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Puss in Boots, Jr., and the Good Gray Horse

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<hr style="width: 65%;" />[106] <h2>ON THE WAY</h2> <div class='poem'><div class='cap'> "ON the way, on the way, To see my father, old and gray. Faster still, my good gray steed, Over hill and flowering mead. "Faster, faster, Good Gray Horse, Hasten swiftly on your course, Till I see the stately towers Where my father spends his hours." </div> </div> "Urge me not too much!" panted the faithful steed. "I'm doing my best, but these hills have made me short of breath." Dear me! I forgot to tell you that the Good Gray Horse had run away from the famous Doctor Drake and had caught up to Puss, Junior, just as I commenced this story. "Forgive me," cried little Puss, Junior. "In my anxiety to see my father I have been selfish." And he slipped a lump of sugar into the mouth of the Good Gray Horse. Well, after several miles had gone by, Puss drew rein at a drinking trough beside the road, where his faithful steed drank long and deep. And as they rested a while, who should fly by but a busy bumblebee, buzzing from flower to flower. He was a jolly-looking bee, and presently he[107] said to Puss, "Whither are you bound, my good Sir Cat?" <div class="figleft"> <ANTIMG src="images/gs24.png" width-obs="372" height-obs="475" alt="Riding to the castle" title="" /></div> "To the castle of my Lord of Carabas," replied our little traveler. "I'm seeking my father, who is seneschal to my lord."[108] "Ah, is that so?" exclaimed the bee. "These are stirring times. I heard only last week that my Lord of Carabas was going to war!" "What!" exclaimed our small hero, jumping to his feet and clapping his paw to his sword. "I must hurry on!" "Bravely spoken," answered the bee. "I have seen many soldiers at the castle of late. Indeed, the country is all excitement—flags flying, drums beating, men drilling, women scraping lint. All is bustle and hustle." "And what brings you so far from there?" inquired Puss, replacing his sword in his scabbard. "My two good wings," replied the bumblebee, and he laughed as he dove head first into a flower after its dewy sweetness. "Come, little master," cried the Good Gray Horse. "I am rested. Let us hasten on our journey." Puss bade good-by to the golden bumblebee and sprang once more into the saddle. And the Good Gray Horse threw out his heels and galloped off toward the castle of my Lord of Carabas, but evening came upon them and they were still far from their destination, so Puss dismounted for the night beneath a grove of trees. <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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