The Cottager and his Cat

Synopsis

A miserly man, his wife, and their son lived in a miserable shack. Though secretly wealthy, his greed was so extreme he could not bear to spend a penny. One day, he spent so little on food that he starved to death. Later, the son had a dream in which a figure told him his mother would also die soon. The dream instructed him to give half of the ill-gotten fortune to the poor and toss the other half into the sea, then catch whatever floated by. The son was disappointed, having hoped for a comfortable life, but he obeyed. After sinking the money, only a tiny scrap of paper drifted up, holding six shillings. For a few weeks, he worked a garden, feeding himself and his mother on vegetables. When she died, he wandered into the woods. There he found a hut and stayed the night. Inside, he saw a strange creature; the owners called it a cat. He bought it with his six shillings for companionship. Traveling on, he stopped at another hut. Everyone there adored the cat. An old man directed him to a castle, where he encountered more strange creatures. The king explained these were rats. The cat promptly caught them. Impressed, the king offered the man a choice: become Prime Minister, or marry the princess and inherit the kingdom. The man chose the princess and the kingdom.