The Master Cat or Puss in Boots
Tale By :Charles
Perrault
There was a miller, who
left no more estate to the three sons he had, than his Mill, his Ass, and his
Cat. The partition was soon made. Neither the scrivener nor attorney were sent
for. They would soon have eaten up all the poor patrimony. The eldest had the
Mill, the second the Ass, and the youngest nothing but the Cat.
The poor young fellow was comfortless
at having so poor a lot.
“My brothers,” said he,
“may get their living handsomely enough, by joining their stocks together; but
for my part, when I have eaten up my Cat, and made me a muff of his skin, I
must die with hunger.”
The Cat, who heard all
this, but made as if he did not, said to him with a grave and serious air:
“Do not thus afflict
yourself, my good master; you have only to give me a bag, and get a pair of
boots made for me, that I may scamper thro’ the dirt and the brambles, and you
shall see that you have not so bad a portion of me as you imagine.”
Tho’ the Cat’s master did
not build very much upon what he said, he had however often seen him play a
great many cunning tricks to catch rats and mice; as when he used to hang by
the heels, or hide himself in the meal, and make as if he were dead; so that he
did not altogether despair of his affording him some help in his miserable
condition.
When the Cat had what he
asked for, he booted himself very gallantly; and putting his bag about his
neck, he held the strings of it in his two fore paws, and went into a warren
where great abundance of rabbits was. He put bran and sow thistle into his bag,
and stretching himself out at length, as if he had been dead, he waited for
some young rabbit, not yet acquainted with the deceits of the world, to come
and rummage his bag for what he had put into it.
Scarce was he lain down,
but he had what he wanted; a rash and foolish young rabbit jumped into his bag,
and Monsieur Puss, immediately drawing close the strings, took and killed him
without pity. Proud of his prey, he went with it to the palace, and asked to
speak with his Majesty. He was shewed up stairs into the King’s apartment, and,
making a low reverence, said to him:
“I have brought you, sir, a
rabbit of the warren which my noble lord the Marquis of Carabas” (for that was
the title which Puss was pleased to give his master) “has commanded me to
present to your Majesty from him.”
“Tell thy master,” said the
King, “that I thank him, and that he does me a great deal of pleasure.”
Another time he went and
hid himself among some standing corn, holding still his bag open; and when a
brace of partridges ran into it, he drew the strings, and so caught them both.
He went and made a present of these to the King, as he had done before of the rabbit,
which he took in the warren. The King in like manner received the partridges
with great pleasure, and ordered him some money to drink.
The Cat continued for two
or three months, thus to carry his Majesty, from time to time, game of his master
is taking. One day in particular, when he knew for certain that the King was to
take the air, along the river side, with his daughter, the most beautiful
Princess in the world, he said to his master:
“If you will follow my
advice, your fortune is made; you have nothing else to do, but go and wash
yourself in the river, in that part I shall shew you, and leave the rest to
me.”
The Marquis of Carabas did
what the Cat advised him to, without knowing why or wherefore.
While he was washing, the
King passed by, and the Cat began to cry out, as loud as he could:
“Help, help, my lord Marquis
of Carabas is drowning.”
At this noise the King put
his head out of his coach-window, and finding it was the Cat who had so often
brought him such good game, he commanded his guards to run immediately to the
assistance of his lordship the Marquis of Carabas.
While they were drawing the
poor Marquis out of the river, the Cat came up to the coach, and told the King
that while his master was washing, there came by some rogues, who went off with
his clothes, tho’ he had cried out “Thieves, thieves,” several times, as loud
as he could. This cunning Cat had hidden them under a great stone. The King
immediately commanded the officers of his wardrobe to run and fetch one of his
best suits for the lord Marquis of Carabas.
The King received him with
great kindness, and as the fine clothes he had given him extremely set off his
good mien (for he was well made, and very handsome in his person), the King’s
daughter took a secret inclination to him, and the Marquis of Carabas had no
sooner cast two or three respectful and somewhat tender glances, but she fell
in love with him to distraction. The King would needs have him come into his
coach, and take part of the airing. The Cat, quite overjoyed to see his project
begin to succeed, marched on before, and meeting with some countrymen, who were
mowing a meadow, he said to them:
“Good people, you who are
mowing, if you do not tell the King, that the meadow you mow belongs to my lord
Marquis of Carabas, you shall be chopped as small as mince-meat.”
