Turkish Story, Bald Boy and the Magic Seal | Page 10

It did not take long to find the cottage where the bead seller lived, and they could see
through the window that the old man was fast asleep in his chair before the fire.
‘I will catch us a mouse,’ said the cat, ‘while you find us some peppercorns to grind up with
your strong paws.’
And so the cat caught a little mouse and told it to sneak into the cottage and take the seal
from under the tongue of the crafty bead seller. The dog sprinkled the ground peppercorns
onto the mouse’s tail and the little mouse scurried into the cottage and climbed up the bead
seller’s leg as he slept soundly by the fire.
When the mouse wiggled his tail, the peppercorn dust went straight up the old man’s nose
and caused him to sneeze. It was then that the magic seal flew out into the air and the mouse
caught it in his tiny paws! The little mouse ran from the cottage and returned the magic seal to
the cat and the dog who quickly made their way back through the forest towards the river.

Once again the cat climbed up onto the dog’s back and the brave dog swam across the great
river. And so the faithful cat and the faithful dog returned the seal to their master and the
palace reappeared in a blinding flash of light. Upon seeing the palace returned, the Emperor
agreed that his daughter might once more live with Bald Boy. After all, the Emperor could tell
that his daughter was very much in love.