Puss in Boots

1. Jack inherits Puss

There was once a miller, who owned a mill, some land, flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, and a little cat named Puss.

The miller died, leaving three sons to divide his fortune among them.

The eldest took the mill and the land around it.

The second son took the flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.

And then there was nothing left for the third son, Jack, except three bits of silver money, and the little cat that lived in the mill.

“This is all very well,” said Jack, “and the cat is a fine little cat and can feed on the mice it catches. But how am I to live on three pieces of silver money?”

“Oh,” answered his brothers, “you will have to start out in the world and do the best you can for yourself.”

Jack took the little cat and left.

“Do not be uneasy, master,” said the little cat. “You will have a fortune one day. You have three silver pieces. Take them and buy me a little pair of boots and a bag, and I will make your fortune for you.”

Jack did not like to spend all his money on a pair of boots for a cat, but he knew that the cat was a wise little animal. So he did as Puss the cat said.

Jack went to a tailor, and for the three pieces of silver the tailor made him the prettiest pair of little boots that ever were seen. And when Puss put the boots on they fitted exactly.

The tailor also gave Jack an old bag that lay in the corner, and for which he had no use.

Puss led Jack off into the country, and then he asked Jack sit down by the roadside and wait for his return.

The little cat ran off into a woods near by, where there were a great many rabbit-holes, and there he managed to catch two fine fat rabbits.

Puss put the rabbits in his bag and trotted away in his neat little boots until he came to the King’s palace. There he asked to see the King. A cat in boots was such a strange sight that he was brought before the King at once.

The courtiers nudged each other and laughed when the cat came into court, but Puss marched up to the King and bowed low before him.

“Your Majesty, my master, the Marquis of Carrabas, has sent you a present of these two fine fat rabbits for your supper,” said Puss. And he took out the rabbits and presented them to the King.

The King was very much pleased. He ordered a piece of money to be given to Puss, and told the little animal to thank his master for the fine present he had sent.

Puss ran back to where Jack was waiting, and gave him the piece of money. “There,” he said. “That is enough to pay for a bed and a supper at the inn.”

The next day Puss set off for the forest again, and this time it was a pair of fine fat partridges that he caught and carried to the King. Once again, Puss brought the gifts to the King saying, “they are sent by my master, the Marquis of Carrabas.”

Again the King sent his thanks to the Marquis, and gave Puss a piece of money, which the little cat carried back to his master, and it was enough to buy Jack food and lodging.

So it went on day after day. Every day Puss caught some fine game in the forest and took it to the King with the compliments of the Marquis of Carrabas, and every day the King thanked the cat and gave him a piece of money. The King began to wonder who the Marquis of Carrabas was and where he lived. He began to think the Marquis was a very generous fellow.

One day the King ordered a carriage to be made ready. Then he went out for a pleasure ride with his daughter, and many of his court rode with him.

Puss came quickly to his master. “Come quick!” he cried. “We have done well enough so far, but the time has now come when I will make your fortune.”

The cat then led Jack to a river, where he knew the King would pass before long. He then told Jack to take off his clothes and hide them under a rock, and then stand in the river up to his neck.

Jack did this, though the water was so cold it made him shudder. “I don’t understand. How will standing in water without clothes make me rich?” Jack asked himself.

Puss waited until he saw his master well in the river, and then he ran to the road along which the King was coming.

“Help! help!” he cried. “Oh, help! My master—the noble Marquis of Carrabas! He will surely drown.”

“What is the matter?” asked the King, stopping his coach, and the Princess and all the courtiers listened.

“Oh, your Majesty!” cried the cat. “My noble master! He was attacked by robbers and they robbed him of everything and threw him in the river, and unless he receives help he will surely drown.”

The King was very worried. He at once sent courtiers to draw Jack out from the river and dress him in robes of velvet and satin and gold lace.

So Jack put on the new clothes. He had never been so magnificently dressed before, and he looked a fine fellow indeed when he was brought to the King.

The King was so pleased with Jack’s looks that he made him get into the coach and sit beside him, and the Princess was even better pleased with him than her father.

Meanwhile the little cat had hurried on far ahead of the coaches.

Soon Puss came to a field where the harvesters were harvesting the grain. Puss marched up to them scowling fiercely and bristling out his whiskers until he looked twice as big. The harvesters were frightened.

“Listen, men,” cried Puss. “The King will soon come by this way with my master, the Marquis of Carrabas riding beside him. If he should ask you to whom this grain belongs, answer that it belongs to the noble Marquis of Carrabas. If you do not do this you shall be torn into pieces, and the shreds thrown into the river.”

The harvesters were more frightened than ever. They promised to do exactly as the cat told them.

Then Puss ran on until he met a herdsman driving a great herd of cattle. Puss frightened him too, so that the herdsman promised if the King asked him to whom the herd belonged, he would say “to the noble Marquis of Carrabas.”

A little farther on the cat met a shepherd with his sheep, and the shepherd also promised to say his flocks belonged to the Marquis of Carrabas.

