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_Little Puss Boots, hat in paw Bowed as Miss Pussy opened the door. "Glad to see you," she purred. "Come in! My little house is as neat as a pin!"_
_"Robinson Crusoe, how do you do!" As a strangely dressed man came into view, Cried little Puss Junior, raising his paw, As he stood 'neath a palm tree by the shore._
_A frog among some rushes dwelt; A bachelor was he. No frog was ever so polite Or such a beau as he._
_"This makes a fine table I'd have you know," Laughed Puss to Fairy Little Tiptoe. "We might all dine here on fairy cake, Unless you fear the toadstool break."_
THE ADVENTURES OF PUSS IN BOOTS, JR.
THE KNAVE OF HEARTS RUNS AWAY WITH THE TARTS._Frontispiece._]
THE ADVENTURES OF PUSS IN BOOTS, JR.
BY DAVID CORY
AUTHOR OF
LITTLE JACK RABBIT BOOKS, LITTLE JOURNEYS TO HAPPYLAND, PUSS IN BOOTS BOOKS, Etc.
PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED
GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
Made in the United States of America
ADVENTURES OF PUSS IN BOOTS, JR.
Copyright, 1917, by Harper & Brothers Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS
PAGE
PUSS IN BOOTS, JR., BEGINS HIS TRAVELS 9
A VISIT TO PIGGIE'S MAMMA 13
PUSS SEES THE COW JUMP OVER THE MOON 16
PUSS MEETS YANKEE DOODLE DANDY 21
PUSS SINGS A SONG AND HELPS A BEGGAR 25
PUSS FOLLOWS WEE WILLIE WINKIE 31
PUSS, JR., MEETS THREE JOLLY WELSHMEN AND THE QUEEN OF HEARTS 35
PUSS LEARNS WHERE HIS FATHER IS AND RECEIVES A TART FROM THE QUEEN 40
PUSS CROSSES A WONDERFUL BRIDGE 43
PUSS IN BOOTS, JR., VISITS THE OLD WOMAN IN THE SHOE 45
PUSS, JR., JOINS THE CIRCUS 51
PUSS, JR., PROVES TO BE A WONDERFUL CIRCUS PERFORMER 54
A TERRIBLE FIGHT STOPPED BY USING PLUM-CAKE 57
PUSS, JR., MEETS ANOTHER CAT AND MORALIZES ON CONTENTMENT 60
PUSS MEETS MOTHER GOOSE 63
TRIPPING WITH THE STARS 66
PUSS FINDS ADVENTURE AT THE TOP OF JACK'S FAMOUS BEAN-STALK 69
PUSS DISCOVERS WHERE JACK IS HIDING 74
PUSS AND JACK MAKE A BOLD RESCUE 77
PUSS, JR., MEETS MR. ROWLEY FROG 80
PUSS IS HEARTILY WELCOMED BY JACK THE JUMPER 83
OLD KING COLE'S FIDDLERS ARE RATHER RUDE TO PUSS 86
THE MILLER OF THE DEE 88
PUSS, JR., RENDERS A MOTHER AID 93
THE MILKMAN'S HORSE, OLD NAGGETTY NOGG 96
WHO IS A MAN'S MOST FAITHFUL FRIEND? 99
PUSS BUYS A PAIR OF BOOTS MADE FOR HIS FAMOUS SIRE 102
PUSS MEETS A MODEST MENDING MAN AND A JOLLY MILLER 105
PUSS OVERHEARS A PROPOSAL AND IS INVITED TO A WEDDING 110
PUSS AND SEVERAL ACQUAINTANCES JOURNEY TO THE WEDDING 113
THE GUESTS ARRIVE SAFELY AT THE WEDDING 116
PUSS IS WELCOMED AT THE WEDDING 119
THE BRIDE RECEIVES SOME HANDSOME PRESENTS 122
PUSS MAKES A NEW FRIEND AND GAINS A STEED 125
PUSS MEETS A HUNTER AND THEY BOTH LEARN THAT THE OWL IS A USEFUL BIRD 130
PUSS GOES ON A SHOPPING TRIP TO MAKE A LITTLE MAID HAPPY 133
PUSS CONVERSES WITH AN INTELLIGENT GRAY DONKEY 136
PUSS MEETS A HAPPY FARMER BUT MISSES A GOOD MEAL 139
PUSS HELPS A STRANGER CATCH A RUNAWAY PIG 142
PUSS HELPS A LITTLE BOY WHO IS IN TROUBLE 147
ILLUSTRATIONS
PUSS, JR., TRUDGED ALONG BRAVELY Page 17
"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BUY WITH THE MONEY?" PUSS ASKED " 27
PUSS JOINED IN THE CHASE TO HELP THE QUEEN " 37
