beg for a fire, a turning lathe, and a carving
bench with the knife attached."

On the following day the King had everything put into the castle; and
when night drew on the youth took up his position there, lit a bright
fire in one of the rooms, placed the carving bench with the knife close
to it, and sat himself down on the turning lathe. "Oh! if I could only
shudder!" he said: "but I sha'n't learn it here either." Toward midnight
he wanted to make up the fire, and as he was blowing up a blaze he heard
a shriek from a corner. "Ou, miou! how cold we are!" "You fools!" he
cried; "why do you scream? If you are cold, come and sit at the fire and
warm yourselves." And as he spoke two huge black cats sprang fiercely
forward and sat down, one on each side of him, and gazed wildly at him
with their fiery eyes. After a time, when they had warmed themselves,
they said: "Friend, shall we play a little game of cards?" "Why not?" he
replied; "but first let me see your paws." Then they stretched out their
claws. "Ha!" said he; "what long nails you've got! Wait a minute: I must
first cut them off." Thereupon he seized them by the scruff of their
necks, lifted them on to the carving bench, and screwed down their paws
firmly. "After watching you narrowly," said he, "I no longer feel any
desire to play cards with you"; and with these words he struck them dead
and threw them out into the water. But when he had thus sent the two of
them to their final rest, and was again about to sit down at the fire,
out of every nook and corner came forth black cats and black dogs with
fiery chains in such swarms that he couldn't possibly get away from
them. They yelled in the most ghastly manner, jumped upon his fire,
scattered it all, and tried to put it out. He looked on quietly for
a time, but when it got beyond a joke he seized his carving-knife and
called out: "Be off, you rabble rout!" and let fly at them. Some of them
fled away, and the others he struck dead and threw them out into the
pond below. When he returned he blew up the sparks of the fire once
more, and warmed himself. And as he sat thus his eyes refused to keep
open any longer, and a desire to sleep stole over him. Then he looked
around him and beheld in the corner a large bed. "The very thing," he
said, and laid himself down in it. But when he wished to close his
eyes the bed began to move by itself, and ran all round the castle.
"Capital," he said, "only a little quicker." Then the be