A first erupted amidst a banquet hosted by the Marquis of Carabas, trapping several nobles in an unforgiving blaze. All were too preoccupied fulfilling their positions in the festivities to notice the smoke emanating from a distant corridor until it grew too ferocious to ignore. Most nobles emerged from the chaos fairly unscathed, although several servants were pushed aside into the rubble and heat to clear out the way. Among the few wealthier casualties lay a man who was known as the Lord of Ogres (or Ogre Lord due to his bloodline’s unfavourable appearances) who had no family present to help him escape with his elderly body. The surviving nobility took some time to mourn the fallen as the remaining servants attempted to deal with the situation.
In the end, the servants discovered that the fire originated from one of the marquis’ sons’ rooms, directing the anger and blame of the tragedy towards the young man. The son exclaimed
“It couldn’t have been me! I haven’t been in my room since the morning!” to no avail; with no reason to believe him and emotions fueling their actions the nobles demanded that he pay for his actions. It was only then that his twin brother spoke up,
“It was him! I saw him bringing candles there just an hour ago.” This furthered the outrage of the nobility. Nobody, not even his family believed in him. The son desperately tried to make the crowd hear the truth, but no one listened. The Marquis of Carabas decided to address the chaos erupting in his estate,
“Quiet! It has come to my attention that my son is the root of this situation. Although he is my own blood, he must face consequences for his horrendous actions.” The nobles nodded in agreement and the son looked at his father hopelessly. His father reciprocated his stare and announced:
“From now on you are no longer a part of this family or my son, be gone at once!” Feeling completely abandoned, the son ran away as fast as he could, sobbing the whole way. He continued until he couldn’t move anymore.
A few years passed and the son worked as a labourer barely making enough to live off of let alone support his cat Puss, who he had found as a deserted kitten wandering a burnt down forest–driving his care for the cat since they lived in parallel circumstances. The two worked together to provide money from labour and food from Puss’ hunts–who was equipped with his wit, bag, and boots–allowing them to just manage a steady source of sustenance. One day the pair walked along a river and spotted someone bathing in the river who looked exactly like the son, who pointed out to Puss that it was his twin brother who he believed had framed him for the fire responsible for his exile. Puss suggested,
“Master, you should give him a piece of your mind after all he’s done to you,” but the son was too ashamed to face his brother after all this time and simply walked away.
Later that day when buying some supplies the two overheard some shopkeepers talking.
“Did you hear the big announcement?” asked one.
“Ah, yes of course! The Marquis of Carabas is stepping down and making his son the head of the family,” answered the other.
The exiled son muttered something under his breath, Puss noticed this and expressed,
“Don’t concern yourself with that man master, I appreciate you more than anyone,”
The son responded, “I know but I think you may have been right,” to which the cat replied,
“About what?”
The son paused for a second, gazed at Puss with a fire in his eyes and said, “That I need to pay my brother back for everything he’s done,” making Puss hesitate before asking
“What exactly did you have in mind?”
The son stared into the burning sunset and exclaimed “To take everything from him, just like he did to me and make sure he never cheats me again.”
Puss nodded and answered, “If you think it’s right then I will be by your side.”
That night the due discussed how to precisely even the score with the son’s brother, seeing as he cheated him out of a life of luxury. Eventually, they decided for the son to impersonate his brother and steal his upcoming title of the Marquis of Carabas, but they still pondered how to prevent the brother from retaliating against their actions. The son finally made up his mind.
“Although it may not be right, after everything he’s done he deserves to die.” The cat agrees with his master, and so they began hatching their plan.
The two came up with the idea to approach him in his bathing spot the next time he visited the river and drown him. They would steal his clothes and upon returning to the castle claim that Puss was a friendly cat that the son had grown fond of. This plan seemed simple, but they knew the son must be able to mimic the character of his brother well in order to fool everyone. This was made easier by the fact that they were identical twins and the son remembered his brother’s typically nonchalant composure.
