Fragments of Fairytales

 Puss in Boots

read entire tale by clicking above

Gustave Dore

 "Puss in Boots", is a French literary fairy tale about a cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand of a princess in marriage for his penniless and low-born master. The tale was written at the close of the seventeenth century by Charles Perrault (1628–1703), a retired civil servant and member of the Académie française.^[1] The tale appeared in a handwritten and illustrated manuscript two years before its 1697 publication by Barbin in a collection of eight fairy tales by Perrault called Histoires ou contes du temps passé.^[2][3] The book was an instant success and remains popular today.^[1]

At one of my favorite art websites, there is an entertaining viewpoint on the Puss in Boots tale. Click here. 

A morality tale for our troubled economic times, perhaps?

"If you will only get me a strong game bag and a pair of boots," said the cat, "I will show you some things that you do not know."

 The two illustrations above came from:

Golding, Harry, editor. Fairy Tales. Margaret Tarrant, illustrator. London: Ward, Lock & Co., 1915.

 Maxfield Parrish

"May it please your royal highness, I have brought you a rabbit which my master sends you as a token of his love."

"Your master! Who is he?"

"The Marquis of Carabas, sir," said the cat, and he bowed very low.

When Puss was led into the ogre's hall, he was surprised to see so savage a monster...

If you don't remember the tale's ending, you'll have to follow the link to read it. But if you don't want to, rest assured that they...

lived happily ever after    ;-)