The King did not fail asking
of the mowers, to whom the meadow they were mowing belonged.
“To my lord Marquis of
Carabas,” answered they all together; for the Cat’s threats had made them
terribly afraid.
“Truly a fine estate,” said
the King to the Marquis of Carabas.
“You see, sir,” said the
Marquis, “this is a meadow which never fails to yield a plentiful harvest every
year.”
The Master Cat, who still
went on before, met with some reapers, and said to them:
“Good people, you who are
reaping, if you do not tell the King that all this corn belongs to the Marquis
of Carabas, you shall be chopped as small as mince-meat.”
The King, who passed by a
moment after, would needs know to whom all that corn, which he then saw, did
belong. “To my lord Marquis of Carabas,” replied the reapers; and the King
again congratulated the Marquis.
The Master Cat, who went
always before, said the same words to all he met; and the King was astonished
at the vast estates of my lord Marquis of Carabas.
Monsieur Puss came at last
to a stately castle, the master of which was an Ogre, the richest had ever been
known; for all the lands that the King had then gone over belonged to this
castle. The Cat, who had taken care to inform himself who this Ogre was, and
what he could do, asked to speak with him, saying, he could not pass so near
his castle, without having the honour of paying his respects to him.
The Ogre received him as
civilly as an Ogre could do, and made him sit down.
“I have been assured,” said
the Cat, “that you have the gift of being able to change yourself into all
sorts of creatures you have a mind to; you can, for example, transform yourself
into a lion, or elephant, and the like.”
“This is true,” answered
the Ogre very briskly, “and to convince you, you shall see me now become a
lion.”
Puss was so sadly terrified
at the sight of a lion so near him, that he immediately got into the gutter,
not without abundance of trouble and danger, because of his boots, which were
ill-suited for walking upon the tiles. A little while after, when Puss saw that
the Ogre had resumed his natural form, he came down, and owned he had been very
much frightened.
“I have been moreover
informed,” said the Cat, “but I know not how to believe it, that you have also
the power to take on you the shape of the smallest animals; for example, to
change yourself into a rat or a mouse; but I must own to you, I take this to be
impossible.”
“Impossible?” cried the
Ogre, “you shall see that presently,” and at the same time changed into a
mouse, and began to run about the floor.
Puss no sooner perceived
this, but he fell upon him, and ate him up.
Meanwhile the King, who
saw, as he passed, this fine castle of the Ogre’s, had a mind to go into it.
Puss, who heard the noise of his Majesty’s coach running over the drawbridge,
ran out and said to the King:
“Your Majesty is welcome to
this castle of my lord Marquis of Carabas.”
“What! my lord Marquis?”
cried the King, “and does this castle also belong to you? There can be nothing
finer than this court, and all the stately buildings which surround it; let us
go into it, if you please.”
“The Marquis gave his hand to the Princess, and followed the King, who went up
first”
The Marquis gave his hand
to the Princess, and followed the King, who went up first. They passed into a
spacious hall, where they found a magnificent collation which the Ogre had
prepared for his friends, who were that very day to visit him, but dared not to
enter knowing the King was there. His Majesty was perfectly charmed with the
good qualities of my lord Marquis of Carabas, as was his daughter who was
fallen violently in love with him; and seeing the vast estate he possessed,
said to him, after having drank five or six glasses:
“It will be owing to
yourself only, my lord Marquis, if you are not my son-in-law.”
The Marquis making several
low bows, accepted the honour which his Majesty conferred upon him, and
forthwith, that very same day, married the Princess.
Puss became a great lord,
and never ran after mice any more, but only for his diversion.
The Moral
How advantageous it may be,
By long descent of
pedigree,
T’enjoy a great estate,
Yet knowledge how to act,
we see,
Join’d with consummate
industry,
(Nor wonder ye thereat)
Doth often prove a greater
boon,
As should be to young
people known.
Another
If the son of a miller so
soon gains the heart
Of a beautiful princess,
and makes her impart
Sweet languishing glances,
eyes melting for love,
It must be remark’d of fine
clothes how they move,
And that youth, a good
face, a good air, with good mien,
Are not always indifferent
mediums to win
The love of the fair, and
gently inspire
The flames of sweet
passion, and tender desire.
With affection,
Ruben
