Read the story on a Miller who had three sons

There was a miller who had three sons. He also had a windmill, a donkey and a cat. When the miller died, the eldest son got the windmill, the second son got the donkey and the youngest son got a cat. It was an intelligent cat. When it saw that its master was disappointed, the cat said “Master, don’t despair. Get me a pair of leather boots. If you do as I say, I will make you very rich!”

The youngest son was amazed to know his cat could speak. He did as the cat told him. The cat was very proud of its boots and it used to prance around in the leather boots, holding it’s head high. People used to call it “Puss in Boots!”

The cat knew that the King of that land loved to eat partridges. So it tied a rope to a sack and made a trap of it, so that if it pulled the rope, the sack’s opening would close shut. Then it filled the sack with grain and took it into the fields. It then kept the sack open and hid behind some bushes, holding one end of the rope. When some partridges came to eat the grain in the sack, the cat pulled the rope. Then it carried the partridges trapped in the sack to the King’s palace.

On seeing the King, the cat bowed low respectfully and said:

“Oh, King! My Master, the Count sends you these partridges!”

The King was pleased to see the partridges. He filled the sack with gold coins and said;

“Tell your master, I am very-happy with him!” The cat hurried back to its master. On seeing him, it gave him the sack of gold coins and said:

“This is for the boots! Soon, I will make you the richest man in the town!”

The cat used to take partridges everyday to the King and in turn, the King would give it gold coins. The cat would give them to it’s master, who was very happy with his cat.

One day, the cat came to know that the King and the Princess were to take a drive along the lake. It quickly went to it’s master and said:

“Do as I say and you will become a very wealthy man!”

“Of course, I will do as you say, my dear Puss in Boots! I have full faith in you!” said the young man.

The cat took him to the lake, and asked him to remove his clothes and get into the water. The young man did as the clever Puss in Boots told him to do. Soon, the king alongwith the Princess came along the way in a grand horse drawn carriage. The cat stopped the carriage and said to the king.

“Oh, Noble King! This is my master, the Count. When he was taking bath in the lake, a thief took away all his clothes. Now he cannot come out of the water!”

The King immediately ordered one of his men to bring nice silk garments from the palace. When the clothes were brought and the young man had put it on, the King invited him to join them in the ride. As the young man agreed and boarded the coach, the Puss in Boots ran ahead. Soon, he came across a few men working in the fields.

“Whose fields are these?” it asked them.

“It belongs to the Great Wizard!” they said.

“The King will come along. Tell him that these fields belong to the Count, and you will be richly rewarded!” promised the cat and ran ahead. It came across a corn field.

‘Whom does this belong to?” it asked the people working in the corn field.

“This field belongs to the Great Wizard!” they said

“The King will come along. Tell him this corn field belongs to the Count, and all of you will be richly rewarded!” the cat promised them and sped on. Soon it reached a great castle. It belonged to the Great Wizard. It entered the castle. The Wizard was sitting on a small stool and practicing his magical powers.

“Oh, Great Wizard! I have heard that you can change your appearance, true?” the cat asked innocently.

“Yes, I can!” said the Wizard proudly.

“Can you turn into an elephant?” asked the Puss in Boots.

“Sure, sure!” said the Wizard and turned into an elephant.

“That was great! Show me if you can turn into a rat!” the cat persisted.

With his magical powers, the Wizard turned into a rat. The cat was waiting for this moment. It had planned this all along. As soon as the Wizard turned into a rat, the cat jumped on him and ate him up. Then it sat and happily waited for the King’s arrival.

Meanwhile, the King’s carriage came to the fields. The King asked the men working in the fields: “To whom does these fields belong?” “They belong to the Count, O King!” they said.

Then, the King’s carriage came to the corn field. The King asked again:

“Whom does this field belong to?”

“This field belongs to the Count, Sir!” they said.

Finally, the King’s carriage arrived at the Wizard’s castle. As the King alighted from the carriage to take a look around, the cat came out and said “Welcome to the castle of the Count!”

The King was pleased with the young man. With all the cat’s efforts, it had finally managed to convince the King that the miller’s youngest son was a Count.

‘You have a very loyal servant!” said the King turning to the young man. “Your cat is very honest and hard working!”

“I am lucky to have him, sir!” said the young man.

The miller’s son and the Princess roamed in the castle and explored it. In the castle, the miller’s son proposed to the Princess. She gladly accepted. When the King learnt about their intentions to get married, he readily agreed. The miller’s son and the Princess were married soon and they lived in the Wizard’s Grand Castle. The Puss in Boots also lived with them. It was treated very royally and the miller’s son kept four servants to attend to it’s needs.