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Puss in Boots European Folk Tale, This adaptation retold by Kiwi Opa Published by https://www.freekidsbooks.org Creative Commons License CC-BY-NC
Puss in BootsEuropean Folk Tale,
This adaptation retold by Kiwi Opa
Published by https://www.freekidsbooks.orgCreative Commons License CC-BY-NC
Seeing the young mansad, the cat went overand rubbed his headagainst the young man’sleg and spoke.
The young man wasastonished. “Yes, I cantalk,” said the cat, “and ifyou will but buy me ahandsome pair of bootsand a large leather bag Iwill make you a rich andhappy man.
Page 2 Puss in Boots http://www.freekidsbooks.org
Seeing the young mansad, the cat went overand rubbed his headagainst the young man’sleg and spoke.
The young man wasastonished. “Yes, I cantalk,” said the cat, “and ifyou will but buy me ahandsome pair of bootsand a large leather bag Iwill make you a rich andhappy man.
Page 2 Puss in Boots http://www.freekidsbooks.org
Although the young manwas poor.
And the few coins he hadin his pocket was all hepossessed.
He was so astonished thathis cat could talk,
He went out and boughtthe boots and bag.
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Dressed in his brand newboots,
the cat put bait in thebottom of his leather bag,
threw it over his shoulderand set out over the felds.
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Using his cunning the catcaught a plump rabbit.
Now, you would havethought the cat wouldhave gone back to theyoung man and given himthe rabbit to eat as he washungry...
but no, the cat had biggerplans.
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With the boldness of alion,
the clever cat took hisplump rabbit straight to the King,
and presented it as a gift from his master the Marquis de Carrabas.
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As he bowed low to theKing,
he noticed the King’sdaughter sitting besidehim.
She was beautiful andwhen she smiled thewhole room brightened.
He bowed to the Princesswho smiled back.
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Every day the cat cameto the King’s palacepresenting gifts from hismaster, the Marquis deCarrabas.
Every day he bowed andthe Princess smiled back.
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The cat soon became afavourite at the King’spalace.
One day he overheard theKing planning a carriageride along the river bankwith his daughter.
He raced home and told hismaster, “Do what I say andfortune will smile kindly onus. Opportunity isknocking on our door.”
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The cat took the youngman down to the river,
“Take off your clothesand get in the water.”
As soon as the youngman was in the water,the cat took his torn andtattered clothes and hidthem under a big stone.
Then waited for theKing.
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As the King’s carriageapproached the catraced out waving hishands in the air andshouting to thecoachmen,
“Help! Help! My master the Marquis de Carrabas is drowning.”
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When the King heard thename,
the Marquis de Carrabas,
he ordered the coach tostop
and the coachman torescue the young manfrom the river.
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The coachmen pulled theastonished young manout of the river.
The young man tried tocover his nakedness.
“Where are his clothes?”asked the King.
“Sire, he was set uponand robbed by wickedmen who took all hispossessions.”
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“Then we must fetchsuitable replacementsfrom the palace.”
Dressed in the fnest ofclothes tailored by theKing’s personal tailor,
the young man waspresented to the Kingand his daughter.
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He was taken by thedaughter’s beauty.
She, noting his fneclothes and handsomelooks, fell immediatelyin love with him.
The young man wasinvited to join the Kingand his daughter in theroyal carriage.
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As the carriage continued on its way,
Puss in Boots racedahead.
He came across somepeasants working in afeld.
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Drawing his sword Puss in Bootschallenged them,
“When the King asks to whomthese felds belong, declare,
‘The Marquis de Carrabas’,
or it will be the worse for you.”
The frightened workers agreed.
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The cat then came upon avillage.
He told the villagers,
“When the King askswhose lands are these,declare,
‘the Marquis deCarrabas’,
or it will be the worst foryou.”
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“These felds, sire,
and all the surrounding lands
belong to the Marquis de Carrabas.
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“I am impressed, myLord,” said the King
The King’s daughtersmiled and touched theyoung man’s arm.
The young man was evenmore astonished by thecleverness and audacityof his cat.
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Puss in Boots came atlast to a castle andknocked boldly on thedoor.
The enormous woodendoor creaked open
and a large ogrepresented himself,
“What d’ye want?”
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The cat bowed low,
“I have heard you are ferce and cruel
and that people are afraid of you.”
“What of it!” grunted the ogre.
“I have also heard you have powers to change yourself …”
Puss in Boots
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Suddenly, a ferociouslion appeared wherethe ogre had stood.
Puss quickly scrambledand scratched his wayup a nearby curtain,well out of reach of thelion’s sharp teeth.
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From his safe perch highupon the curtain thecat’s confdencereturned,
“That’s easy,” he chided,“to change yourself intosomething so big.”
But, you couldn’t changeyourself into... into...say,
something as small as amouse, could you?”
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With a sneer the ogretransformed himself into amouse.
Before you could say ‘Hey, diddle, diddle’ the cat had pounced on the ogre.
The ogre made for a very good supper.
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Just then Puss heard thesound of the King’scarriage pulling into thecourt yard.
He hurried out to greetthe King and hisdaughter,
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“Welcome to the castleof my master, theMarquis de Carrabas,your majesties.”
“So this is your home,”the King said to theyoung man.
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The young man hadstopped beingastonished by anythinghis clever cat got up to
His time was nowoccupied in thecompany of thebeautiful Princess.
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The ogre’s servants were pleased with their new master and prepared the most wonderful banquet.
After the feast, an engagement and a marriage all in the one afternoon.
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The young man, theMarquis de Carrabas,
his wife, the Princess,
and Puss in Boots,
all lived, in the ogre’scastle,
happily ever after.
THE END
ABOUT PUSS IN BOOTS Although usually attributed to CharlesPerrault, "Master Cat, or The Booted Cat",commonly known in English as "Puss inBoots", is a European folk tale of unknownorigin. The oldest record of written history is fromItalian author Giovanni Francesco Straparola,who included it in his The Facetious Nightsof Straparola (c. 1550–53) in XIV–XV. Another version was published in 1634,by Giambattista Basile with the titleCagliuso. The most famous version was written inFrench at the close of the seventeenthcentury by Charles Perrault (1628–1703), aretired civil servant and member of theAcadémie française. The tale appeared in a handwritten andillustrated manuscript two years before its1697 publication by Barbin in a collection ofeight fairy tales by Perrault.
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Puss in Boots"Puss in Boots", is a European literary fairytale about a cat who uses trickery anddeceit to gain power, wealth, and the handof a princess in marriage for his pennilessand low-born master.
About the AuthorKiwi Opa is an accomplished writer, actor,ESL teacher, music industry professional,father and grandfather, and the frst offcialstaff member at Free Kids Books.
About Free Kids BooksThis classic book is brought to you by Free Kids Books, the home of all great freeebooks for children.
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