A miller died, leaving three sons to divide his fortune among them. The
eldest took the mill and the land around it; the second took the flocks
and herds, and then there was nothing left for the third son, Jack, but
three bits of silver money, and a little cat that lived in the mill.
“This is all very well,” said Jack, “and the cat is a fine little cat
and can feed on the mice it catches, but I do not see how I am to live
on three pieces of money.”
“Oh,” answered his brothers, “you will have to start out in the world
and do the best you can for yourself.”
Jack took the little cat and started out.
“Do not be uneasy, master,” said the little cat. “You have three silver
pieces. Take them and buy me a little pair of boots and a bag, and I
will make your fortune for you.”
Jack did not like to spend his money on a pair of boots for a cat, but
he knew he was a wise little animal, so he did as he said. He went to
a tailor, and for the three pieces of silver the tailor made him the
prettiest pair of little boots that ever were seen, and when Puss drew
them on they fitted exactly. The tailor also gave Jack an old bag that
lay in the corner, and for which he had no use.
Puss led Jack off into the country, and then he bade him sit down by
the roadside and wait for his return. The little cat ran off into a
wood near by, where there were a great many rabbit-holes, and there he
managed to catch two fine fat rabbits. He put the rabbits in the bag
and trotted away in his neat little boots until he came to the King’s
palace. There he asked to see the King, and a cat in boots was such a
strange sight that he was at once brought before his majesty.
The courtiers nudged each other and laughed when the cat came into
court, but Puss marched up to the King and bowed low before him.
“Your Majesty, my master, the Marquis of Carrabas, has sent you a
present of these two fine fat rabbits for your supper,” said he, and he
took out the rabbits and presented them to the King.
The King was very much pleased. He ordered a piece of money to be given
to Puss, and bade the little animal thank his master for the fine
present he had sent.
Puss ran back to where Jack was waiting, and gave him the piece of
money. “There,” he said. “That is enough to pay for a bed and a supper
at the inn.”
The next day Puss set off for the forest again, and this time it was
a pair of fine fat partridges that he caught and carried to the King.
“They are sent by my master, the Marquis of Carrabas,” said Puss.
Again the King sent his thanks to the Marquis, and gave Puss a piece
of money, which the little cat carried back to his master, and it was
enough to buy Jack food and lodging.
So it went on day after day. Every day Puss caught some fine game in
the forest and took it to the King with the compliments of the Marquis
of Carrabas, and every day the King thanked the cat and gave him a
piece of money. The King began to wonder who the Marquis of Carrabas
was and where he lived. He began to think the Marquis was a very
generous fellow.
One day the King went out for a pleasure ride with his daughter, and
many of his court rode with him.
Puss came in haste to his master. “Come quick!” he cried. “We have done
well enough so far, but the time has now come when I will make your
fortune.”
The cat then led Jack to a river, where he knew the King would pass
before long. He then bade Jack take off his clothes and hide them under
a rock, and then stand in the river up to his neck.
Jack did this, though the water was so cold it made him shudder, and he
did not know how Puss was to make his fortune in this way.
Puss waited until he saw his master well in the river, and then he ran
to the road along which the King was coming.
“Help! help!” he cried. “Oh, help! My master—the noble Marquis of
Carrabas! He will surely drown.”
“What is the matter?” asked the King, stopping his coach, and the
Princess and all the courtiers listened.
“Oh, your Majesty!” cried the cat. “My noble master! He was attacked
by robbers and they robbed him of everything and threw him in the
river, and unless he receives help he will surely drown.”
The King was very much concerned. He at once sent courtiers to draw
Jack out from the river and dress him in robes of velvet and satin and
gold lace.
Jack had never been so magnificently dressed before, and he looked a
fine fellow indeed when he was brought to the King. His majesty was so
pleased with Jack’s looks that he made him get into the coach and sit
beside him, and the Princess was even better pleased with him than her
father.
Meanwhile the little cat had hurried on far ahead of the coaches.
Presently Puss came to a field where the harvesters were harvesting
the grain. Puss marched up to them scowling fiercely and bristling out
his whiskers until he looked twice as big again. The harvesters were
frightened.
“Listen, men,” cried Puss. “The King will soon come by this way with my
master, the Marquis of Carrabas riding beside him. If he should ask
you to whom this grain belongs, answer that it belongs to the noble
Marquis of Carrabas. If you do not do this you shall be torn into
pieces, and the shreds thrown into the river.”
The harvesters were more frightened than ever. They promised to do
exactly as the cat bade them.
Then Puss ran on until he met a drover driving a great herd of cattle.
Him, too, he frightened so that he promised if the King asked him to
whom the herd belonged, he would say to the noble Marquis of Carrabas.
A little farther on the cat met a shepherd with his sheep, and he also
promised to say his flocks belonged to the Marquis of Carrabas.
So it went on; it seemed as though everything was to be claimed by the
Marquis of Carrabas.