One morning, under a red sky, the marquis-to-be finally arrived at the river, unaware of the sinister plot. After he entered the water and began bathing, Puss cried out for help, pretending to drown. Concerned by the sudden cry for help, the brother swam towards Puss in an attempt to rescue him. Suddenly, a tree chopped down by the son toppled over onto the brother swimming in the river and knocked him unconscious. Puss took the opportunity and used his bag to strangle the brother and finally avenge his master. After a few minutes, the cat loosened the strings and called out to his master who helped him out of the river. The two saw for a while weighing the reality of what had transpired. Then they took the initiative, stealing the dead brother’s clothes. After getting dressed the pair headed towards the Cabaras Estate, preparing for the trials ahead of them.
“Son! What took you so long? You’re almost late for our departure,” exclaimed his father, unknowingly addressing the son he exiled years ago. The son took a second to conceal his scorching countenance and rhetoric before responding.
“Sorry father, I found this friendly cat and spent a while entertaining him before deciding to take him home.” The father laughed at his excuse and announced,
“Alright you’ll be making the decisions from now on, but you can’t forget that you need to arrive at the manor on time.” The son processed what his father was telling him and deduced,
“Ah! Of course, it slipped my mind for a moment but I’ll make sure to impress everyone at the gathering.” His father patted him on the shoulder and said,
“Alright then, let’s get going and don’t forget to bring your new friend.” He led his son quickly out of the home he had grown up in, yet until this moment had never returned to.
Although the son intended to use the time he had at home to improve his portrayal of his brother, the carriage ride with his father proved to be beneficial for his situation. Being invited to a banquet after the announcement that he would become head of the family meant he must impress the other nobles, which his father explained on the way while admiring the glowing fields owned by the Lord of Ogres. The personalities and interests of the nobility as well as the ones his brother had interacted with in the past were all discussed during the carriage ride, giving the son an understanding of how to interact with the people he had never really encountered.
“I’ve heard the king and his daughter will be present as well.” His father included, “if you make a good enough impression you may even win their favour!” To which the son (in his brother’s relaxed demeanour) replied,
“Is that so? I guess we’ll see what happens when we get there.”
Upon their arrival, the father left with the carriage back home and left the new marquis to adore the castle-like manor with a large bridge and even great walls. The Marquis of Carabas and Puss were greeted kindly by the current Lord of Ogres who was the son of the former one.
“It’s been too long since our families have gathered together like this,” announced the host, to which the son responded,
“Indeed it has, despite the complications that occurred in our past I hope we can move forward as good friends.” The Ogre Lord gritted his teeth, agreeing,
“I wouldn’t want anything more.”
Formalities were exchanged between many nobles as they arrived at the estate, which the son actively indulged in until a lady approached him.
“So, you’re the official Marquis of Carabas now, I’d love to spend some time reacquainting ourselves.” The marquis hadn’t heard of anyone being this close to him from his father. He tried to piece together why he was regarded in such a way by this lady. He looked at Puss who brushed his little shoulder gently, allowing the son to determine that this was something he could brush off politely.
“I’m afraid I have no recollection of such circumstances,” he proclaimed, “But I would be delighted to have more encounters with you.” He immersed himself in his brother’s calm attitude.
“As polite as ever I see.” Responded a man who approached from behind the lady. “You truly flatter my daughter and me.” Judging from his attire and the stares from all around them, the marquis knew he was addressing someone important. But he didn’t know exactly who that was. Puss suddenly grabbed his attention making a gesture towards his fluffy ears like putting on a hat; the son understood what his partner was telling him–he was talking to the king.
“I would never dream of anything less, your highness,” recited the marquis. “But I must be going now, I wish to meet each family head in person.”
The marquis shuffled out of the flurry of nobles with Puss at his heels and took a deep breath to relax. He thanked Puss for helping him manage his appearance, who appreciated the gesture and offered to eavesdrop on conversations between the other nobles. The marquis believed this to be a good idea, acquiring more information about the occurrences at the gathering and lessening the odds of being caught off guard like he was with the princess.
Re-entering the crowd, the marquis mingled and interacted with several other figures of power, while Puss lurked about groups of other nobles. They continued their plan for a while, having Puss occasionally signal over the marquis to enlighten him on certain situations and names.
