1. The ship, with Dick and his cat on board, was soon at sea. But Dick began to think that worse luck than ever was going to befall him.[Pg 16]  
2. For there was a heavy storm, and the ship was nearly wrecked¹ on the coast of a land then unknown to the English. This land was filled with black people called Moors².
 
3. When the captain and his men, with Dick and the cat, landed on this shore, the natives came in great numbers to gaze at them. They had never seen people with white faces before.
 
4. As they came to know the captain and his sailors better, these black men would go on board the ship. The English sailors showed them all the goods which they had brought from England.
 
5. The black men wished to buy them. As they had gold in great lumps and heaps, they were willing to give a high price for what the servants had sent out from the merchant's house.
 
6. The captain, seeing how much pleasure the things gave, sent some of the goods to the king of the country. He was so much pleased with them that he sent for the captain and his friends to the palace.
 
7. As Dick and his cat had been very[Pg 17] useful on the voyage, the captain took them with him, and they soon reached the palace.
 
8. Here they sat on cushions and carpets made of rich silk and worked in gold and silver. And the king and queen being seated at the upper end of the table, the dinner was brought in.
 
9. But no sooner were the dishes set in front of them, in plates of gold and silver, than a rushing sound was heard. In an[Pg 18] instant a whole army of mice and rats came running in.
 
10. They were so bold that they leaped on the table and began to devour³ the food from the king's own plate. In a few minutes nothing would have been left.
 
11. The guests had to drive them away, and snatch⁴ a few hasty⁵ morsels⁶ before they came back again. But the creatures seemed to care for nothing, for they ran back as fast as they were made to go.
 
12. The captain was full of surprise. "Are not these mice and rats a great trouble to you?" he asked the king. "Oh yes, they are indeed!" said he.
 
13. "They not only eat up almost all we have, but they disturb us even in our own bedrooms. We are sadly afraid that there will be a famine next year, for they are eating up all the seed and corn in the land."
 
14. The captain was ready to jump for joy when he heard this, for he called to mind the cat, which Dick had left in the ship.
 
15. As it was not far off, he bade Dick run and fetch her at once. "I think we[Pg 19] can help you," he said to the king; but he only shook his head, for he had tried all ways to get rid of the rats and mice, without success.
 
Write: The captain sold the goods for a good price. He went to see the king of that land. He found that there were many rats and mice at the palace.
 
Questions: 1. What misfortune⁷ happened to the ship? 2. What sort of people did the captain find on the coast where he landed? 3. What did they give instead of the goods? 4. Where did the captain go with his friends next? 5. What went on at the king's dinner-table? 6. What did the captain tell Dick to fetch?