The Origin Story of the Marchese di Carabàs (commonly known as "Puss in Boots")
Puss in Boots,
a weaving together of the versions of Straparola & Perrault, with some corrections of each,
by Dr. C. Mikael Thompson
There was a woman from Bohemia who had three sons. She was the widow of a miller, and their only possessions in the world were the mill (where they also lived), a mule, and a cat. When in time the widow also died, the inheritance was split up this way: The mill went to the eldest son, the mule went to the second son, and the youngest, named Constantino, received nothing but the cat.
The poor Constantino was quite dejected at having received so little. “My brothers,” said he, “may make a handsome living by joining their shares together (for the mule was used to turn the grindstone at the mill), but for my part, what shall I do with a cat? I — who can barely feed myself, and now have an animal to feed?”
The cat, having heard all this, said to him with a grave and serious air, “Do not be so downcast, my good master. For I will provide for your wellbeing and my own. If you just give me a sack and a pair of boots, you will see that I am the most valuable thing you ever could have inherited.”
And so, Constantino, figuring he had nothing to lose, provided the cat with what he’d asked for. Having received these things, the cat gallantly pulled on the boots and slung the sack over his shoulder. Holding its drawstrings in his forepaws, he went to a place where there was a great abundance of rabbits. He put some grain mixed with fresh greens into his sack, then laying it out on the ground, he stretched himself out as though dead. And just so he waited for some young rabbits to come and look into his bag.
Before much time had passed, a rash and foolish young rabbit jumped right into the bag, and the masterful cat immediately pulled the strings tight, and caught up the young rabbit. Pleased with his prey, the cat went with it up to the king’s palace, and asked to speak with his majesty. He was shown up into the king’s chambers, and making a low bow, the cat said to him, “Sire, I have brought you a rabbit from my noble lord, the Marchese di Carabàs (for that was the title that the cat gave to his master), who begs your gracious acceptance of this humble gift.”
“Tell your master,” said the king, “that I thank him, and that I am very pleased to accept this gift.” Then the king added, “Tell me, who is this Marchese di Carabàs?” For the king wondered that he had never heard of him before. The cat replied that he was a young man who for virtue and good looks had no superior, and the king, upon hearing this report, ordered the best food and drink to be set before the cat. Having ate and drank his fill, the cat then filled the sack he had brought with good things from the king’s table, and carried it back to his master, who ate and drank of the banquet the cat brought for him from the king’s table.
Now Constantino, though he really was an attractive and strong young man, had suffered so much privation and distress that his face was rough and covered with blotches, causing much discomfort. So the cat, having taken him next morning down to the river, washed Constantino and licked him (being a cat) carefully with his tongue from head to foot, and tended him so well that in three days he was healed and quite free from his ailments.
The cat continued over the next three months from time to time to carry presents to the royal palace to present them to the king on behalf of his master the Marchese di Carabàs, as previously described, and in this way got sustenance and a basic living for Constantino. After a time, the cat discerned that the courtiers might soon become impatient with this pattern, and so he said to Constantino: “My master, if you only do what I shall tell you, in a short time you will find yourself a rich man.”
“And how will you manage this?” said Constantino.
The cat answered, “Come and see, and do not trouble yourself about anything, for I have a plan for making a rich man of you that cannot fail.”
Whereupon the cat led Constantino to a spot on the bank of the river which was near to the king’s palace, and when they arrived, the cat bade his master to strip off all his clothes and throw himself into the river. Meanwhile the cat took his master’s old rags and stuffed them away into the hollow of an old tree. Then he began to cry out in a loud voice, “Help! Help! Help! Run! For Messer Constantino is drowning!”
It happened that while Constantino was in the midst of the deep water, the king was just then passing by in his carriage, and heard what the cat was crying out, and having in mind what great benefits he had received from Constantino, he immediately sent some of his household to the rescue.
“You must, know, your majesty,” the cat said to the king, “that some robbers, who had learned by the agency of a spy that my master was bringing a great store of jewels to offer them to you as a present, laid in wait for him and robbed him of his treasure, and moreover, threw him into the river to make an end of him, but by your royal assistance he has escaped from death.”
When Constantino had been dragged out of the water and dried off, the king gave him a hearty welcome, and commanded the officers of his royal wardrobe to fetch the finest of his own garments for the lord Marchese di Carabàs. And once dressed in these rich garments and a royal robe, the king asked him to join himself and the princess in their carriage, for they were going on a ride about the countryside to the very edge of the kingdom. Since such fine clothes gave him a very striking appearance, enhancing his naturally attractive figure, the king’s daughter, having seen all these things since the time of his rescue from the waters, took a secret inclination to him and couldn’t take her eyes off him once he entered into the royal carriage to join them.
Now, it happened that in that country a nearby castle had belonged on a time to one Signor Joannes Valentino, a valiant knight who had been waylaid in a distant land and befell an accident and died. While he was gone, an ogre had taken over his castle and now ruled the lands round about. Not only was this ogre a terror to the people of that region on account of his very nature, he was also a powerful sorcerer.
The cat, having seen his master into the royal carriage, mounted a horse and rode on ahead of them, overjoyed at how his plan was succeeding. Coming upon some peasants who were gathering grain from the fields, the cat addressed them, and warned them saying, “Woe to you, for king is coming, and if you do not on pain of death declare to him boldly that these lands belong to the Marchese di Carabàs, you shall fall into the hands of the ogre and be chopped into tiny bits.”