So it went on; it seemed as though everything was to be claimed by the Marquis of Carrabas.

All these things really belonged to an ogre. This ogre was very rich and fierce and strong and terrible, and after awhile Puss came to the castle where the ogre lived.

The little cat was not afraid of ogres, however. He made his way into the castle and ran along into one room after another until he came to where the ogre was sitting.

When the ogre saw the little cat in his fine shiny, creaking boots he was so amused that he laughed aloud. He had never seen such a sight before.

“And where did you come from, my fine little cat?” he asked.

“Oh, from over the hills and far away.” Puss said.

“And what do you want here?” asked the ogre.

“I only wanted to see you because everyone says you are the strongest and most wonderful ogre in all the world.”

When the ogre heard that he was much pleased, for he was very vain.

“Well, and now you have seen me, what do you think of me?” he asked.

Oh, you are a very wonderful ogre indeed” said Puss, “and is it true that you have magic powers, too?”

“Yes, I have magic powers.” said the ogre.

“Can you change yourself into animals if you choose? A lion or an elephant for instance?” asked Puss.

“Oh, yes, that is easy enough.” said the ogre.

“I would like to see you do that,” said the cat.

Well, the ogre was willing to oblige him. At once he turned himself into a lion, for he really had that power, and he was a very terrible looking lion indeed. He roared and lashed his tail and his mane bristled.

Puss was so terrified that he sprang through the window and scrambled up the roof, though he almost slipped and fell on account of the boots. There he sat spitting and trembling.

Then the ogre turned himself back into his own shape, and he laughed and laughed. “Come back, Puss,” he called, “I will not hurt you; but now you see that everything they told you was true.”

Puss came scrambling back into the room, and he looked very meek and timid.

“Yes, I see it was all true,” he said. “But, Mr. Ogre, could you turn yourself into a small animal as well? That must be much harder. Could you turn yourself into a mouse?”

“Yes, I can turn into a mouse too,” said the ogre.

And at once he turned himself into a mouse, and ran, scampering about the room. But he did not scamper long. With a bound Puss caught him and swallowed him down in a moment before he could even squeak. And that was the end of the ogre.

Meanwhile the King and the Princess and Jack were rolling along together in the fine coach and talking pleasantly together. The King was so pleased with Jack’s talk that he told the coachman to drive slowly, so they could have the more time together.

Presently they came to the field of grain where the harvesters were at work.

“That is a fine field of grain,” said the King; and he leaned out of the coach window and called to the harvesters, “to whom does the grain belong?”

“To the noble Marquis of Carrabas!” answered the harvesters.

The King turned to Jack. “My dear Marquis, why did you not tell me it belonged to you?”

“I had forgotten,” answered Jack.

Soon after they came to the herdsman and his cattle. The King admired the herd of cattle and called out to the herdsman, “to whom does the cattle belong?”

“To the noble Marquis of Carrabas,” answered the herdsman.

The King turned to Jack, and complimented him upon his herds of cattle. The King began to think the Marquis must be very rich.

Then they came to the shepherd, who said the same thing; that his flocks belonged to the Marquis of Carrabas.

In the forest the woodsmen said the wood belonged to the Marquis. It seemed as though the Marquis were richer than the King himself.

At last they came to the ogre’s grand castle, and the King asked Jack, “to whom does this castle belong?”

Before Jack could answer the doors of the castle were thrown open, and the little cat ran out into the road. “Welcome, welcome, your majesty,” he cried. “Welcome to the castle of the Marquis of Carrabas.”

“So this is where you live,” said the King.

“Yes, this is where I live,” answered Jack.

The cat invited them into the castle and led the way into a long dining-hall. There the servants had prepared a magnificent feast, for now they, as well as the castle and everything in it, belonged to Jack.

The King and the Princess took their places at the table, and Jack sat between them.

They ate and drank and feasted to their hearts’ content. The King had never tasted more delicious food, and it was all served on golden plates far finer than those he ate from in his own castle.

At the end of the feast the King turned to Jack and said, “My dear Marquis, you must be a very rich man.”

“I am so rich,” answered Jack, “that I really do not know how much I have.”

“It seems to me,” said the King, “that you ought to marry a princess.”

“Yes,” Jack said, “I would like to marry a princess, but it would have to be the right princess.”

“Then how would my daughter do?” asked the King.

At that Jack was ready to jump out of his skin with joy, for the Princess was so sweet and pretty that he loved her already. “Yes, she would do better than anyone else in the world.” And the Princess agreed.

So Jack went back with the King and the Princess to the King’s palace, and there the Princess and Jack were married.

As for Jack’s brothers, when they heard of the good fortune that had come to Jack, and how he had a princess for a wife, they wished they had kept Puss and given Jack their father’s the mill and the flocks and herds.

And so Jack and the Princess lived happily ever after. the little cat lived in the palace with them. And Puss was given the softest cushion, and the warmest corner by the fire.