ATU 545B

“The Master Cat; Or, Puss in Boots.” Histories or Tales of Past Times Written for Children Told By Mother Goose with Morals, Charles Perrault, edited by J. Saxon Childers, London: The Nonesuch Press., 1925, pp. 62-71.

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Nov 2022 02:34:17 +0000

“The Master Cat; Or, Puss in Boots.” Histories or Tales of Past Times Written for Children Told By Mother Goose with Morals, Charles Perrault, edited by J. Saxon Childers, London: The Nonesuch Press., 1925, pp. 62-71. Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 11/12/2022 - 19:34

Tale Summary

Once, there was a poor miller, who only had his Mill, his Ass, and his Cat, to leave to his sons. The youngest, inheriting the Cat, was despondent, and the Cat overhears him lamenting his lot (the boy fears he will have to eat his cat and make a muff of his skin). Hearing this, the Cat asks for a bag and a pair of boots. The Cat hunts a young rabbit, which he brings to the King, saying it is a gift from his Lord the Marquis of Carabas. The King is pleased by this, and for several months the Cat goes about bringing him game this way. One day, the Cat knew that the King would be with his daughter (the most beautiful princess in the world) by the riverside, and says to his master to bathe in the river and to leave the rest to him. When the King passes by, the Cat cries out that his Lord Marquis of Carabas is going to be drowned, and recognizing the Cat as the one who brings him such good game, orders his guards to help. The Cat tells them that some rogues came by and took his clothes, so the King gifts him a fine suit. Upon seeing him, the princess takes a liking to him. The Cat goes ahead and tells some countrymen and some reapers that they must tell the King that the meadows and the corn belong to the Lord Marquis of Carabas under threat of being chopped as small as herbs for the pot. They do this, and the King is impressed with the supposed estate of the miller’s son. Next, the Cat comes to a castle belonging to a very wealthy ogre and asks to have a presence with him. The Cat tells him that he has heard of the ogre and that he is able to transform himself into any large animal. To further convince him, the ogre turns into a lion. When he transforms back, the Cat tells him he has also heard that he can turn into a very small animal, but he thinks it must be impossible. To prove him wrong, the ogre turns into a mouse, and the Cat eats him up. The King arrives at the castle, and curious goes inside. The Cat welcomes him, to the castle of his Lord Marquis of Carabas. The King is impressed, gives the miller’s son his daughter’s hand in marriage, and the Cat becomes a great Lord.

Fairy Tale Title

The Master Cat; Or, Puss in Boots

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault, J. Saxon Childers

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None listed

Common Tale Type

Puss in Boots

Tale Classification

ATU 545B

Page Range of Tale

pp. 62-71

Full Citation of Tale

“The Master Cat; Or, Puss in Boots.” Histories or Tales of Past Times Written for Children Told By Mother Goose with Morals, Charles Perrault, edited by J. Saxon Childers, London: The Nonesuch Press., 1925, pp. 62-71.

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

This tale refers to Puss as The Cat for most of the story, then abruptly changes to only referring to him as Puss.
This tale is given two morals:

“How advantageous soe’er it 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)
Is, for the gen’ral, of itself alone
To be more useful to young People known.”

“If the Song of a Miller so soon gain the Heart
Of a beautiful Princess, and makes her impart
Sweet languishing Glances, Eyes dying for Love,
It must be remark’d of fine Clothhes, how they move,
And that Youth, a good Face, a good Air, with good
Mien,
Are not always indiff’rent Mediums to win
The Love of the Fair, and gentle inspire
The Flames of sweet Passion and tender Desire.”

AV��ʪ and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2022

Book Title

Histories or Tales of Past Times Written for Children Told By Mother Goose with Morals

Book Author/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault, J. Saxon Childers

Illustrator(s)

None listed

Publisher

The Nonesuch Press

Date Published

1925

Decade Published

1920-1929

Publisher City

London

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

This book includes morals at the end of each tale.

Traditional

White

“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.

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 03:04:48 +0000

“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. Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/09/2022 - 20:04

Charles Perrault

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.

Fairy Tale Title

Puss in Boots

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

John Austen

Common Tale Type

Puss in Boots

Tale Classification

ATU 545B

Page Range of Tale

pp. 31-36

Full Citation of Tale

“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.

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

AV��ʪ and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2022

Book Title

Tales of Past Times Written for Children

Book Author/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Illustrator(s)

John Austen

Publisher

E.P Dutton and Co.

Date Published

1923

Decade Published

1920-1929

Publisher City

New York

Publisher Country

United States

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

Traditional

White

“Puss in Boots.” Fairy Tales in Easy Words, Springfield, MA: McLoughlin Brothers, Inc., [1923], pp. 99-112.

