A story about a clever cat helping an unfortunate man, Puss in Boots is the most well-known version of French poet Charles Perrault's Chat botté (1697), although several variations can be found in European folklore.

According to Perrault's story, when a miller died, he left only a cat as an inheritance to his young son. The talking cat informed the boy that he could make a fortune if he brought him a bag and a pair of boots. The cat put on his boots and took the bag on his back, then went to a rabbit's nest, put beer, grain and grass in his bag, and then started pretending to be dead.

After a while, when a rabbit went into the bag to eat the grains, the cat killed the rabbit and took it with him and set off towards the palace. The cat, who appeared before the king, announced with a graceful bow that his master, the marquise of Carabas, had sent the rabbit with him as a gift. When the king thanked him for the gift, this time the cat hid in a wheat field and caught a pair of partridges and presented it to the king in the name of the so-called marquis of Carabas.

While the cat was in the palace, when he heard that the king was going to take a trip by the river with his daughter, who is the most beautiful princess in the world, he advised his young owner to go to the river and take a bath immediately. While the king's car was passing by the place where the boy was being washed, the cat jumped in front of the car and asked for help, saying that his master, the Marquise of Carabas, was about to drown in the river. While the king's men were pulling the boy out of the water, the cat made up the lie that some bandit had stolen the marquis's clothes.

The king supplied the boy with beautiful clothes, while the young man and the princess fell in love at first sight. The king, who did not realize the situation, offered the young man to get into the royal carriage. Seeing that his plan was going, he warned the villagers around him that he reached before the carriage, that the king would say that the fields belonged to the Carabas marquise if he asked them, and the king, who was tricked by the cat, was really impressed by the young man's so-called wealth when he asked who the owner of the fields was. The cat, traveling fast, has reached the castle of a rich giant who has the ability to take the form of any animal he wants.

When the cat wanted to test the giant's shape-shifting ability, the giant disguised as a lion and frightened the cat, but the cat cunningly tricked the man into saying that it was not possible for such a large giant to disguise as a small mouse. When the king's carriage reached the giant's castle, the cat opened the door of the castle and welcomed the guests to the mansion of the Marquis of Carabas. The king, who believed that the young man was a rich and important person, allowed them to marry his daughter, while the couple lived a happy and long life with the cat.

 

Source: Özhan Öztürk- World Mythology