hey came to the King's chamber, where he sate surrounded by
all manner of birds, tomtits, wrens, cormorants, turtle-doves, and the
like, the King said he was sorry, but he had no news of the missing
Castle. And though he summoned all the birds of all the world to a Grand
Assembly next morning, not one of them had seen or heard tell of it.

So Jack was quite disconsolate till the King said, "But where is the
eagle? I don't see my eagle."

Then the Chamberlain--he was a tomtit--stepped forward with a bow and
said:

"May it please your Majesty he is late."

"Late?" says the King in a fume. "Summon him at once."

So two larks flew up into the sky till they couldn't be seen and sang
ever so loud, till at last the eagle appeared all in a perspiration from
having flown so fast.

Then the King said, "Sirrah! Have you seen a missing Castle that stands
upon twelve pillars of gold?"

And the eagle blinked its eyes and said, "May it please your Majesty
that is where I've been."

Then everybody rejoiced exceedingly, and when the eagle had eaten a
whole calf so as to be strong enough for the journey, he spread his wide
wings, on which Jack stood, with the mouse in one pocket and the frog in
the other, and started to obey the King's order to take the owner back
to his missing Castle as quickly as possible.

And they flew over land and they flew over sea, until at last in the far
distance they saw the Castle standing on its twelve golden pillars. But
all the doors and windows were fast shut and barred, for, see you, the
servant-master who had run away with it had gone out for the day
a-hunting, and he always bolted doors and windows while he was absent
lest some one else should run away with it.

Then Jack was puzzled to think how he should get hold of the golden
snuff-box, until the little mouse said:

"Let me fetch it. There is always a mouse-hole in every castle, so I am
sure I shall be able to get in."

So it went off, and Jack waited on the eagle's wings in a fume; till at
last mousekin appeared.

"Have you got it?" shouted Jack, and the little mousie cried:

"Yes!"

So every one rejoiced exceedingly, and they set off back to the palace
of the King of all the Birds, where Jack had left his horse; for now
that he had the golden snuff-box safe he knew he could get the Castle
back whenever he chose to send the three little red men to fetch it. But
on the way over the sea, while Jack, wh