Then the cat left them, and continuing still further on, came upon some herdsmen tending their animals, and told them the same: “Woe to you, for the king is coming, and if you do not on pain of death declare to him boldly that all these herds are at the service of the Marchese di Carabàs, you shall fall into the hands of the ogre and be chopped into tiny bits.” And so the cat did, admonishing any whom he should come across to do the same or suffer that fate.
As the king’s carriage came by and passed these peasants, the king’s men asked who these vast fields belonged to, and the peasants (fearful of the cat’s warnings) declared “These lands belong to the Marchese di Carabàs!” The king turned to the Marchese saying, “So, my friend, it seems we are entering into your dominions!” and congratulated him on the fine harvest.
And likewise some ways further on, the king’s carriage came to the herdsmen, and the king inquired of them who these herds and flocks belonged to. The herdsmen, keeping in mind the warning of the cat, declared boldly “These herds belong to the lord Marchese di Carabàs!” And the king marveled at the Marchese’s vast estates.
Meanwhile, the cat had come to the castle which ruled over all these lands, and approached the castle guard, who were in somewhat shabby state for want of supervision in carrying out their duties (for nobody dared approach the castle of an ogre, and so the garrison was unused to having to guard the gates), saying to them: “Woe to you, for the king is coming, and if you do not on pain of death declare to him boldly that you serve the Marchese di Carabàs, you shall fall into the hands of the ogre and be chopped into tiny bits. Hurry, then, and clean yourselves up and stand watchful, for even now you can see the cloud arising on the road signaling the approach of the king’s horses.”
Now the cat, who being familiar with all manner of lands and places, had previously taken care to learn about this ogre and what he could do. So having passed beyond the castle gates, he went in to speak with the mighty ogre, saying to the doorman that he could not pass so near to this castle without having the honor of paying his due respects to one of such renown.
The ogre, intrigued by the cat’s flattery, received him into his courtyard as civilly as an ogre can, and invited him to sit down. The cat declined to sit in the presence of such august power, and said to him “I have heard that you are able to change yourself into any kind of creature you choose. You can, for example, transform yourself into a lion, or an elephant, and the like.”
“That is true,” answered the ogre very brusquely, “and to demonstrate, I shall now become a lion!” The cat was so terrified at the sight of a ferocious lion so near to him that he leaped onto the roof of the courtyard, but the tiles caused him great difficulty as his boots were of no use to him on the tiles. However, when the ogre resumed his natural form, the cat came down, saying the had been very frightened indeed.
“Surely,” said that cat, “that is most impressive, but a lion has so much in common with you, being so great in size and strong in form. Do you also have the power to transform yourself into a slender and gracious animal, for instance, a stag?”
At this, the ogre replied “Ha! I am mighty in appearance, and can take any form I choose, whether to frighten or to entice. Behold!” And at that, the ogre transformed into the most gracious and lithe stag you have ever seen, and leaped high above the walls before resuming his natural form.
"That is most beautiful!” said the cat, “Surely you could lure any hunting party to their doom in that guise. However, I have also heard that you could change yourself even into the smallest of animals, say a rat or a mouse. But certainly, that would be impossible.”
“Impossible!?” Cried the ogre, “nothing is impossible for me! I will show you!” At that, the ogre immediately transformed himself into a small mouse, and began to run about the floor. Before he could escape into a crack in the wall, the cat pounced upon him and gobble him up.
Meanwhile the royal carriage had arrived at the castle, and having been told by the guard (now arrayed in better state) that they served the Marchese di Carabàs, decided to pass across the drawbridge into the outer courtyard. The cat, having heard the rumor of their approach over the drawbridge, ran out to greet them, saying, “Your majesty is welcome to the castle of my lord the Marchese di Carabàs.”
The king marveled at the place, and cried, “My lord Marchese, there can be nothing finer than this palace and all the rooms within it, indeed, it is arrayed even finer than my own! Let us go inside, if you don’t mind.”
The Marchese gave his hand to the princess and followed the king, who entered first. They passed into a spacious hall where they found a sumptuous feast all laid out, which the ogre had prepared for his friends who had purposed to join him in the castle that very day. Upon hearing that the king had entered therein and that their master the ogre had been vanquished, they dared not approach to the castle and so departed in haste to a different country.
His majesty and the whole royal retinue were treated to a marvelous banquet, and the king was very impressed by the remarkable qualities of the Marchese di Carabàs, and the princess fell madly in love with him. Moreover, the king had made up his mind to give his daughter, whose name was Elisetta, to be the Marchese di Carabàs’s wife.
The Marchese and the Princess, the king’s only daughter, were married that very day. Not long after, the king died, and the people chose by acclamation Constantino Fortunato, the illustrious Marchese di Carabàs, for their king, as the inheritance of the whole kingdom passed to Elisetta as her father’s only child. And by this means Constantino rose from an estate of poverty and misery to become a powerful king, and lived long with Elisetta his wife, ruling together over the land in peace and harmony, leaving their children to be heirs of a wondrous kingdom.
The End. . ?
Originally featured in the first episode of the Marchese di Carabàs Podcast.
Check it out here.