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Puss in Boots A miller died, leaving three sons todivide
his fortune among them. The eldest took the milland the land around it, the second took the flocks
and herds, and then there was nothing left for thethird son, Jack, but three bits of silver money,
and a little cat that lived in the mill. This isall very well, said Jack, and the cat is a fine
little cat and can feed on the mice it catches,but I do not see how I am to live on three pieces
of money. Oh, answered his brothers, you will haveto start out in the world and do the best you can
for yourself. Jack took the little cat and startedout. Do not be uneasy, master, said the little
cat. You have three silver pieces. Take them andbuy me a little pair of boots and a bag,
and I will make your fortune for you. Jack did notlike to spend his money on a pair of boots
for a cat, but he knew he was a wise littleanimal, so he did as he said. He went to a tailor,
and for the three pieces of silver the tailor madehim the prettiest pair of little boots that ever
were seen, and when Puss drew them on they fittedexactly. 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
bade him sit down by the roadside and wait for hisreturn. The little cat ran off into a wood
nearby, where there were a great many rabbitholes, and there he managed to catch two fine fat
rabbits.
He put the rabbits in the bag and trotted away inhis neat little boots until he came to the
king's palace. There he asked to see the king, anda cat in boots was such a strange sight that
he was at once brought before his majesty. Thecourtiers nudged each other and laughed when
the cat came into court, but Puss marched up tothe king and bowed low before him.
Your majesty, my master, the Marquis of Carabas,has sent you a present of these two fine fat
rabbits for your supper, said he, and he took outthe rabbits and presented them to the king.
The king was very much pleased. He ordered a pieceof money to be given to Puss,
and bade the little animal thank his master forthe fine present he had sent.
Puss ran back to where Jack was waiting, and gavehim the piece of money.
There, he said. That is enough to pay for a bedand 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. They aresent by my master, the Marquis of Carabas,
said Puss. Again the king sent his thanks to theMarquis, 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 caughtsome fine game in the forest and took
it to the king with the compliments of the Marquisof Carabas, and every day the king thanked the
cat and gave him a piece of money. The king beganto wonder who the Marquis of Carabas was and where
he lived. He began to think the Marquis was a verygenerous fellow. One day the king went out for a
pleasure ride with his daughter, and many of hiscourt rode with him. Puss came in haste to his
master. Come quick, he cried. We have done wellenough so far, but the time is now come when I
will make your fortune. The cat then led Jack to ariver, where he knew the king would pass before
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long. He then bade Jack take off his clothes andhide them under a rock, and then stand in the
river up to his neck. Jack did this, though thewater was so cold it made him shudder, and he did
not know how Puss was to make his fortune in thisway. Puss waited until he saw his master well in
the river, and then he ran to the road along whichthe king was coming.
Help! help, he cried. Oh help! my master, thenoble Marquis of Carabas. He will surely drown.
What is the matter? asked the king, stopping hiscoach, and the princess and all the courtiers
listened. Oh, your majesty, cried the cat. Mynoble master. He was attacked by robbers and
they robbed him of everything and threw him in theriver, and unless he receives help he will
surely drown. The king was very much concerned. Heat once sent courtiers to draw Jack out from
the river and dress him in robes of velvet andsatin and gold lace. Jack had never been so
magnificently dressed before, and he looked a finefellow indeed when he was brought to the king.
His majesty was so pleased with Jack's looks thathe made him get into the coach and sit beside him,
and the princess was even better pleased with himthan her father. Meanwhile the little cat had
hurried on far ahead of the coaches. PresentlyPuss came to a field where the harvesters were
harvesting the grain. Puss marched up to themscowling fiercely and bristling out his whiskers
until he looked twice as big again. The harvesterswere frightened. Listen, men, cried Puss. The king
will soon come by this way with my master, theMarquis of Carabas riding beside him. If he should
ask you to whom this grain belongs, answer that itbelongs to the noble Marquis of Carabas.
If you do not do this you shall be torn intopieces, and the shreds thrown into the river.
The harvesters were more frightened than ever.They promised to do exactly as the cat bade them.
Then Puss ran on until he met a drover driving agreat herd of cattle. Him, too, he frightened so
that he promised if the king asked him to whom theherd belonged, he would say to the noble
Marquis of Carabas. A little farther on the catmet a shepherd with his sheep, and he also
promised
to say his flocks belonged to the Marquis ofCarabas. So it went on, it seemed as though
everything was to be claimed by the Marquis ofCarabas. Now all these things really belonged
to an ogre who was very rich and fierce and strongand terrible, and after a while Puss came to the
castle where the ogre lived. The little cat wasnot afraid of ogres, however. He made his way
into the castle and ran along into one room afteranother until he came to where the ogre was
sitting. When the ogre saw the little cat in hisfine shiny, creaking boots he was so amused that
he laughed aloud. He had never seen such a sightbefore.
