Never was there a pleasanter hunting party , and when they returned to the castle the Prince and the White Cat supped together as before , but when they had finished she offered him a crystal goblet , which must have contained a magic draught , for , as soon as he had swallowed its contents , he forgot everything , even the little dog that he was seeking for the King , and only thought how happy he was to be with the White Cat ! And so the days passed , in every kind of amusement , until the year was nearly gone . The Prince had forgotten all about meeting his brothers : he did not even know what country he belonged to ; but the White Cat knew when he ought to go back , and one day she said to him : `` Do you know that you have only three days left to look for the little dog for your father , and your brothers have found lovely ones ? '' Then the Prince suddenly recovered his memory , and cried : `` What can have made me forget such an important thing ? My whole fortune depends upon it ; and even if I could in such a short time find a dog pretty enough to gain me a kingdom , where should I find a horse who would carry me all that way in three days ? '' And he began to be very vexed . But the White Cat said to him : `` King 's son , do not trouble yourself ; I am your friend , and will make everything easy for you . You can still stay here for a day , as the good wooden horse can take you to your country in twelve hours . '' `` I thank you , beautiful Cat , '' said the Prince ; `` but what good will it do me to get back if I have not a dog to take to my father ? '' `` See here , '' answered the White Cat , holding up an acorn ; `` there is a prettier one in this than in the Dogstar ! '' `` Oh ! White Cat dear , '' said the Prince , `` how unkind you are to laugh at me now ! '' `` Only listen , '' she said , holding the acorn to his ear . And inside it he distinctly heard a tiny voice say : `` Bow-wow ! '' The Prince was delighted , for a dog that can be shut up in an acorn must be very small indeed . He wanted to take it out and look at it , but the White Cat said it would be better not to open the acorn till he was before the King , in case the tiny dog should be cold on the journey . He thanked her a thousand times , and said good-by quite sadly when the time came for him to set out . `` The days have passed so quickly with you , '' he said , `` I only wish I could take you with me now . '' But the White Cat shook her head and sighed deeply in answer . After all the Prince was the first to arrive at the castle where he had agreed to meet his brothers , but they came soon after , and stared in amazement when they saw the wooden horse in the courtyard jumping like a hunter .
The Prince met them joyfully , and they began to tell him all their adventures ; but he managed to hide from them what he had been doing , and even led them to think that a turnspit dog which he had with him was the one he was bringing for the XXXXX .
Bow-wow Cat Dogstar King day days first goblet hours left