“Thank you,” said the Rainbow Cat. “I think that in half an hour or so I shall be able to let you have all the rose-coloured petals you want.” And he hung the mandolin round his neck and set off into the forest. Presently he came to the Weeshy Glen, sat down a little way off from the hawthorn tree where its thorns could not possibly touch him, tuned up his mandolin, and began to sing this little song: “The oak tree raises his arms on high, The pine tree reaches up to the sky, The slender birch is a lady fair, The poplar has a most elegant air. But tell, oh tell me now, who is this Small and stunted and all amiss? Who can he be? oh, who can he be? This squat little, odd little, strange little tree?” It wasn’t very kind of the Rainbow Cat, but the hawthorn tree was a very disagreeable fellow, you must remember, and nobody could ever do anything to punish him because every one was so afraid of his sharp thorns. Anyway, by the time the Rainbow Cat had got to the end of the first verse, the hawthorn tree was very angry. He could hardly contain himself, and he trembled all over with the temper he was in. The cat hardly looked at him, but went cheerfully on with his song. This was the second verse: “The elm tree stands like a stately king, The leaves of the alder dance and sing, My lady beech is a courtly dame, The chestnut’s lamps are a shining flame. But tell me, tell me, who can he be That scarcely reaches up to their knee? Hoary of head and crooked of limb, What on earth is the matter with him?” The hawthorn tree had grown more and more furious as the song went on. The Rainbow Cat finished up with a beautiful trill when he got to “the matter with him,” but the hawthorn tree was in no mood to admire his fine singing. So great was his rage that he grew pinker and pinker and pinker, and he shook so violently that all his petals were shaken down. They fell all round him like a shower of rosy rain. The Rainbow Cat waited no longer. He ran off as hard as he could to the Chief of the Goblins, still singing as he went, and told him that he would find all the stuff he wanted in the Weeshy Glen. So the Queen got the rose-coloured shoes after all, and the Tree-goblins were most grateful to the Rainbow Cat, and begged him to stay with them as long as he liked. But he thanked them and said he must continue his travels. They wanted to load him with presents, but all he would take was a little bottle of water from the magic well. This water has fairy powers. If you rub it on your eyes you can see through stone walls, which is sometimes very convenient, and the Rainbow Cat was quite pleased to have some. They also insisted that he should keep the mandolin. This he finally consented to do. And ever since that time there have always been pink hawthorn trees as well as white. SIX Mellidora