The Marquis of Carabas entered the carriage. The Cat in Boots ran away fast. He kept a long way ahead of the King’s carriage. He went on and on, till he saw some mowers in a meadow. The Cat came up to them.

«Listen, good people,» he said, in a very firm voice, «the King is going to stop here and talk to you. You must tell him that this meadow belongs to the Marquis of Carabas. Do that if you want to stay alive.»

The King’s carriage drove up to the meadow.

«What a nice meadow, and so much hay! Whose meadow is this?» he asked the mowers.

«It belongs to the Marquis of Carabas, sir,» they all cried with one voice, trembling with fear.

«You have a good meadow, marquis,» said his majesty to the miller’s son.

The young man bowed and said, «As you see for yourself, this is a very good meadow, sir. The crops of hay are high every year.»

The Cat went still on. He was far ahead of the King and his companions. Finally, he came to a wheat field. There were some reapers on the field.

«My good fellows,» he said to the reapers, «the King is going to stop here and talk to you. You must tell him that this field belongs to the Marquis of Carabas. Do that if you want to stay alive.»

The King’s carriage arrived a few moments later.

«What a beautiful wheat field! Good people, whose field is this?» he asked the reapers.

«It belongs to the Marquis of Carabas, sir,» cried the reapers, trembling with fear.

At this the King was pleased with the Marquis more than ever.

The King continued his journey, and the Cat still ran on ahead of him. He said the same thing to everyone. The King drove past a new mill, a beautiful garden, houses, more fields and meadows. And all the people on his way said the same: all those places belonged to the Marquis of Carabas.

Finally, the Cat returned to the King. He came up to the carriage and bowed.

«Your master is a very rich man,» said the King to the Cat. Then he smiled to the young man and said, «My dear Marquis, isn’t this your castle in that park? It looks beautiful. Can we go there now?»

The miller’s son didn’t know what to say. He looked at the Cat. The Cat bowed and said:

«My master, the Marquis of Carabas, is happy to invite you to the castle. But, Your Majesty, please wait an hour. I’m going to the castle at once to get everything ready for you.»

«No problem,» said the King. «And in the meantime we can visit your nice park. My dear Marquis/* he said to the young man, «I hope you have many flowers there. My daughter is so fond of white roses.»