"'And where did you come from, my fine littlecat?' he asked.
"'Oh, from over the hills and far away.'
"'And what do you want here?'
"'I only wanted to see you because everyone saysyou are the strongest and most wonderful
ogre in all the world.' When the ogre heard thathe was much pleased, for he was very vain.
"'Well, and now you have seen me, what do youthink of me?' he asked.
"'Oh,' Puss thought he was a very wonderful ogreindeed. And was it true that he had magic powers,
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too? Yes, the ogre had magic powers.
"'Can you change yourself into animals if youchoose? A lion or an elephant for instance?'
asked Puss.
"'Oh, yes, that was easy enough.'
"'I should like to see you do that,' said the cat.
Well, the ogre was willing to oblige him. At oncehe turned himself into a lion,
for he really had that power, and he was a veryterrible-looking lion indeed.
He roared and lashed his tail and his manebristled.
The ogre changes himself into a lion.
Puss was so terrified that he sprang through thewindow and scrambled up the roof,
though he almost slipped and fell on a count ofthe boots. There he sat spitting and trembling.
Then the ogre turned himself back into his ownshape, and he laughed and laughed.
"'Come back, Puss,' he called,
"'I will not hurt you, but now you see thateverything they told you was true.
Puss came scrambling back into the room, and helooked very meek and timid.
"'Yes, I see it was all true,' he said.
"'But, Mr. Ogre, could you turn yourself into asmall animal as well?
That must be a great deal harder. Could you turnyourself into a mouse?'
Yes, the ogre could do that, too, and at once heturned himself into a mouse,
and ran, scampering gaily about the room. But hedid not scamper long.
"'Peace sst!' With a bound Puss caught him andswallowed 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 andtalking pleasantly together. The king was so
pleased with Jack's talk that he told the coachmanto drive slowly, so they could have the more time
together. Presently they came to the field ofgrain where the harvesters were at work.
"'That is a fine field of grain,' said the king,and he leaned from the coach and called to the
harvesters to know to whom the grain belonged."'To the noble Marquis of Carabas!' answered the
harvesters. The king turned to Jack. "'My dearMarquis, why did you not tell me it belonged to
you?' "'I had forgotten,' answered Jack. Soonafter they came to the drover. The king admired
the
herd of cattle and asked the drover to whom theybelonged. "'To the noble Marquis of Carabas,'
answered the drover. The king turned to Jack, andcomplimented him upon his herds. He began
to think the Marquis must be very rich. Then theycame to the shepherd, and it was the same thing,
his flocks belonged to the Marquis of Carabas. Inthe forest the woodsmen said that would belong
to the Marquis. It seemed as though the Marquiswere richer than the king himself.
At last they came to the ogre's grand castle, andthe king asked Jack to whom it belonged.
Before Jack could answer the doors were thrownopen, and the little cat ran out into the road.
"'Welcome, welcome, your Majesty,' he cried.
"'Welcome to the castle of the Marquis ofCarabas.'
"'So this is where you live,' said the king.
"'Yes, this is where I live,' answered Jack.
The cat invited them to a light and led the wayinto a long dining-hall. There the servants had
prepared a magnificent feast, for now they, aswell as the castle and everything in it,
belonged to Jack. The king and the princess tooktheir places at the table, and Jack sat
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between them. They ate and drank and feasted totheir hearts' content, and the king had never
tasted more delicious food, and it was all servedon golden plates far finer than those he ate from
in his own castle. At the end of the feast theking 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, for noeveryday girl would do for you.
"'Yes,' Jack would like to marry a princess, butit 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 skinwith joy, for the princess was so sweet and pretty
that he loved her already. Yes, she would dobetter than anyone else in the world.
And the princess did not say nay. So Jack wentback with the king and the princess to his own
palace, and then the princess and Jack weremarried, and lived happily ever after. The
little cat lived in the palace with them, andalways the softest cushion, and the warmest
corner by the fire were left for him. As forJack's brothers, when they heard the good fortune
that
had come to Jack, and how he had won a princessfor a wife, they wished they had kept Puss and
given him the mill and the flocks and herds.