Puss in Boots

Puss in Boots

Once there was a miller who left very little property to his three sons. The eldest inherited the mill, the middle son the donkey, and the youngest received a cat.

At first, the youngest son was disappointed.

“What am I supposed to do with just one cat?”

The cat sat in front of him, wrapped his tail around his paws, and unexpectedly said:

“Don’t be too quick to judge your inheritance. Give me a strong sack and a pair of boots so I don’t hurt my paws on the roads, and you will see that I am not so useless after all.”

The young man was so astonished that he did not even argue. With the last of his savings, he ordered a pair of little red boots for the cat.

The cat pulled on his boots, slung the sack over his shoulder, and set off across the fields. He knew every path, burrow, and clearing. Before long, he caught several partridges, but not for himself.

He carried them to the royal palace.

“A gift for the king from my master, the Marquis of Carabas,” he announced grandly.

In truth, no Marquis of Carabas existed yet. The cat had invented the name on the road because he thought his master could use a little more confidence.

The king accepted the gift and ordered his thanks to be sent to the mysterious marquis.

The following week, the cat brought a rabbit. Then a basket of berries. Then rare mushrooms for the royal cook.

“Your marquis is very thoughtful,” said the king.

The cat merely bowed politely.

Some time passed. One morning, the cat rushed home.

“Master, today the king and his daughter will be traveling along the river. Put on a clean shirt and come swimming with me.”

“In the river? Why?”

“Trust me once more.”

When the royal carriage appeared on the road, the young miller’s son was standing knee-deep in the water.

Suddenly the cat began shouting at the top of his voice:

“Help! The Marquis of Carabas has lost his clothes in the river!”

The king recognized the cat.

“Why, that is the servant of the very same marquis!” he said, and ordered the carriage to stop.

The servants brought the young man a handsome spare suit from the royal luggage. In fine clothes, he looked quite different.

The princess smiled and began asking him about the mill, the fields, and life by the river. He answered honestly and so interestingly that she enjoyed their conversation.

Meanwhile, the cat raced ahead.

In a meadow, peasants were cutting grass.

“Friends,” said the cat, “the king will soon pass this way. If he asks who owns these lands, tell him, ‘The Marquis of Carabas.’”

“And why should we say that?” the people asked.

The cat leaned closer.

“Because the true owner of these lands is an ill-tempered ogre-magician who lives in the castle. He charges you far too much rent. If my plan succeeds, you will have a kinder master.”

The peasants looked at one another.

“Then let us try.”

The cat made the same request of the reapers in the wheat field and the shepherds near the hill.

At last he reached an enormous castle.

A powerful magician lived there, an ogre who could transform himself into any animal he wished.

“They say you can even turn yourself into a lion,” said the cat.

“Easily!”

Poof!

A huge lion stood before the cat and roared.

The cat leaped onto a cupboard.

“Impressive! But I suppose becoming a tiny creature must be much harder. A mouse, for example.”

The lion snorted.

“Nothing is difficult for me!”

Poof!

A tiny gray mouse sat on the carpet.

The cat sprang down in an instant, planted himself in front of the mouse, blocked the way beneath the chair with one paw, and said:

“Now listen carefully. I am not going to eat you. But you will leave this castle, stop frightening people, and stop charging them unfair rents.”

The mouse squeaked:

“I promise!”

“And you will return what you took from them unfairly.”

“I promise!”

The cat stepped aside. The magician changed back into himself, quickly packed what he needed, and left the castle. They say he later settled far away in the mountains and took up a much more peaceful kind of magic.

Just then the royal carriage arrived at the gates.

The cat met the visitors at the steps.

“Welcome to the castle of the Marquis of Carabas!”

The young man nearly dropped his hat in surprise, but the cat gave him a quick wink.

At the table, the young man did not pretend to be a wealthy nobleman. He honestly told the king and princess that he had been born into a miller’s family and that nearly everything about this extraordinary day had been arranged by his cat.

The king was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing.

“I like the master’s honesty just as much as I admire his cat’s cleverness.”

The villagers confirmed that the young man had always been kind and hardworking. So the castle and lands were entrusted to him on the condition that he treat the people fairly.

And so the young miller’s son truly became the master of a great estate. He and the princess met more and more often, talked for hours, and in time decided they wanted to be together.

And the cat?

The cat received his own chair beside the fire, the finest cushion in the castle, and a new pair of boots every year.

Even so, he still loved strolling through the village and telling the kittens:

“It doesn’t matter what you are given at the beginning. What matters more is what you manage to do with it.”

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