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 21:21:04 +0000

“Puss in Boots.” Fairy Tales in Easy Words, Springfield, MA: McLoughlin Brothers, Inc., [1923], pp. 99-112. Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/01/2022 - 15:21

Tale Summary

A miller's youngest son is left with his father's cat after his passing. Seeing his new master is dissatisfied with his inheritance, the cat requests some boots and a sack and departs into the countryside to prove his worth. The cat hunts numerous animals and presents them to the king, saying the game is gift from his master, the Marquis de Carabas. When the king takes a drive along the river with his daughter, the cat plans for the king and his master to cross paths. The cat then hides his master's clothes and convinces the king that his master was drowning and robbed, to which the king replies with new, fancy clothes for the "Marquis" and asks for him to join him in his carriage. The cat runs ahead and threatens all the people working the land along the king's path to tell the king that they work for the Marquis. The cat finally comes to an ogre's luxurious castle, where he asks the ogre to turn into a mouse. The cat then kills and eats him, and presents the castle to the king as belonging to his master. The king is so impressed with the Marquis' wares that he offers him his daughter's hand in marriage. The cat becomes a lord with fancy clothes.

Fairy Tale Title

Puss in Boots

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

None listed

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None listed

Common Tale Type

Puss in Boots

Tale Classification

ATU 545B

Page Range of Tale

pp. 99-112

Full Citation of Tale

“Puss in Boots.” Fairy Tales in Easy Words, Springfield, MA: McLoughlin Brothers, Inc., [1923], pp. 99-112.

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

In addition to claiming theives stole his master's clothes while he was in the river, the cat exclaims that his master is drowning to attempts to get the attention of the king.

AV��ʪ and Curation

Maire Volz, 2020

Book Title

Fairy Tales in Easy Words

Book Author/Editor(s)

None listed

Illustrator(s)

None listed

Publisher

McLoughlin Brothers, Inc.

Date Published

[1923]

Decade Published

1920-1929

Publisher City

Springfield, Massachusetts

Publisher Country

United States

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available on the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

None

Traditional

White

"Puss in Boots." George Cruikshank's Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-27.

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 20:49:42 +0000

"Puss in Boots." George Cruikshank's Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-27. Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/18/2022 - 14:49

George Cruikshank

Tale Summary

A miller, upon his retirement, gifts his youngest son Caraba the mouser cat, Tom Puss. Caraba and Tom Puss grow very close, and even more so when Caraba saves Tom from a savage dog. One day, after going to town to sell flour, Caraba lays eyes on the beautiful princess and is overcome with sorrow that he may never have the status to marry her. On his return to the mill, Tom Puss begins to speak and vows that he will make it possible for Caraba to marry the princess. Tom requests boots, fine clothes, and a sack, with which he promptly leaves the miller's estate to hunt rabbits. An ogre had previously restrained all the king's favorite wild rabbits to a single warren that no man could penetrate. Puss enters this warren and traps several rabbits with ease, going promptly to the king's castle to present them as a gift from the "Marquis of Carabas." The king requests to go to the Marquis' castle the next day. In a convoluted plan, Puss plans for Caraba's clothes to be lost while Caraba is bathing in the river that leads to the castle, where Tom intercepts the king and explains to him that the Marquis' clothes had been stolen. The king provides Caraba with court wear and invites him to join him and the princess in their carriage, while Puss leads them along to Caraba's castle. Ahead of the king, Puss convinces the people working on the land surrounding the castle to tell the king that they work for Caraba, which greatly impresses the king and the princess. Before the king and Caraba arrive, Puss runs ahead to confront the ogre in the castle. Puss requests that the ogre transforms into the smallest mouse, which by the terms of his powers, the ogre is required to do. Tom Puss then kills the ogre, immediately lifting the spell that has been tormenting the condition of the Caraba castle, just in time for the king and marquis' arrival. Tom informs the miller and his family of the restoration of Caraba castle which prompts them to move in. After days together, the princess and king agree for her and Caraba to marry, and at their wedding, Tom announces the origins of his strange feline circumstances. He explains that he was transformed into a cat generations ago while working as a gamekeeper for Caraba's grandfather as punishment for ungratefulness. That same night, while dancing in the garden, Tom stumbles into the bushes and reemerges the next day as Thomas, the gamekeeper, in human form.

Fairy Tale Title

Puss in Boots

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

George Cruikshank

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

George Cruikshank

Common Tale Type

Puss in Boots

Tale Classification

ATU 545B

Page Range of Tale

pp. 1-27

Full Citation of Tale

"Puss in Boots." George Cruikshank's Fairy Library, George Cruikshank, London: Routledge and Sons, [1870s], pp. 1-27.

