Part 2

So they went to the river and when the King's carriage appeared the cat pushed his master into the water. "Help!" cried the cat. "The Marquis of Carabas is drowning." The King heard his cries and sent his escorts to the rescue. They arrived just in time to save the poor man, who really was drowning. The King, the Queen and the Princess fussed around and ordered new clothes to be brought for the Marquis of Carabas.

"Wouldn't you like to marry such a handsome man?" the Queen asked her daughter.

"Oh, yes," replied the Princess. However, the cat overheard one of the ministers remark that they must find out how rich he was.

"He is very rich indeed," said Puss in Boots. "He owns the castle and all this land. Come and see for yourself. I will meet you at the castle." And with these words, the cat rushed off in the direction of the castle, shouting at the peasants working in the fields, "If anyone asks you who your master is, answer: the Marquis of Carabas. Otherwise you will all be sorry." And so, when the King's carriage swept past, the peasants told the King that their master was the Marquis of Carabas. In the meantime, Puss in Boots had arrived at the castle, the home of a huge, cruel ogre. Before knocking at the gate, the cat said to himself, "I must be very careful, or I'll never get out of here alive." When the door opened, Puss in Boots removed his feather hat, exclaiming, "My Lord Ogre, my respects!" "What do you want, cat?" asked the ogre rudely.

"Sire, I've heard you possess great powers. That, for instance, you can change into a lion or an elephant." "That's perfectly true," said the ogre, "and so what?" "Well," said the cat, "I was talking to certain friends of mine who said that you can't turn into a tiny little creature, like a mouse." "Oh, so that's what they say, is it?" exclaimed the ogre. The cat nodded, "Well, Sire, that's my opinion too, because folk that can do big things never can manage little ones." "Oh, yes? Well, just watch this!" retorted the ogre, turning into a mouse.

In a flash, the cat leapt on the mouse and ate it whole. Then he dashed to the castle gate, just in time, for the King's carriage was drawing up. With a bow, Puss in Boots said, "Sire, welcome to the castle of the Marquis of Carabas!" The King and Queen, the Princess and the miller's son who, dressed in his princely clothes, really did look like a marquis, got out of the carriage and the King spoke: "My dear Marquis, you're a fine, handsome, young man, you have a great deal of land and a magnificent castle. Tell me, are you married?" "No," the young man answered, "but I would like to find a wife." He looked at the Princess as he spoke. She in turn smiled at him.

To cut a long story short, the miller's son, now Marquis of Carabas, married the Princess and lived happily with her in the castle. And from time to time, the cat would wink and whisper, "You see, Master, I am worth a lot more than any mangy donkey or half-ruined mill, aren't I?"