Puss in Boots

A Poor Inheritance

Once there was an old miller who had three sons. When he died, he had little to leave them. To the eldest son he left his mill. To the second son he left his donkey. And to the youngest son he left only the cat.

The youngest son sat down and sighed. "My brothers can earn a living together with the mill and the donkey," he said sadly. "But what can I do with a cat? Once I have eaten him and made mittens of his fur, I shall surely starve."

The cat, who heard every word, looked up and said in a calm, steady voice, "Do not worry, master. Only give me a sack and a pair of boots so I can walk through the brambles, and you will find you were left the best gift of all."

The young man did not really believe it, but the cat had always seemed clever, so he found him a small sack and had a pair of fine little boots made. Puss pulled them on, slung the sack over his shoulder, and strode off into the world.

Gifts for the King

Puss went to a meadow where rabbits liked to play. He put some tasty greens in the sack, lay down beside it, and pretended to be dead. Before long a plump young rabbit hopped in to nibble — and snap! Puss pulled the strings tight and caught it.

But the cat did not take the rabbit home to eat. Instead he marched straight to the royal palace and asked to see the king.

"Your Majesty," he said with a low bow, "I bring you a gift from my master, the Marquis of Carabas." (There was no such marquis, of course — Puss had simply made up the grand name.)

"Tell your master I thank him," said the pleased king.

Day after day, Puss brought the king fine gifts — rabbits, partridges, plump birds — always in the name of the Marquis of Carabas. The king came to think this marquis must be a generous and important nobleman, though he had never met him.

A Plan by the River

One day Puss learned that the king and his beautiful daughter would ride out along the river in their carriage. Quick as a flash, the cat ran to his master.

"Do exactly as I say," he said, "and your fortune is made. Go and bathe in the river at the spot I show you, and leave the rest to me."

Puzzled but trusting, the young man waded into the river. Then Puss hid his master's shabby clothes under a rock and waited.

When the royal carriage came near, Puss ran into the road crying, "Help! Help! My master, the Marquis of Carabas, is drowning, and robbers have stolen his clothes!"

The king recognised the name at once. He ordered his finest robes brought from the palace, and the miller's son was dressed like a true nobleman. In rich clothes, he looked so handsome that the princess smiled at him, and the king invited him to ride in the royal carriage.

Fields of the Marquis

While they rode along, Puss raced ahead. He came to fields where peasants were cutting hay.

"When the king asks whose land this is," Puss told them, "say it belongs to the Marquis of Carabas — or you shall be in great trouble." The peasants, frightened by the boldness of a cat in boots, agreed.

Soon the carriage passed, and the king leaned out. "Whose fields are these?" he asked.

"They belong to the Marquis of Carabas, Your Majesty," the workers answered.

On and on Puss ran, telling reapers and herders the same thing, so that everywhere the king looked, the splendid lands seemed to belong to the marquis. The king was more impressed at every turn.

The Ogre's Castle

At last Puss came to a great castle. It belonged to a fearsome ogre — and all those rich fields were truly the ogre's lands. Puss knew that if his trick was to hold, the ogre must go.

The cat knocked boldly and was let in. "I have heard," said Puss politely, "that you have wonderful magic and can change into any animal you please. Surely that cannot be true."

"It is true!" growled the ogre. And in a blink he turned into a roaring lion.

Puss leaped onto a high shelf in fright, but when the ogre changed back, the cat said smoothly, "Marvellous! But a great lion is easy. I do not believe you could turn into something tiny — a little mouse, say."

"Ha! Watch this!" boomed the ogre, and at once he shrank into a small grey mouse scampering across the floor.

That was the moment Puss had been waiting for. He pounced — and that was the end of the ogre.

A Castle and a Princess

When the king's carriage reached the castle, Puss ran out to meet it. "Welcome, Your Majesty, to the home of the Marquis of Carabas!" he cried.

The king was astonished at the splendid castle and the fine feast laid out inside (which had been meant for the ogre). He turned to the young man and said, "Marquis, you are clearly a man of great lands and great worth. Would you like to marry my daughter?"

The miller's son looked at the kind, smiling princess and gladly said yes. That very day they were married.

And so the youngest son, who had thought himself ruined with only a cat to his name, became a lord with a castle, a princess, and a happy life. As for Puss, he never had to chase mice for his supper again — he became a great lord himself and lived in comfort for the rest of his days.

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The moral: A clever mind and a loyal friend can turn a poor beginning into a fine ending. Never judge a gift — or a cat — by how small it first appears.

Want more world folktales? Try The Frog Prince or The Emperor's New Clothes next.