THE RAINBOW CAT ROSE FYLEMAN BY ROSE FYLEMAN VERSE _Fairies and Chimneys_ _The Fairy Green_ _The Fairy Flute_ TALES _The Rainbow Cat_ [Illustration: 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.] [Illustration] _The_ RAINBOW CAT BY ROSE FYLEMAN _Illustrated by_ THELMA CUDLIPP GROSVENOR [Illustration] NEW YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1923, BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY [Illustration] THE RAINBOW CAT. 1 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CONTENTS PAGE ONE: The First Adventure of the Rainbow Cat 11 TWO: The Princess Who Could Not Cry 19 THREE: The Prince and the Baker’s Daughter 27 FOUR: Why Pigs Have Curly Tails 36 FIVE: The Second Adventure of the Rainbow Cat 42 SIX: Mellidora 49 SEVEN: The Clock 55 EIGHT: The Moon 60 NINE: The Third Adventure of the Rainbow Cat 63 TEN: Almond Blossom 76 ELEVEN: The Rondel 79 TWELVE: Jan and the Magic Pencil 89 THIRTEEN: The Lamb That Went to Fairyland 99 FOURTEEN: The Magic Umbrella 103 FIFTEEN: The Fourth Adventure of the Rainbow Cat 109 ILLUSTRATIONS 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 _Frontispiece_ PAGE HE RODE AWAY ON HIS WHITE HORSE AND TURNED TO WAVE HIS HAND TO HIS MOTHER AND FATHER BEFORE HE WENT OVER THE HILL-TOP 32 SHE PULLED A TINY DANDELION-CLOCK FROM HER POCKET AND BEGAN TO BLOW AND TO COUNT 58 “IF YOU WILL MARRY ME,” HE SAID, “I WILL SPEND MY DAYS MAKING VERSES ABOUT YOU” 84 THE RAINBOW CAT THE RAINBOW CAT ONE The First Adventure of the Rainbow Cat There was once a cat which was not in the least like any cat you have ever seen, or I either, for the matter of that. It was a fairy cat, you see, and so you would rather expect it to be different, wouldn’t you? It had a violet nose, indigo eyes, pale blue ears, green front legs, a yellow body, orange back legs and a red tail. In fact, it was coloured with all the colours of the rainbow, and on that account it was known as the Rainbow Cat.