The Master Cat; Or, Puss in Boots

From The Blue Fairy Book, a retelling by Charles Perrault

This tale was retold by Charles Perrault and included in Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Book, a collection first published in 1889, though Perrault's original version appeared in France in 1697. The story examines ambition, social mobility, and the power of wit over birth or wealth. A clever servant transforms his master's fate through strategic deception, raising questions about the ethics of cunning and the values of the society that rewards it. The tale remains one of the most famous examples of the trickster archetype in European folklore, inviting readers to consider what loyalty requires and what success costs.

Band

Blue · Independent readers, confident, about 10 to 12

Length

long · about 1034 words in 5 sections · 2 pictures

Source

The Blue Fairy Book, Andrew Lang · Project Gutenberg

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.