Meanwhile, the King, his daughter and the Marquis of Carabas arrived at the castle. The carriage drove over the drawbridge with a loud noise. The Cat heard the noise and ran out into the yard to meet the visitors.

«Welcome, sir, to the castle of the Marquis of Carabas,» he said in a loud voice.

«Your castle is so beautiful, Marquis,» said the King. «Nothing could be finer than this yard and all these buildings. It’s not a castle at all. It’s a real palace. Let’s go inside and look around, if you don’t mind.»

The King got out of the carriage and went to the door. The Marquis, without speaking, gave his hand to the princess. As soon as she got out of the carriage, they followed the King.

The King and his companions went through several beautiful rooms and came into a great hall. In the middle of the hall they saw a long table. It was ready for dinner. There were a lot of wonderful things on the table. All of them were the Giant’s favourite dishes.

«Why don’t we have dinner now?» said the Marquis. «Please sit down.»

The guests took their places. Everyone was hungry, so the dinner started at once.

The King was happy. His daughter was happy too. The girl, in fact, was very much in love with the handsome and polite young man.

His majesty was a practical man, too.

«The marquis is a noble gentleman. My daughter likes him, and he’s rich. I think he can make a good husband for my daughter,» he thought after his sixth or seventh glass of wine.

Soon the dinner was over. The King looked across the table at the miller’s son.

«Do you like my daughter, marquis?» he said.

«Yes, sir,» said the young man.

«You can marry her then. If you want, of course,» said the King. «That’s your choice.»

«I am happy to do that,» said the Marquis of Carabas.

The princess’s happy eyes said the same.

The miller’s son married the King’s daughter the next day. The young man was happy. He was a rich noble gentleman now. The Giant’s castle belonged to him. He had all the Giant’s lands, too. And he had a beautiful wife.

The Cat in Boots became at once a great lord. Of course, he stayed in the castle with the marquis and the princess. He ordered more elegant boots for himself. But he never ran after mice anymore, except for pleasure.