16
It was certainly very diverting to see
Tom in this dress, and mounted on the
mouse, as he rode out a-hunting with the
king and nobility, who were all ready to
expire with laughter at Tom and his fine
prancing eharger.
One day, as they were riding by a farm-
house, a large cat, which was lurking a-.
bout the door, made a spring, and seiz-
ed both Tom and his mouse. She then
ran up a tree with them, and was begin-
ning to devour the mouse; but Tom bold-
ly drew his sword, and attacked the cat
so fiercely, that she let them both fall,
when one of the nobles caught him in his
hat, and laid him on a bed of down, in
a little ivory cabinet.
The queen of the fairies came soon af-
ter to pay Tom a visit, and carried him
back to Fairy-Land, where he remained
several years. During his residence there,
King Arthur, and all the persons who
knew Tom, had died; and as he was de-
sirous of being again at court, the fairy
queen, after dressing him in a suit of
clothes, sent him flying through the air
to the palace, in the days of King Thun-
stone, the successor of Arthur. Ever