OUT ON A LIMB, FROM WHICH HE DANGLED HIS RED-TOPPED BOOTS " 47
"GOOD MORNING, MA'AM," SAID HE, LIFTING HIS CAP POLITELY " 71
"AREN'T WE GREAT FRIENDS?" ASKED THE MILLER " 89
"IF I'D AS MUCH MONEY AS I COULD SPEND" " 107
"I GUESS YOU ARE RIGHT, MY GOOD SIR," SAID PUSS " 127
"TO MARKET, TO MARKET, TO BUY A FAT PIG" " 143
THE ADVENTURES OF PUSS IN BOOTS, JR.
PUSS IN BOOTS, JR., BEGINS HIS TRAVELS
Puss had made a great discovery in the garret. It seems strange that heshould have found something more important than a rat or mouse, but hehad. From the moment he had seen the picture-book he was a changed cat!
"Yes," he said, holding it a little to one side, so that the light fromthe small attic window would show the picture more distinctly, "this iscertainly a portrait of my father."
It was the story of "Puss in Boots," and on the cover was a beautifulpicture of a cat wearing a magnificent pair of boots with shiny redtops. Puss sat down and opened the book. The further he read the moreexcited he became. When he had finished he jumped up and, proudlylooking at the portrait of his handsome father, he exclaimed, withflashing eyes, "From to-day I shall call myself 'Puss in Boots, Junior';I shall go forth in search of adventure, just as my father did, and Ishall not rest until I have found him!"
He looked around to see if he could find a pair of boots like those inthe picture.
To his delight he saw in a corner the very pair he wanted, and they hadred tops, too. He slipped them on and looked at himself in an oldcracked mirror which stood against the wall.
On a peg near by hung a cap, dusty, but not a bit shabby or worn.Placing it on his head, he hunted around until he found an old cane witha bent handle. "There's a cane in the picture--I suppose they called ita staff in those days; at any rate, I'm now complete; I'm a real Puss inBoots, Junior!" and with these words he scampered down the stairs asfast as he dared, not yet being used to his new-found boots.
"Hurray!" he cried, as he reached the front door, and he took a hop,skip, and jump across the piazza, holding his tail gracefully in hisleft paw. "Hurray!"
Down the steps he skipped, two at a time, down the walk to the gate, hisheels clattering on the stone pavement, rat-a-tat-tat, like acavalryman. The road was dusty, but he went along gaily,
the sun shiningon the bright-red tops of his boots, making him very proud indeed.
He hadn't gone very far when he heard a funny little squeak, and,looking to the side of the road from which the sound came, he saw asmall pig stuck between two boards in the fence.
"Squeak, squeak! Oh, help me out!" cried Piggie.
Puss in Boots, Jr., ran up and, with the help of his cane, pried theboards apart so that the little pig could just squeeze himself through."Squeak, squeak! Oh, thank you!" cried the little fellow. "I wish Icould do something to repay you!"
"You can," replied Puss, Jr., who had by this time grown very hungry, "Iwould like something to eat."
"Come with me," said Piggie. "Mother always gets some milk from thedairymaid about this time. Come." And he took Puss, Jr., by the frontpaw and started to run across the field.
