Puss in the Boots

Adapted by Patrick Carpen from the classic fairy tale “Puss in the Boots” by Charles Perrault.

A miller, who had three sons, at the hour of his death divided his only possessions. He gave the firstborn the mill and to second he gave the donkey. But to the youngest, the only thing left to give was a cat.

The young man was very distraught at inheriting only a cat. “What shall I do with a cat?” he sulked. “If I depend on a cat to make a living, I will surely starve to death!”

But the cat said to the young man, “My dear master, do not despair. Just buy me a pair of boots and a sack and soon I will to you that I am more useful than a mill or a donkey.

So the boy converted all the money he had into a beautiful pair of boots and a bag for his kitten.

The kitting put on the boots and slung the bag across his shoulder and went into the fields where some rabbits were.

Arriving at the field, the cat slyly put some cabbage leaves into the bag and left it half open. He then lay on the ground pretending to be dead.

Excited by the scent of the cabbage, the rabbits came out of their hiding place and headed for the sack. As soon as the rabbits entered the bag, the cat snapped it shut.

He then took the rabbits as gift to the king saying, “Sir, the noble Marquis of Carabas ordered me to deliver these rabbits to you. Stew with spring onions will be a delicious dish.”

– Rabbits?! Exclaimed the king. – How wonderful! I love rabbits, but my cook does not know how to catch them. Tell your master I send my sincerest thanks.

The next day, the kitten caught two partridges and took them to the
king as gift of the Marquis of Carabás. The king was so pleased
who ordered his carriage ready, and accompanied by the
Princess, her daughter, went to the house of the noble
had sent him such precious memories.
The cat soon went to the master:
“Come with me, I will tell you a place on the river, where
You can have a good shower.
The cat led him to a point where the carriage was to pass.
told him to undress, to hide his clothes under the
a stone and into the water. The boy was gone from disappearing into the
when the king and the princess arrived.
– Help! Help! Cried the pussy.
– What happened? Asked the king.
“Thieves robbed the noble Marquis of Carabas!”
Said the cat. “My master is in the water and
you will feel cramps.
The king immediately sent some servants to the palace; came back from there
little clothing made for the king himself, when
young.
The owner of the cat dressed him and looked so handsome that the princess, so
who saw him, fell in love with him. The king was also delighted and
he murmured:
“I was just like that in my youth.”
The cat was radiant with the success of his plan; and running to
in front of the chariot, came to some fields and told the farmers:
“The king is coming; if they are not told that all these
fields belong to the Marquis of Carabás, I have them crushed as
meat for meatballs.
So when the king asked whose crops these crops were,
the farmers answered him:
– Of the very noble Marquis of Carabás.
– With the breca! – said the king to the youngest son of
miller. “What a beautiful property you have!”
The young man smiled in disbelief, and the king murmured in his daughter’s ear:
“I was like that in my youth as well.
Further on, the cat found some peasants mowing wheat and
he made them the same threat:
“If they do not say that all this wheat belongs to the Marquis
of Carabás, I make you mincemeat.
So when the royal chariot arrived and the king asked whose
was all that wheat, they answered,
“Of the noble Marquis of Carabás.”
The king was very excited and said to the boy,
– O marquis! You have many properties!
The cat continued to run ahead of the carriage; crossing a
thick grove, arrived at the door of a magnificent palace, in which
lived an ogre who was the true owner of the fields sown. O
Kitten knocked on the door and told the ogre that it opened:
“My dear ogre, I’ve been hearing some stories about
respect. Tell me there: it is certain that you can become what
do you want
“Certainly,” answered the ogre, and it became a
lion.
“That’s no good,” said the kitten. – Any
can swell and appear larger than it really is. All art is
in becoming smaller. Could you, for example, become a mouse?
“It is easy,” answered the ogre, and it became a
mouse.
The kitten tossed her nails at once, ate it, then went downstairs to open it.
the door, for at that moment the royal chariot arrived. And said:
“Welcome, sir, to the palace of the Marquis of Carabás.”
– Hello! Said the king, what a beautiful palace you have
you! I beg you to be so kind as to help the princess get out of the carriage.
The boy timidly offered the arm to the princess and the king
he murmured in his ear,
“I was so shy in my youth as well.
Meanwhile, the kitten got into the kitchen and had a
a splendid lunch, putting on the table the best wines that
wine House; and when the king, the princess and the master entered the
dinner and sat at the table, everything was ready.
After the magnificent lunch, the king turned to the boy and
I told him:

“Young man, you are as timid as I was in my youth.