E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Puss in Boots [Le Chat Botté],
from the Eleventh Night of Straparola’s
Italian fairy tales, where Constantine’s cat procures his master a fine castle and the king’s heiress. First translated into French in 1585. Our version is taken from that of Charles Perrault. There is a similar one in the Scandinavian nursery tales. This clever cat secures a fortune and a royal partner for his master, who passes off as the Marquis of Car’abas, but is in reality a young miller without a penny in the world.