"Hold on! I mean, let go!" cried Puss in Boots, Jr. "How do you knowyour mother will want visitors for lunch?"
"She'll be only too delighted, especially when she knows how you pulledme out of the fence. You're not bashful, are you?"
"No-o-o!" replied Puss, Jr., "but you see I've never lunched with pigsbefore!"
"Oh, don't let that worry you," replied his little friend, who seemed tobe pretty sure of himself for so small a pig. "Come along!"
And Puss did.
A VISIT TO PIGGIE'S MAMMA
Puss, Jr., followed his friend the little pig, whom he had sofortunately rescued from between the fence boards, across the field andinto the woods. Indeed, he was so hungry by this time that he felt hewould be brave enough to follow a lion. Just then he heard some onesinging in a high, squeaky voice:
"This little Pig went to market, This little Pig stayed at home, This little Pig had roast beef, This little Pig had none, This little Pig cried, 'Wee, wee, wee!' All the way home."
"That's mother," replied the little pig in answer to an inquiring lookfrom Puss, Jr. "She always sings that when any of us is naughty. Yousee," he added, apologetically, "I should not have tried to get throughthe fence and out on the road."
"Oh, I understand," replied Puss, Jr. "Is that your house?"
"Yes, and there's mother."
Puss, Jr., saw a very nice-looking lady pig standing in the doorway of aqueer little cabin. She had on a blue gingham apron over a short skirtof gray, and a very tight-fitting shirt-waist, which was stretchedalmost to the bursting-point as she raised her right forefoot to shadeher eyes.
"Well, here you are at last!" she exclaimed to Piggie. "But look at yourtrousers; you've torn a big hole in them!"
He looked ruefully at the rent in his little blue jeans. "I got stuck inthe fence," he whimpered.
"He'd be there yet if I hadn't pulled him out," volunteered Puss, Jr.,hoping to divert her attention from his little friend.
Mrs. Porker, for that was her name, turned and looked at him, as much asto say, "Where did you come from?" but she didn't; she only verypolitely remarked: "Thank you for helping Piggie. I'm sorry to say hedoes not always mind mother. But come, you both are hungry, I know." Andshe led the way into the cabin.
At a round table in the room two little pigs were already eating theirdinner. "What is your name?" asked Mrs. Porker in a kindly tone, pushinga chair up next to hers for Puss.
"Puss in Boots, Junior, madam," he replied, with a polite bow.
"This is Wiggie and this is Tiggie," said their mother, and the twosmall pigs got up and shook hands with him.
They had a merry lunch, and he was surprised to see how clean and wellbehaved the Porker family was.
"You know," said Mrs. Porker, as if reading his thoughts, "that pigs arereally the cleanest of animals, only man is so cruel to pigs--he shutsthem up in small pens and makes them appear quite the opposite. Justread the books about us and you will see. Yes," she continued, "whenpigs are allowed to run around they are clean as they can be; only whenthey are little they are often most disobedient." And she looked atPiggie, who got very red in the face.
"I don't believe he'll disobey again," answered Puss, Jr. "You have sucha nice playground here in the woods I shouldn't think he would want torun away to that dusty road again; just look at my boots." And he thrusthis foot out and showed the bright-red tops all dingy with the day'stravel.
Lunch was now over, and after politely thanking Mrs. Porker for hergoodness Puss said good-by to the three little pigs.
"Don't forget me," called out Piggie as Puss, Jr., climbed over thefence.
"Of course I won't," he called back, and waved his paw to Piggie in thedoorway.
PUSS SEES THE COW JUMP OVER THE MOON
Puss, Jr., trudged along bravely for some time, but, finding it verydusty, he left the road and climbed over the low stone wall thatbordered the big pasture on his right.
"It's funny to see the moon in the daytime," he remarked as he crossedthe long green meadow dotted everywhere with yellow cowslips; "I don'tunderstand it," and he looked curiously at the big, white moon whichhung low in the skies just overhead. As he spoke, across the grasshopped a big silver spoon, closely followed by a dish with a blueborder, which rolled along over the ground at a great rate.