Now all these things really belonged to an ogre who was very rich and
fierce and strong and terrible, and after awhile Puss came to the
castle where the ogre lived. The little cat was not afraid of ogres,
however. He made his way into the castle and ran along into one room
after another until he came to where the ogre was sitting.
When the ogre saw the little cat in his fine shiny, creaking boots he
was so amused that he laughed aloud. He had never seen such a sight
before.
[Illustration: THE OGRE CHANGES HIMSELF INTO A LION]
“And where did you come from, my fine little cat?” he asked.
“Oh, from over the hills and far away.”
“And what do you want here?”
“I only wanted to see you because everyone says you are the strongest
and most wonderful ogre in all the world.”
When the ogre heard that he was much pleased, for he was very vain.
“Well, and now you have seen me, what do you think of me?” he asked.
Oh, Puss thought he was a very wonderful ogre indeed. And was it true
that he had magic powers, too?
Yes, the ogre had magic powers.
“Can you change yourself into animals if you choose? A lion or an
elephant for instance?” asked Puss.
Oh, yes, that was easy enough.
“I should like to see you do that,” said the cat.
Well, the ogre was willing to oblige him. At once he turned himself
into a lion, for he really had that power, and he was a very terrible
looking lion indeed. He roared and lashed his tail and his mane
bristled.
Puss was so terrified that he sprang through the window and scrambled
up the roof, though he almost slipped and fell on account of the boots.
There he sat spitting and trembling.
Then the ogre turned himself back into his own shape, and he laughed
and laughed. “Come back, Puss,” he called, “I will not hurt you; but
now you see that everything they told you was true.”
Puss came scrambling back into the room, and he looked very meek and
timid.
“Yes, I see it was all true,” he said. “But, Mr. Ogre, could you turn
yourself into a small animal as well? That must be a great deal harder.
Could you turn yourself into a mouse?”
Yes, the ogre could do that, too, and at once he turned himself into a
mouse, and ran, scampering gayly about the room. But he did not scamper
long. “Ps-s-s-t!” with a bound Puss caught him and swallowed him down
in a moment before he could even squeak, and that was the end of the
ogre.
Meanwhile the King and the Princess and Jack were rolling along
together in the fine coach and talking pleasantly together. The King
was so pleased with Jack’s talk that he told the coachman to drive
slowly, so they could have the more time together.
Presently they came to the field of grain where the harvesters were at
work.
“That is a fine field of grain,” said the King; and he leaned from the
coach and called to the harvesters to know to whom the grain belonged.
“To the noble Marquis of Carrabas!” answered the harvesters.
The King turned to Jack. “My dear Marquis, why did you not tell me it
belonged to you?”
“I had forgotten,” answered Jack.
Soon after they came to the drover. The King admired the herd of cattle
and asked the drover to whom they belonged.
“To the noble Marquis of Carrabas,” answered the drover.
The King turned to Jack, and complimented him upon his herds. He began
to think the Marquis must be very rich.
Then they came to the shepherd, and it was the same thing; his flocks
belonged to the Marquis of Carrabas. In the forest the woodsmen said
the wood belonged to the Marquis. It seemed as though the Marquis were
richer than the King himself.
At last they came to the ogre’s grand castle, and the King asked Jack
to whom it belonged. Before Jack could answer the doors were thrown
open, and the little cat ran out into the road. “Welcome, welcome, your
majesty,” he cried. “Welcome to the castle of the Marquis of Carrabas.”
“So this is where you live,” said the King.
“Yes, this is where I live,” answered Jack.
The cat invited them to alight and led the way into a long dining-hall.
There the servants had prepared a magnificent feast, for now they, as
well as the castle and everything in it, belonged to Jack.
The King and the Princess took their places at the table, and Jack sat
between them. They ate and drank and feasted to their hearts’ content,
and the King had never tasted more delicious food, and it was all
served on golden plates far finer than those he ate from in his own
castle.
At the end of the feast the King turned to Jack and said, “My dear
Marquis, you must be a very rich man.”
“I am so rich,” answered Jack, “that I really do not know how much I
have.”
“It seems to me,” said the King, “that you ought to marry a princess,
for no everyday girl would do for you.”
Yes, Jack would like to marry a princess, but it would have to be the
right princess.
“Then how would my daughter do?” asked the King.
At that Jack was ready to jump out of his skin with joy, for the
Princess was so sweet and pretty that he loved her already. “Yes, she
would do better than anyone else in the world.” And the Princess did
not say nay.
So Jack went back with the King and the Princess to his own palace, and
then the Princess and Jack were married, and lived happily ever after.
The little cat lived in the palace with them, and always the softest
cushion, and the warmest corner by the fire were left for him.
As for Jack’s brothers, when they heard of the good fortune that had
come to Jack, and how he had won a princess for a wife, they wished
they had kept Puss and given him the mill and the flocks and herds.