They carried on until Puss eventually overheard the Lord of Ogres talking to one of the servants
“Make sure to slip it in his wine and it will take effect after he has left, then Carabas will pay and my father will finally be avenged.” After processing what the Ogre Lord had said, Puss rushed towards the marquis hoping to warn him of the foul play at hand, but before he could make it the host addressed his guests,
“Thank you all for coming, a feast has been prepared if you would all care to join me in the dining hall!” With that the marquis was already heading away with the king and his daughter towards the feast, leaving Puss unable to alert him without causing a scene.
The nobles all seated themselves under the shining chandeliers and began to eat the grand feast laid out in front of them, with more food and drink needed to feed an entire village for a week. The Marquis of Carabas enjoyed his meal next to the princess and the king, who were seated across from the Ogre Lord as his most welcomed guests. In order to help the marquis impress the king and his daughter, Puss tried to think of a way to discreetly save his master from being poisoned. He thought about shaking the table and knocking over the glass, but that wouldn’t stop future attempts at his master’s life. Puss decided on a plan of action but needed an opportunity to act without drawing attention to himself. Recalling the conversations he had overheard earlier, Puss realized he could take advantage of the friction between some of the nobles to create a diversion. Finally, with a full plan in mind, Puss set out to save his master without ruining his image.
Puss began by heading towards the kitchen and demanded the servants
“What are you standing around for! The masters are waiting for desserts to be brought out!” he continued “If you don’t bring them out soon along with the wine, I’ll turn you all into mincemeat!” The servants apologized and worked busily to pour wine for each of the guests and bring out several trays of desserts, putting them onto tables surrounding the dining area. Once the desserts were completely laid out several noblemen got up to go and fetch a delicious treat as the cat watched diligently.
After a moment, Puss noticed two viscounts who had talked disrespectfully about each other behind their backs heading towards the same dessert tray and sped towards them. Puss crashed into the leg of one of them, making him trip into the other and knocking the both of them into the desserts, creating a large commotion.
“You disrespectful little-” announced one,
“You tripped me you arrogant buffoon!” interrupted the other. The pair of viscounts, completely covered in icing and dough, argued loudly enough to draw the attention of everyone in the dining hall. Puss used this opportunity to rush towards the marquis’ table and, while they were all too focused on the ruckus, switched his goblet with that of the Lord of Ogres’. The plan devised by Puss went flawlessly and by the time the situation died down, he was sitting in his master’s lap without a flicker of his plan illuminated.
Now that Puss had eliminated the worst of the Marquis of Carabas’ dangers, the pair enjoyed the night chatting away with the princess and the king. The Lord of Ogres occasionally tried to cut in and impress the princess, but his unfortunate appearance and terrible tableside manners deterred her from developing any interest in him. Fortunately for Puss, the princess loved cats and made sure to give him lots of attention during the evening.
Later in the night, the Marquis of Carabas and the princess danced in the candlelit ballroom along with the other guests. Puss made an effort to divert as many men away as possible from the princess in order to better kindle her hopefully burning passion for the marquis. Eventually, the king and marquis sat down together with the princess and talked about marriage,
“I’ve been trying to find a suitable candidate for my daughter to wed, though the court has been lacking in true gentlemen lately” the king expressed “Until today that is, my good sir if you wish to marry my daughter just say the word and it shall be done.” The Marquis of Carabas graciously accepted the honour the king granted him and proposed to the princess on the spot. Many of the nobles in the gathering applauded their union, while others glared in disappointment.
The next day, the nobles left the estate of the Ogre Lord and began spreading the news of the upcoming wedding. Shortly after the Marquis of Carabas left alive and well with his fiance, the king, his father, and his most trusted advisor Puss. The Lord of Ogres, wondering when exactly his revenge would transpire, began to feel violently ill, dying that afternoon from his own deviant plan being used against him by the shrewd duo of frauds. The abandoned son and cat’s persistent, calculated efforts finally paid off, allowing them to get even with those who had wronged them and get a second chance at life as they rode through the blazing heat of the sun towards a radiant future.
Connor retold the story of “Puss in Boots” by Charles Perrault. This version seeks to explain the reasoning and nuance behind the main characters’ actions in the original tale. Ultimately, this retelling showcases how sometimes one has to take advantage of those around them for personal gain in order to move forward.