"Wow, wow! Ha, ha!" laughed a little dog from the other side of thefence. "Keep on rolling; you'll tire him out pretty soon."
Puss, Jr., watched the funny race with much amusement until he wasstartled by a voice at his side, saying, "Glad to see you," and, turningaround, he saw a small cat with a fiddle under her paw.
PUSS, JR., TRUDGED ALONG BRAVELY]
"Hey diddle-diddle," she sang in a high, sweet voice, and scratched awayon the strings like a player in an orchestra.
"Tell me," Puss, Jr., said to her as the music stopped for a moment,"why is the moon out to-day? I thought it only came out at night."
"Why, don't you know?" she replied. "It is going to let the cow jumpover it to-day."
"Indeed! and when does that happen?"
"Oh, any minute now; in fact, there she comes through the gate." And,sure enough, across the fields a beautiful black-and-white cow cameleisurely toward them.
"Good morning," she exclaimed, as she neared our two friends, and,turning to the cat with the fiddle, she said: "Are you ready? If youare, just strike up a lively tune so that I can get into step before Itry for my jump."
Puss, Jr., was so interested that he forgot to ask another question, butstood still while the cow commenced to prance around, keeping perfecttime to the music.
"Faster, faster!" she called, as she swung into a canter. "I'm going toget a flying start; you know, if you get a flying start the higher youwill fly when you do fly."
This undoubtedly was true, for in a moment more she rose gracefully fromthe ground toward the moon.
"Be careful!" screamed the Man in the Moon, leaning out as sheapproached near enough for his voice to reach her. "Be careful and don'tclip off a piece with your hoof as you go over!"
She did as he told her, and sailed over in a long, sweeping curve andlanded safely in a patch of clover at the other end of the field.
"Great!" exclaimed Puss, Jr. "You did it splendidly!"
"Oh, that's nothing!" she answered, although she seemed rather proud ofher feat. "Oh, that's nothing at all!"
"I don't agree with you," he replied. "I should think you'd be veryproud of your feet; they're as good as wings."
The Jumping Cow paid no more attention to him, but munched away at theclover like an ordinary cow.
"She won't say another word to-day," whispered the cat behind herfiddle; "but if you're around this way to-morrow morning and it's a niceday she may try another jump."
"I'm sorry," Puss, Jr., replied, "but by that time I shall be far awayupon my journey. Thank you just the same." And with these words he tookoff his hat to Miss Pussy and resumed his travels along the cool, shadypath through the woods.
PUSS MEETS YANKEE DOODLE DANDY
The broad highway was somewhat dusty and not nearly so pleasant as thecool, shady path through the woods. At the same time
Puss felt that itwas leading him on toward his journey's end, and the thought that thenhe would find his dear father made his heart beat fast with hope.
He began to whistle, when suddenly he heard the sound of hoofbeats. Thena voice commenced singing, loudly and clearly:
"Yankee Doodle came to town, Riding on a pony; He stuck a feather in his cap And called it macaroni.
"Yankee Doodle came to town, Yankee Doodle dandy, He stuck a feather in his cap And called it sugar candy."
Down the road came a pony at a mad gallop, and seated upon his back wasa very queer-looking person. In his cap was a long feather and in hisright hand was a big whip. The pony was galloping along at a great rate,and every now and again his rider would give a tremendous whoop, like anIndian brave. "Yankee Doodle Dandy!" he yelled, and then the pony wouldstand up on his hind legs and neigh.
"Look out!" yelled the rider, as he approached Puss. "Don't you see youare in the way?"
"Am I?" said Puss, drawing to one side of the road.
"Well, not now," said the rider, drawing rein and looking at Puss with agood deal of interest. "Where's your horse?"
"Where's my horse?" repeated Puss, looking about as if he expected tofind one.
"Yes, where's your steed?" continued the stranger.