Peter and the Cat work together, Peter is in the secret; while in the Perrault tale Puss does all the managing, Carabas is simply being entertained by the King.  In the Norse tale, on the way home the coach meets a flock of sheep, a herd of fine kine, and a drove of horses.  The Cat does not threaten that the caretakers shall be “chopped as fine as herbs for the pot,” if they do not say all belongs to Lord Peter, but he cunningly bribes the shepherd with a silver spoon, the neat-herd with a silver ladle, and the drover with a silver stoop.  In place of the Ogre’s Castle, there is a Troll’s Castle with three gates—­one of tin, one of silver, and one of gold.  The Norse Cat wins the victory by craftily playing upon the troll-nature.  He gains the Troll’s attention by meeting him at the gate and telling him about the secrets of agriculture, one of the secrets of men the trolls wanted to learn.  Then at the height of interest, he plays upon his curiosity by getting him to look round.  Whereupon, the Troll, meeting the glare of the full sun, burst; for trolls cannot bear the sight of the sun, and live.  In the Norse tale, the Cat, after Lord Peter at her request cuts off her head, becomes the Princess and marries Lord Peter.  In Perrault’s tale, the King, with French etiquette and diplomacy, invites the Marquis to be his son-in-law.

The Story of Puss-in-Boots appeared in Straparola,11,1, and in Basile, 2, 4.  Laboulaye, in his Last Fairy Tales, has retold the Pentamerone tale, Gagliuso, in which the Cat is a crafty advocate of his Master’s interests, but the Master is ungrateful and forgets the Cat.  The effect of the tale is not pleasing, it is a satire on gratitude.

The Story of Puss-in-Boots is also told by Ludwig Tieck, with twelve etchings by Otto Speckter, published in Leipzig, in 1843.  A critic, writing for the Quarterly Review in 1844, “An Article on Children’s Books,"[17] recommended this edition of Puss-in-Boots as the beau ideal of nursery books. Puss-in-Boots appeared also in the Swedish of Cavallius.  A monograph on the Carabas tale has been written by Andrew Lang.

Tom Thumb and Little Thumb

Tom Thumb, another romantic tale suited to the first grade, is one of the most entertaining of tales.  The germ of Tom Thumb exists in various forms in the books of the far East, among American Indians, and among the Zulus of South Africa.  Tom Thumb is one of the oldest characters in English nursery literature.  In 1611, the ancient tales of Tom Thumb were said to have been “in the olde time the only survivors of drouzy age at midnight.  Old and young, with his tales chim’d mattens till the cock’s crow in the morning.  Batchelors and maids have with his tales compassed the Christmas fireblocke till the curfew bell rings candle out.  The old shepheard and the young plowboy, after a days’ labour, have carol’ed out a Tale of Tom Thumb to make them merry with, and who but little Tom hath made long nights seem short and heavy toyles easie.”