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Once upon
a time...
There lived an old man and his wife in a dirty, tumble-down
cottage, not very far from the splendid palace where the king and
queen dwelt. In spite of the wretched state of the hut, which many
people declared was too bad even for a pig to live in, the old man
was very rich, for he was a great miser, and lucky besides, and
would often go without food all day sooner than change one of his
beloved gold pieces.
But after a while he found that he had starved himself once too
often. He fell ill, and had no strength to get well again, and in a
few days he died, leaving his wife and one son behind him.
The night following his death, the son dreamed that an unknown man
appeared to him and said: 'Listen to me; your father is dead and
your mother will soon die, and all their riches will belong to you.
Half of his wealth is ill-gotten, and this you must give back to the
poor from whom he squeezed it. The other half you must throw into
the sea. Watch, however, as the money sinks into the water, and if
anything should swim, catch it and keep it, even if it is nothing
more than a bit of paper.'
Then the man vanished, and the youth awoke.
The remembrance of his dream troubled him greatly. He did not want
to part with the riches that his father had left him, for he had
known all his life what it was to be cold and hungry, and now he had
hoped for a little comfort and pleasure. Still, he was honest and
good-hearted, and if his father had come wrongfully by his wealth he
felt he could never enjoy it, and at last he made up his mind to do
as he had been bidden. He found out who were the people who were
poorest in the village, and spent half of his money in helping them,
and the other half he put in his pocket. From a rock that jutted
right out into the sea he flung it in. In a moment it was out of
sight, and no man could have told the spot where it had sunk, except
for a tiny scrap of paper floating on the water. He stretched down
carefully and managed to reach it, and on opening it found six
shillings wrapped inside. This was now all the money he had in the
world.
The young man stood and looked at it thoughtfully. 'Well, I can't do
much with this,' he said to himself; but, after all, six shillings
were better than nothing, and he wrapped them up again and slipped
them into his coat.
He worked in his garden for the next few weeks, and he and his
mother contrived to live on the fruit and vegetables he got out of
it, and then she too died suddenly. The poor fellow felt very sad
when he had laid her in her grave, and with a heavy heart he
wandered into the forest, not knowing where he was going. By-and-by
he began to get hungry, and seeing a small hut in front of him, he
knocked at the door and asked if they could give him some milk. The
old woman who opened it begged him to come in, adding kindly, that
if he wanted a night's lodging he might have it without its costing
him anything.
Two women and three men were at supper when he entered, and silently
made room for him to sit down by them. When he had eaten he began to
look about him, and was surprised to see an animal sitting by the
fire different from anything he had ever noticed before. It was grey
in colour, and not very big; but its eyes were large and very
bright, and it seemed to be singing in an odd way, quite unlike any
animal in the forest. 'What is the name of that strange little
creature?' asked he. And they answered, 'We call it a cat.'
'I should like to buy it--if it is not too dear,' said the young
man; 'it would be company for me.' And they told him that he might
have it for six shillings, if he cared to give so much. The young
man took out his precious bit of paper, handed them the six
shillings, and the next morning bade them farewell, with the cat
lying snugly in his cloak.
For the whole day they wandered through meadows and forests, till in
the evening they reached a house. The young fellow knocked at the
door and asked the old man who opened it if he could rest there that
night, adding that he had no money to pay for it. 'Then I must give
it to you,' answered the man, and led him into a room where two
women and two men were sitting at supper. One of the women was the
old man's wife, the other his daughter. He placed the cat on the
mantel shelf, and they all crowded round to examine this strange
beast, and the cat rubbed itself against them, and held out its paw,
and sang to them; and the women were delighted, and gave it
everything that a cat could eat, and a great deal more besides.
After hearing the youth's story, and how he had nothing in the world
left him except his cat, the old man advised him to go to the
palace, which was only a few miles distant, and take counsel of the
king, who was kind to everyone, and would certainly be his friend.
The young man thanked him, and said he would gladly take his advice;
and early next morning he set out for the royal palace.
He sent a message to the king to beg for an audience, and received a
reply that he was to go into the great hall, where he would find his
Majesty.
The king was at dinner with his court when the young man entered,
and he signed to him to come near. The youth bowed low, and then
gazed in surprise at the crowd of little black creatures who were
running about the floor, and even on the table itself. Indeed, they
were so bold that they snatched pieces of food from the King's own
plate, and if he drove them away, tried to bite his hands, so that
he could not eat his food, and his courtiers fared no better.
'What sort of animals are these?' asked the youth of one of the
ladies sitting near him.
'They are called rats,' answered the king, who had overheard the
question, 'and for years we have tried some way of putting an end to
them, but it is impossible. They come into our very beds.'
At this moment something was seen flying through the air. The cat
was on the table, and with two or three shakes a number of rats were
lying dead round him. Then a great scuffling of feet was heard, and
in a few minutes the hall was clear.
For some minutes the King and his courtiers only looked at each
other in astonishment. 'What kind of animal is that which can work
magic of this sort?' asked he. And the young man told him that it
was called a cat, and that he had bought it for six shillings.
And the King answered: 'Because of the luck you have brought me, in
freeing my palace from the plague which has tormented me for many
years, I will give you the choice of two things. Either you shall be
my Prime Minister, or else you shall marry my daughter and reign
after me. Say, which shall it be?'
'The princess and the kingdom,' said the young man.
And so it was.
The Cottager and his
Cat
from the Crimson Fairy Book
Story Edited
by Andrew Lang |
