“A cat!? That’s all my
father left me? A cat?”
thought the youngest of
the three brothers. “He gave my eldest
brother a mill and my
other brother a donkey.
But I deserve a cat, I
guess.” He was
miserable. What an odd
decision his father had
made before he died.
“My brothers can work together with the
mill and the donkey. They can earn
honest money and make a good living
out of it. But what about me? I can’t even
eat the cat…” he wept. The cat jumped upon his shoulder,
coughed as if he wanted to say
something, and then he actually
spoke with a human voice. “Master, excuse me for interrupting your
thoughts, but you seem worried and
since I belong to you now, I would like to
make an oath to make you happy
and rich,” the cat said. “I can somehow understand what
you’re saying,” said the miller’s son,
after coming to terms with the fact that
the cat his father had left him could talk. “But how on earth could you possibly help
me?” he asked. “Please, my lord, try not to
think too hard, but quickly find me a pair of
boots and a bag of some sort. These are the only two things I will ever
ask from you. In return I will arrange it so
that you will marry the young princess of
the kingdom.” The boy didn’t quite
believe this promise.
