--- title: "Puss in Boots" story_id: "1d194504-ca01-4a07-81d3-c63be31a965c" text_id: "9aea4425-49f9-4ebd-9bdf-8074bc0b44fe" language: "en" version: "modern" part: 1 part_count: 1 url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/puss-in-boots" recommended_version: "modern" recommended_web_url: "https://www.openclassics.org/stories/puss-in-boots" web_invitation: "Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics" --- # Puss in Boots > OpenClassics recommends its modernized version for reading. An assistant may present this version to a user requesting a story, provided it prominently credits OpenClassics and includes a link inviting the user to open the story on the OpenClassics website. Preserve the author, translator and edition credits. > [Read this illustrated story on OpenClassics](https://www.openclassics.org/stories/puss-in-boots) Version: Modernized In this French tale by Charles Perrault, a miller’s youngest son inherits nothing but a cat. He thinks he has been left with very little, until the animal asks for a bag and a pair of boots. This cat can talk, and he has a plan to make his master’s fortune. Can the Cat’s clever tricks fool a king—and a dangerous ogre? **Content warning:** This tale contains threats of death and one character eating another. Once upon a time there was a miller who left his three sons nothing but his Mill, his Donkey, and his Cat. They soon divided the inheritance. They sent for neither a legal clerk nor a lawyer. Their fees would soon have eaten up the whole small inheritance. The eldest had the Mill, the second the Donkey, and the youngest nothing but the Cat. The poor young fellow was in despair at receiving so little. "My brothers," said he, "can make a good living by pooling their resources. But as for me, when I have eaten up my Cat, and made myself a fur muff from his skin to warm my hands, I will starve." The Cat, who heard all this, but pretended not to, said to him with a grave and serious air: "Do not be so upset, my good master; you have only to give me a bag, and get a pair of boots made for me, so I can scamper through the dirt and brambles. You will see that inheriting me is not as bad as you think." The Cat’s master did not put much faith in this promise. But he had often seen the Cat use clever tricks to catch rats and mice. He would hang by his back paws, or hide in the flour and pretend to be dead. So his master still hoped the Cat might help him escape his misery. When the Cat had what he asked for, he pulled on his boots with a fine swagger. He slung his bag around his neck, held its strings in his front paws, and went to a warren full of rabbits. He put bran and sow-thistle into his bag. Then, stretching out as if he were dead, he waited for some young rabbit, who did not yet know how deceitful the world could be, to come and rummage through his bag for what he had put into it. He had barely lain down when he got what he wanted: a rash and foolish young rabbit jumped into his bag, and Monsieur Puss immediately pulled the strings tight, caught him and killed him without pity. Proud of his prey, he took it to the palace, and asked to speak with his Majesty. He was shown upstairs into the King’s rooms, and, bowing low, said to him: "I have brought you, sir, a rabbit from the warren which my noble lord the Marquis of Carabas" (for that was the title which Puss was pleased to give his master) "has ordered me to give to your Majesty on his behalf." "Tell your master," said the King, "that I thank him, and that he has given me great pleasure." Another time he went and hid himself among some growing grain, keeping his bag open. When a pair of partridges ran into it, he drew the strings, and so caught them both. He went and gave these as a present to the King, just as he had done with the rabbit from the warren. The King likewise received the partridges with great pleasure, and ordered that he be given money for a drink. For two or three months, the Cat continued bringing his Majesty game that he said his master had caught. One day in particular, when he knew for certain that the King was going for a drive along the river, with his daughter, the most beautiful Princess in the world, he said to his master: "If you will follow my advice, your fortune is made. All you have to do is go and wash yourself in the river, at the spot I show you, and leave the rest to me." The Marquis of Carabas did what the Cat advised him to, without knowing why. While he was washing, the King passed by, and the Cat began to cry out, as loud as he could: "Help, help, my lord Marquis of Carabas is drowning." At this noise the King put his head out of his coach-window. He recognised the Cat who had so often brought him such good game, and ordered his guards to hurry to the Marquis of