just as numerous as before.  The cat was called in, sold this time for two hundred dollars, and away the merchant sailed.  No sooner, however, was he at sea, than the cat once more appeared before him.  The vessel was again driven out of her course to another strange country, over-run with rats this time, when poor pussy was sold a third time, for the sum of three hundred dollars.  Again the cat made its appearance; and the merchant thinking to do the poor boy out of his money, a dreadful storm arose, which only subsided on the merchant making a vow that the boy should have every penny.  When he arrived home the merchant faithfully kept his promise, gave the boy the six hundred dollars, and the hand of his daughter besides.

A Breton legend of the story of “Dick Whittington” runs that three sons go to seek their fortune, the eldest of whom, Yvon, possesses a cat.  The cat again plays an important part.  Yvon becomes the friend of the Lord of the Manor, and has gold and diamonds bestowed upon him in galore.

The Russian version is that a poor little orphan boy buys a cat, which some mischievous boys were teasing, for three copecks (about a penny).  Taken into the service of a merchant the latter goes to a distant country, accompanied by the cat of the orphan boy.  Puss making sad work of some rats, which threatened to make an end of the merchant in the inn, which he occupied.  He ultimately sold the cat to the landlord for a sack full of gold.  Returning home, on his way thither, he thought how foolish it would be to give all the money to the boy.  Whereupon a dreadful storm arose, and the vessel, in which was the merchant, was in danger of sinking.  The merchant, knowing that the storm had arisen through his change of purpose, prayed to heaven for forgiveness, when the sea became calm, and the vessel arrived safely in port, when the merchant paid over to the orphan boy all the wealth obtained by the sale of the cat.

In the Persian version, unlike the other legends, the cat is owned by a poor widow, who had been impoverished through her sons, and was left with only a cat.  The sale of the cat produces great wealth; and the widow, Kayser, immediately sends for her sons to share her newly-acquired fortune.  What follows is different to the other versions of these wonderful cat stories.  The sons only too eager to share the wealth of their mother, fit out many vessels, and begin to trade largely with India and Arabia.  Thinking that to acquire wealth by commerce alone, rather slow work, they turned pirates, and were a source of trouble and annoyance to the neighbouring states, till about 1230 A.D., when they were reduced to vassalage under Persian rule.

“The House that Jack Built” has its prototype in a sacred hymn in the Talmud of the Hebrews.

“Jack, the Giant Killer” and “Jack and the Beanstalk” are two very ancient themes coming from the North, of the time, it is said, of King Arthur, and of the days when “Giants were upon the earth.”  The well-known cry of the giants in these legends—­