Week 13 Storytelling: Puss in Boots

The Origin Story of Puss in Boots

Once upon a time in a far away land existed a cat. The cat was not an ordinary one. His name was Puss and he was able to speak just like the people and wore black boots.

Puss' parents were brutally murdered by a wolves when he was just a young boy. and would change him forever. Just before the wolves arrived at their home, his parents hid him. Watching his parents die right before his eyes changed him forever.

A few days later when Puss ran out of food and water, he walked into the nearby town. He was spotted by a man by the name of Marquis. Marquis felt bad for the poor cat and brought him food and water without any questions. The man told him that he would leave food and water outside of his door in case he needed anything. This went on for a few weeks until, Marquis finally asked where his family was and what was wrong. Feeling indebted to the man, Puss felt obligated to tell him.

After hearing how the cat had lost his parents, Marquis felt horrible and offered to let Puss stay at his home with him. Puss immediately accepted and was extremely thankful for Marquis graciousness. So thankful that Puss promised to repay him through his friendship, loyalty, and animal hunting ability.

Now that Puss lived in the town, he was walking on hard ground a lot more. This caused his feet to hurt, get sore, and his nails to dull. Luckily for Puss, Marquis knew just what to do. Marquis bought him custom sized black leather boots to protect his hind feet. After a while, Puss was able to walk on his hind legs just like a human. Puss and Marquis were the best of friends and did everything together. This is the origin story of Puss in Boots and the rest is history.

(Puss in Boots)

Author's Note

The original story was pretty much nothing like this one and Puss' parents were not murdered by wolves. I wanted to write a more personal story about the relationship between Marquis and Puss because I felt like the original did not tell much about it. In the original, the author tells a lot about how Puss essentially gets Marquis married to the princess, but not really much about why Puss feels the need to do so much for him.

Bibliography

Author: Andrew Lang

Year: 1889

Web Source: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook

Reading Diary B: Lang's European Fairy Tales

Lang's European Fairy Tales

Puss in Boots Part 1 and Part 2

(Puss in Boots)

I really enjoyed this story. Part of the reason I liked it so much may have been my familiarity with the character Puss in Boots. This was a two page story, so I included links to the first and second page. Puss in Boots is also known as the Master Cat and Monsieur Puss, and he is very smart and clever. There is no doubt that Lord Marquis of Carabas needs the Cat, but I would argue that the Cat does not need Lord Marquis of Carabas. Monsieur Puss does everything for Lord Marquis, even devising a plan to have the princess fall for him. I thought it was funny how the Master Cat the cat could intimidate and scare countrymen and reapers with his threats. After all, he is only a cat. The way he conquers the ogre is very clever. The ogre can transform into any animal and Puss convinces him to transform into a mouse because he does not believe he can. Falling for his trick, the ogre changes into a mouse and Puss eats him whole.

How the Dragon was Tricked Part 1 and Part 2

This story was another one of my favorite in this unit. Stories about tricksters are always entertaining, especially when the trickster gets away with everything. This was also a two page story, so I included links to the first and second page. The main character in this story is a cunning young man. Although his actions are terrible at times, I could not help but root for him throughout the story. I am not sure what exactly it was that made me want to root for him, but maybe it was how he did everything he did. He persuades and tricks everything and everyone he encounters, even a dragon. Overall, I found this story to be extremely entertaining.