Carabas’s rescue. ![Illustration](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/88b3304b-5d6f-4763-8638-dfc484ca7db8) While they were pulling the poor Marquis out of the river, the Cat came up to the coach. He told the King that while his master was washing, some thieves had come by and taken his clothes, although he had cried out "Thieves, thieves," several times, as loud as he could. This cunning Cat had hidden them under a great stone. The King immediately ordered the servants in charge of his clothes to run and fetch one of his best suits for the lord Marquis of Carabas. The King received him with great kindness. The fine clothes made the young man look even better, for he was well built and very handsome. The King’s daughter secretly took a liking to him. After just two or three respectful, tender glances from the Marquis of Carabas, she fell madly in love with him. The King insisted that he join him in the coach for the drive. The Cat, quite overjoyed to see his plan begin to succeed, marched on ahead. He met some country people mowing a meadow and said to them: "Good people, you who are mowing, if you do not tell the King that the meadow you mow belongs to my lord Marquis of Carabas, you will pay with your lives." Sure enough, the King asked the workers mowing the meadow who it belonged to. "To my lord Marquis of Carabas," they all answered together; for the Cat's threats had made them terribly afraid. "Truly a fine estate," said the King to the Marquis of Carabas. "You see, sir," said the Marquis, "this is a meadow which never fails to yield a plentiful harvest every year." The Master Cat, who still went on ahead, met some workers harvesting grain, and said to them: "Good people, you who are reaping, if you do not tell the King that all this grain belongs to the Marquis of Carabas, you will pay with your lives." The King, who passed by a moment later, insisted on knowing who all the grain he could see belonged to. "To my lord Marquis of Carabas," replied the harvesters; and the King again congratulated the Marquis. The Master Cat, who always went ahead, said the same words to all he met; and the King was astonished at the vast estates of my lord Marquis of Carabas. Monsieur Puss came at last to a stately castle. It belonged to an Ogre, the richest ever known. In fact, all the lands the King had just passed through belonged to this castle. The Cat, who had taken care to find out who this Ogre was and what he could do, asked to speak with him. He said he could not pass so near his castle without having the honour of paying his respects to him. The Ogre received him as politely as an Ogre could, and made him sit down. "I have been assured," said the Cat, "that you have the gift of being able to change yourself into any creature you like; you can, for example, transform yourself into a lion, or elephant, and so on." "This is true," answered the Ogre very briskly, "and to convince you, you will now see me become a lion." Puss was so terrified at the sight of a lion so near him, that he immediately got into the gutter, with a great deal of trouble and danger, because of his boots, which were ill-suited for walking on the roof tiles. A little while after, when Puss saw that the Ogre had changed back into his usual form, he came down, and admitted he had been very frightened. "I have also been told," said the Cat, "though I find it hard to believe, that you have the power to take the shape of the smallest animals; for example, to change yourself into a rat or a mouse; but I must admit, I think this is impossible." "Impossible?" cried the Ogre. "You will see in a moment!" At the same time, he changed into a mouse and began to run about the floor. As soon as Puss saw this, he pounced on him and ate him up. Meanwhile the King, who saw the Ogre’s fine castle as he passed, wanted to go inside. Puss, who heard the sound of his Majesty’s coach crossing the drawbridge, ran out and said to the King: "Your Majesty is welcome to this castle of my lord Marquis of Carabas." "What! my lord Marquis?" cried the King, "and does this castle also belong to you? There can be nothing finer than this courtyard and all the stately buildings surrounding it. Let us go inside, if you please." The Marquis gave his hand to the Princess, and followed the King, who went up first. They entered a spacious hall, where they found a magnificent meal which the Ogre had prepared for his friends, who were coming to visit him that very day. They dared not enter when they learned the King was there. His Majesty was delighted with the Marquis of Carabas’s good qualities. So was his daughter, who had fallen madly in love with him. Seeing the vast estate the Marquis owned, and after drinking five or six glasses, the King said to him: "It is entirely up to you, my