.