Puss in Boots has a special status among fairy tales from the collection by the Grimm Brothers. They included it in their first edition published in 1812 under number 33 (KHM 33). Only after they realized it didn't belong to the corpus of German fairy tales and folk tales. Even more, while we can trace its origins to Persia, and the first written version was published in the Neapolitan dialect in the Tale of Tales by Giambattista Basile under the title Gagliuso (aka Caglioso), the most well-known version comes from Charles Perrault's Mother Goose.
This was a major no-no. The whole idea of the Grimms' collection was to unite German folk (Germany as an entity didn't exist yet) with their folklore and mythology, so a French tale should not be there. The majority of today's Germany was actually occupied by Napoleon's army in those days!
Yet, people loved the story about the youngest son who inherited nothing but a cat and after a series of tricks, performed by the cat in boots, married a princess and acquired half of the kingdom. So German illustrators frequently pictured the most characteristic and visually attractive scenes which were also a guarantee for commercial success.
Otto Kubel was no exception. We don't know when the original illustrations were done and if they were published in the book as well, but the fact is Puss in Boots by Kubel was sold by Uvachrom as a series of six picture postcards in 1930. Collectors still search for them and this is a chance to look at all six in one sitting.
Different artists portray this scene very differently. The essence is the same. After the youngest son gets the idea to skin the cat so he can at least use his fur to make gloves, the cat offers him a deal. He'll make the boy reach if he can get him a pair of boots.
A pair of good shoes can lead you to places otherwise reserved for important people only. This way Perrault exploited the old saying about the clothes making the man in his refined cynical way (Charles Perrault was part of the court of Louis XIV and very familiar with the importance of appearance) and the rule of primogeniture, where the oldest son got all the fortune of his parents while his younger siblings got nothing.
This is not the only case with an important role of the shoes. Just think about Cinderella or Hop-o'-My-Thumb.
This is the back part of the same postcard with a written part of the story in one corner. The rest is of course reserved for the address and the message of the sender. All six postcards in the series were designed the same way, so an owner of the complete could read the whole story (shortened, of course).
Otto Kubel decided to skip the scene where Puss made his first contact with the king bringing him presents (stolen from the king's property, by the way), and continued with the introduction of the boy. The king already knew about the Marquis of Carabas but never saw him. And first impressions matter! A young boy in ragged clothes wouldn't fit in, so the cat made up a story.
The robbers supposedly took everything from his noble master. His carriage, his horses, his money, even his clothes. King who happened to drive by (with his daughter) was happy to help so distinguished gentleman and offered him his best clothes. Yes, the youngest son of the miller really started looking like Marquis of Carabas.
Is this the right time to invite the king (and his daughter, who happened to like the youngster from the first minute) into Marquis' castle?
Puss was already in action. He was running before the king's carriage and giving instructions to everybody by the road to say everything around was the property of the Marquis of Carabas. In fact, the owner was a mighty magician but the cunning cat threatened people to lie, else ...
Well, people apparently didn't really want to know what 'else' means, so they played along the Puss. When the king (and his daughter) stopped and asked about the forests, the fields, and everything else, he always got the same answer. Everything belongs to the Marquis of Carabas.
Note how the illustrator used the opportunity of making a nice landscape, one of specialities of his earlier career, seen at his paintings.
In the meantime, the cat already came to the castle where the magician lived (in some versions it's an ogre) and started flattering him. We already know flattery was one of his strongest points.
He said how astonished he was when he heard about a magician's powers, especially the ability to change into any animal. His host was delighted to hear so much good stuff about himself.
Wow! The magician can change into any animal you can imagine. He can even become an elephant! Puss is delighted with the show and the magician becomes more and more relaxed. He never had so thankful audience.
When the cat challenged him to turn into something small for change, something like a mouse, for instance, he immediately became a mouse. And this is where the tricky cat was waiting. Cats eat mice and eaten magicians are not mighty anymore. His estate suddenly didn't have an owner. At least until the carriage with the king (with his daughter) and Marquis of Carabas arrived.
Yes! The youngest son did it. His cat was so convincing that the illusion of Marquis of Carabas turned into reality. Thanks to pretending, stealing, lying, threatening, and murdering poor boy married a princess and his father-in-law gave him half of the kingdom right away and the other half after his death.
Not bad for a boy who inherited nothing but a cat, right?
The questionable morals and iffy messages of Puss in Boots apparently never really bothered storytellers who look at this classic fairy tale as the totally appropriate story for kids. Well, if by any chance, you are looking for a positive message in this tale, try thinking a bit differently.
Life is not always fair. In most cases, it's unfair, actually. You can't count you'll be dealt good cards. But if you play your hand right, you might still achieve a lot. Like marrying a princess and getting a kingdom, for instance.