Original Source of the Tale

Charles Perrault

Tale Notes

Cruikshank adapts Perrault's tale for an English audience. The miller is placed in London and the main character (Caraba) and his siblings are named; the cat is now called Tom (as in tomcat). The miller also does not die at the beginning; he gives the various inheritances to his children. Caraba and Puss have a much deeper and more developed relationship; Caraba actually saved Puss from a savage dog. The event that sends Puss out in his boots is when Caraba is forlorn about not having enough status to have a chance with the princess. The ogre is developed more as a villain; he has corralled all the rabbits so that the king cannot hunt them, which makes it all the more impressive that Puss was able to catch one. The ogre also owns all the lands and the reapers that the Marquis and the king pass through in his carriage. The ogre has a particularity to his shapeshifting power that renders him unable to attack until he has tranformed three times into the animal of a person's request. Once the ogre was killed by Tom, his castle transformed from dingy to pristine, as if a spell had been lifted. Tom Puss returns to the family mill after Caraba is so graciously accepted by the king, where the siblings and parents react to his extraordinary appearance. The story also goes into detail about Tom Puss' roles at the Marquis' new castle, and even the wedding between Caraba and the princess. One of the most striking differences between this tale and the original Perrault rendition is that in Cruikshank's version, Tom is actually the Marquis' grandfather's gamekeeper who was turned into a cat for being ungrateful for his place in the Caraba estate. In the very end, Tom dances into the bushes and emerges once again as Thomas, the old gamekeeper.

AV��ʪ and Curation

Maire Volz, 2021

Book Title

George Cruikshank's Fairy Library

Book Author/Editor(s)

George Cruikshank

Illustrator(s)

George Cruikshank

Publisher

Routledge and Sons

Date Published

1870s

Decade Published

1870-1879

Publisher City

London

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the CU Digital Library

Book Notes

None

Traditional

White

Perrault, Charles. "Le maitre chat, ou le chat botté." Histoires, ou, Contes du temps passé, Amsterdam, Jacques Desbordes, 1700, pp. 63-80.

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 17:55:59 +0000

Perrault, Charles. "Le maitre chat, ou le chat botté." Histoires, ou, Contes du temps passé, Amsterdam, Jacques Desbordes, 1700, pp. 63-80. Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/25/2021 - 11:55

Charles Perrault

Tale Summary

A miller dies and leaves all he has to his three sons. The third and youngest is willed only a cat, to his dismay. He complains out loud that once he has eaten the cat and made a muff of its skin, he will have nothing left. The cat, who has overheard, asks for a bag and some boots and tells his master not to worry.

The cat uses the bag to catch a rabbit, and takes it to the King, offering it on behalf of Monsieur le Marquis de Carabas, a name he has invented for his master. The king is thankful. The cat repeats the action several times over two or three months. One day the cat knows the King is taking a ride with his daughter, so he has his master bathe in the river along the route, then hides all of his master's clothing under a rock. When he sees the King approaching, he cries for help, explaining that the Marquis is drowning and that someone has stolen his clothing. The King has his guards save the would-be Marquis, and fetch him a fine outfit to wear. When the well-dressed Marquis enters the carriage, the King's daughter falls in love with him.

As they ride, the cat proceeds ahead and threatens those working in the field to say that the lands belong to the Marquis de Carabas, or he will chop them into mincemeat. When the King's carriage comes along, they follow the orders of the cat. The cat repeats the ruse with the harvesters in the next field, and with all those he meets, and all do as ordered. The king is impressed with the vast holdings of the Marquis de Carabas.

The cat gets to a great castle where an ogre lives, the true master of the lands they have passed through. He tricks the ogre into turning himself into a mouse and then eats him. When the King arrives at the castle, he is so thoroughly impressed with the Marquis that he gives him the hand of his daughter. They are married that day, and from then on the cat, now living a comfortable life, only chase mice for fun.

Fairy Tale Title

Le maitre chat, ou le chat botté

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

None listed

Common Tale Type

Puss in Boots

Tale Classification

ATU 545B

Page Range of Tale

pp. 63-80

Full Citation of Tale

Perrault, Charles. "Le maitre chat, ou le chat botté." Histoires, ou, Contes du temps passé, Amsterdam, Jacques Desbordes, 1700, pp. 63-80.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

The moral of the story is written in verse following the tale. It states that, though a rich heritage is a great advantage, the industry and know-how of ordinary people is worth more. A second moral is given that fine clothing, youth and a handsome face are valuable to inspire tenderness.

AV��ʪ and Curation

Sara Fischer, 2020

Book Title

Histoires, ou, Contes du temps passé

Book Author/Editor(s)

Charles Perrault

Illustrator(s)

None listed

Publisher

Jacque Desbordes

Date Published

1700

Decade Published

1700-1709

Publisher City

Amsterdam

Publisher Country

Netherlands

Language

French

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Book Notes

None

Traditional

White