Once upon a time, there was a miller who lived with his three sons, a
donkey and a cat.
Before his death he divided his property among his sons. His eldest son inherited the mill. The
second son took the donkey and set off in search of his fortune.
The youngest son received a cat only. He felt sad and said to his father, “What is this, O
father? I am going to receive this cat. Is this the gift for being the youngest in the family?”
The miller kept mum. After some time he breathed his last. Time flew.
One day, the youngest son with the cat went out for a stroll. He sat down on a stone and exclaimed what he would do with the cat which would die soon. The cat advised him not to worry.
He requested the youngest son to arrange him a bag and a pair of boots. In due course, the youngest son
would see that his portion was not so bad as he imagined to be.
The miller’s son gave the cat all that he asked for. Puss in Boots, as the cat was called, set off for the jungle.
Puss in Boots went to a warren full of rabbits. He laid a trap and caught a rabbit.
Thereafter, he went to meet the king. He presented the rabbit to the king saying that it was a gift from his master, the Marquis of Carabas. In the days that followed, Puss in Boots regularly visited the castle presenting different gifts to the king in the name of his master.
One day, Puss in Boots urged his master to go to the river and bathe at a fixed place. The miller’s son exactly did that. Puss in Boots hid all his clothes. When the king’s carriage passed by, he went up to the king and requested him to save his drowning master who was robbed of his fine clothes and pushed into the river.
The king ordered his servants to save the Marquis of Carabas. He gave him the finest clothes to wear. The king offered him a ride in the royal coach. The cat invited them all to the castle of his master.
The cat rushed off in the direction of the castle, shouting at the workers in the fields to name the Marquis of Carabas if anyone asked the name of their master. Otherwise, they would face dire consequences.
The carriage went past the fields. The king stopped by and asked the workers whom those fields
belonged. They replied, “The Marquis of Carabas.” The king was very impressed to hear the words of the workers.
Puss in Boots, in the meantime, running ahead of the king’s carriage went to a nearby castle. There lived a huge and cruel ogre.The cat told him that he had heard a lot about his mighty powers and he wished to see it.
The ogre decided to oblige the poor creature. Instantly, he turned into a lion that terrified the cat. Then, he became his real self.
Now the clever cat challenged the ogre to become a mouse. The enraged ogre turned into a tiny mover. No sooner had Puss in Boots seen the ogre in the form of a mouse than he pounced upon him and ate him up.
When the king and the miller’s son reached the castle, the cat welcomed them in the castle of the Marquis of Carabas. The king requested the miller’s son to marry his beautiful daughter. Soon, they got married and lived happily ever after in the castle.
