Puss in Boots

Once, a young man inherited nothing except a cat named Puss from his father’s estate. The cat heard his owner lamenting his fate and said, “Do not worry; I will help you. Have boots made for me and give me a bag.” The master complied.

Puss used the bag and boots to snare game. Each time, he requested an audience with the king, saying, “I present you a gift from my master.”

One day, the king and his daughter went to the countryside. Puss said to his master, “Follow my advice. Go bathe in the creek.”

The king happened by, and Puss cried out, “My master, the marquis is drowning!” Recognizing the cat who had bestowed so many gifts, the king commanded assistance. Puss mentioned that thieves had taken his master’s clothes, whereupon the king offered a suit.

Dressed in royal finery, the marquis was so handsome that the king’s daughter secretly admired him. Puss carried out his plan, traveling ahead of the king’s carriage. Coming upon men mowing a meadow, Puss said, “When the king arrives, say this meadow belongs to the marquis or else!” And so the men followed the cat’s instructions.

The cat repeated this scenario so that the king marveled at the marquis’s estate. Finally, Puss arrived at an ogre’s castle. All of the property Puss had attributed to his master belonged to this ogre. The ogre could transform himself into any creature. Puss said, “I heard that you can change into the smallest animal, but I believe this is impossible.” Accepting the challenge, the ogre immediately became a mouse. Puss pounced on the mouse and ate him up.

When the king saw the castle, he asked if it also belonged to the marquis. Charmed by the marquis and his property, the king offered his daughter’s hand in marriage. Puss became a great lord and never had to hunt for mice again.