“Puss in Boots.” Tales of Past Times Written for Children, Charles Perrault, illustrated by John Austen, New York: E.P Dutton and Co., 1923, pp. 31-36.

Tale Summary

There was once a poor miller, who died and had only his mill, his ass, and his cat to leave to his three sons. The youngest of the boys, inheriting the cat, lamented aloud his misfortune, and how he must eat the cat and make a muff with its skin (neither, he concluded, would save him from starvation). The cat devises a plan and asks his new master for a bag and a pair of boots. Puss catches a young rabbit in the woods using the bag, and brings it to the King, giving it to him as a gift from the Marquis of Carabas. He continues to bring him game like this for several months, which pleases the King. One day, Puss knew that the King would be out with his daughter (the most beautiful princess in the world) along the river, and asked his master to follow his advice and bathe in the water and leave the rest to him. When the king passes by, Puss cries out that the marquis of Carabas is going to be drowned, and, recognizing him as the cat who brings him such good game, commands his guards to help. Puss tells them that rogues had stolen the marquis’ clothes while he washed, and the king gives him a wonderful new suit to wear. The princess sees him and takes a liking to him. The cat sets out ahead of the rest, and tells some countrymen that if they do not tell the King that the meadow they are mowing belongs to the marquis of Carabas, they will be “chopped as small as herbs for the pot”. He similarly threatens some reapers, demanding that they tell the King that all of the corn belongs to the marquis. The King is delighted with the young man and his apparent prowess. Puss comes to a vast castle belonging to a rich ogre and devises a plan. He asks to meet with the owner of the palace and says that he had heard he had the ability to change his form into all sorts of large creatures. The ogre replies that yes, he can do this, and he will change into a lion to further convince him. After changing back, Puss says he also heard the ogre could change into a small creature such as a mouse, but thought it was impossible. The ogre sets out to prove him wrong, and when he becomes a rodent, the cat eats him up. The King now arrives at the castle and is so stunned he wishes to enter. Upon hearing the car say that the place belongs to the marquis of Carabas, the King gives the young man his daughter’s hand in marriage, and Puss becomes a great lord.