A miller left his three sons a mill, a donkey, and a cat. The youngest, getting only the cat, lamented his bad luck. The cat, however, asked for boots and a sack, promising to help. With cunning, he caught partridges and presented them to the king in his master’s name, calling him a “Count.” The king rewarded the gifts with gold, and the cat repeated the trick daily, building the young man’s wealth.

One day, the cat tricked his master into bathing in a lake just as the king passed by. Pretending the “Count’s” clothes had been stolen, the cat secured fine royal garments for him. The king, impressed, invited the “Count” into his carriage, and the princess took a liking to him.

Racing ahead, the cat threatened workers in a meadow, grain field, and forest to say they belonged to the Count when the king asked. He then visited a powerful sorcerer, flattering him into transforming into an elephant and then into a mouse — which the cat promptly ate. With the sorcerer gone, his magnificent castle became the Count’s estate.

When the king arrived, all lands were claimed as the Count’s, and the grand palace sealed the deception. The Count married the princess, became king after the old king’s death, and kept Puss in Boots as his prime minister.