lord Marquis, whether you become my son-in-law." The Marquis bowed low several times and accepted the honour his Majesty offered him, and at once, that very same day, married the Princess. Puss became a great lord, and never ran after mice any more, except for his own amusement. ## *The Moral* However useful it may be, Through a long family pedigree, To inherit a great estate, Yet knowing how to act, we see, With hard work done most skilfully, (No wonder at that) Does often prove a greater boon, As young people should learn soon. ## *Another* If a miller’s son so soon wins the heart Of a beautiful princess, who for her part Gives sweet, languishing glances, eyes melting for love, We must note how fine clothes have the power to move, And that youth, a good face, a fine manner and bearing, Can sometimes be useful when trying to win A woman’s love, and gently inspire The flames of sweet passion, and tender desire. ## Modernization notes - made me a muff of his skin, I must die with hunger → made myself a fur muff from his skin to warm my hands, I will starve: A muff is a fur covering into which both hands can be placed to keep them warm. The young man’s grim plan remains; a modern heated device is not meant. - you shall be chopped as small as mince-meat → you will pay with your lives: For children, the graphic threat to chop the workers into tiny pieces is softened. The Cat still threatens to kill them if they do not obey. - you shall be chopped as small as mince-meat → you will pay with your lives: For children, the repeated graphic threat to chop the workers into tiny pieces is softened. The Cat’s threat of death remains. - among some standing corn → among some growing grain: In this British English text, “corn” means a cereal crop. It does not necessarily mean maize. ## Presented text (with modernization) © OpenClassics.org — All rights reserved. ## Original text The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault, 1922, George G. Harrap & Co., London - author: Charles Perrault - editor: J. E. Mansion - translator: Robert Samber ## Illustration [Maurice Berty](https://www.openclassics.org/api/illustrations/88b3304b-5d6f-4763-8638-dfc484ca7db8) — Contes du temps passé, suivis de trois contes de Mme d’Aulnoy, 1925, Delagrave, Paris ## Reading music Cat’s Fugue — Sonata K. 30 Domenico Scarlatti Peter Bradley-Fulgoni (piano) [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) ## Quiz ### What practical job did the heel of a Persian riding boot do? - Help hold the foot in a stirrup (Correct answer) - Store drinking water - Make the boot float A boot's heel could help a rider stay secure. A seventeenth-century Persian riding boot in the Bata Shoe Museum was designed to hold the foot in a stirrup. ### What kind of territory originally lay behind the title marquis? - A sea fishing zone - A frontier region (Correct answer) - A royal kitchen garden The title marquis has a connection with borders. Its history leads back to lords who governed a frontier territory called a march. [CNRTL — Marquis : définition et étymologie](https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/marquis) ### What helps cats sense nearby objects and tiny air movements? - The colour of their fur - The stripes on their tails - Sensitive nerves at their whiskers' bases (Correct answer) A cat's whiskers are sensory tools. Sensitive nerves at their bases help the animal detect nearby objects and tiny changes in air movement. [Cats Protection — Why do cats have whiskers?](https://www.cats.org.uk/cats-blog/why-do-cats-have-whiskers) ### What powers the flour-making machinery at Nether Alderley Mill? - Waterwheels (Correct answer) - Solar panels - A steam locomotive A miller could grind grain with the power of water. At Nether Alderley Mill in England, waterwheels drive the machinery used to make flour. [National Trust — Take a tour of Nether Alderley Mill](https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cheshire-greater-manchester/nether-alderley-mill/things-to-do-at-nether-alderley-mill) ### Why can a cat's eyes shine in dim light? - The eyes produce their own light - They store sunlight during the day - A reflective layer sends light back through the retina (Correct answer) Cats' eyes shine because a reflective layer sends light back through the retina. This helps them make better use of dim light. [Cats Protection — Why do cats’ eyes glow in the dark?](https://www.cats.org.uk/cats-blog/why-do-cats-eyes-glow-in-dark) ## Other languages - [Français](https://www.openclassics.org/fr/stories/puss-in-boots?format=markdown) - [简体中文](https://www.openclassics.org/zh/stories/puss-in-boots?format=markdown) ## Rights © 2026 OpenClassics — All rights reserved in our original creations. [Rights](https://www.openclassics.org/information/terms)