There was a miller whose only inheritance to his three sons was his mill, his donkey, and his cat. The division was soon made. The eldest took the mill, the second the donkey, and the youngest took the cat.
The poor young fellow was quite comfortless because he received so little. “My brothers,” said he, “may make a handsome living by joining their shares together; but, for my part, after I have eaten up my cat, and made myself a muff from his skin, I must then die of hunger.”
The cat, who heard all this, but pretended otherwise, said to him serious, “Do not be so concerned, my good master. If you will give me a bag, and have a pair of boots made for me, that I may scamper through the dirt and the brambles, then you shall see that you are not so poorly off with me as you imagine.”
The cat’s master did not believe him very much. However, he had often seen him play a great many cunning tricks to catch rats and mice,[1] such as hanging by his heels, or hiding himself in the meal, and pretending to be dead; so he did take some hope that he might give him some help in his miserable condition.[2]
After receiving what he had asked for, the cat gallantly pulled on the boots and slung the bag about his neck. Holding its drawstrings in his forepaws,[3] he went to a place where there were a lot of rabbits. He put some bran and greens into his bag, then laid down as if he were dead. He waited for some young rabbits to come and look into his bag.
Soon a rash and foolish young rabbit jumped into his bag, and the master cat immediately closed the strings, then took and killed him without pity.[4]
Proud of his prey, he went with it to the palace, and asked to speak with his majesty. He was shown upstairs into the king’s apartment,[5] and, making a low bow,[6] said to him, “Sir, I have brought you a rabbit from my noble lord,[7] the Master of Carabas” (for that was the title which the cat was pleased to give his master).
“Tell your master,” said the king, “that I thank him, and that I am very pleased with his gift.”
Another time he went and hid himself in a grain field. He again held his bag open, and when a brace of partridges[8] ran into it, he drew the strings, and caught them both. He presented these to the king, as he had done before with the rabbit. The king received the partridges with great pleasure and gave him a tip. The cat continued, from time to time[9] for two or three months, to take game[10] to his majesty from his master.
One day, when he knew for certain[11] that the king would be taking a drive along the riverside 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 must do is to go and bathe yourself in the river at the place I show you, then leave the rest to me.”
The Marquis of Carabas did what the cat advised him to, without knowing why.[12] While he was bathing the king passed by in his coach, and the cat began to cry out, “Help! Help! My Lord Marquis of Carabas is going to be drowned.”
At this noise the king put his head out of the coach window and saw that it was the cat who had so often brought him such good game, so he commanded his guards to help the Marquis of Carabas. While they were drawing the poor Marquis out of the river, the cat came up to the coach and told the king that, while his master was bathing, some rogues had stolen his clothes, even though he had cried out, “Thieves! Thieves!” several times, as loud as he could.[13] In truth, the cunning cat had hidden the clothes under a large stone.
