Once upon a time, there was an old miller who had three sons. When the miller grew too tired to work, he went to live by the sea with his sister, and shared out all he owned. The eldest son got the mill. The middle son got the donkey. And the youngest son, Colin, got the cat.
Colin sat down on a stone and sighed. "A mill can grind flour, and a donkey can carry sacks. But what can a cat and I do together?" The cat twitched his whiskers and, to Colin's great surprise, he spoke. "Don't worry, master. Just buy me a pair of boots and a cloth bag, and you'll see. We'll make a good life, you and I."
Colin spent his very last coins on a small pair of shiny red boots. The cat pulled them on and stamped his feet. Tap, tap, tap! "Perfect," he said. "Now I can walk the long stony road to the palace." And from then on, everyone called him Puss in Boots.
Colin had one special talent. He was wonderful at growing things. So Puss helped him dig a little garden beside their hut, and soon it was full of sweet strawberries, crunchy peas and round red apples. Puss filled his cloth bag with the best strawberries and walked to the palace, tap, tap, tap. He bowed low to the king. "Your Majesty, these strawberries are a gift from my master, Colin. He is a poor young man, but he grows the sweetest fruit in the whole valley."
The king tasted one. "Mmm! Delicious!" Every week after that, Puss brought another gift: a bag of peas, a basket of apples, a jar of wildflower honey. And every week the king asked, "Who is this Colin? I would like to meet him."
One sunny day, the king's carriage was rolling along the river road with the princess inside, when, clunk! A wheel came loose and the carriage stopped. Puss saw it from the field. "Colin, quick!" he called. "You're good at fixing things!" Colin ran over, found a strong wooden peg and some rope, and fixed the wheel in no time. The king thanked him warmly. "So you are the famous Colin! Where do you live?" Colin answered honestly. "In a tiny hut with a leaky roof, Your Majesty. But my garden is lovely." The king smiled. He liked honest people very much.
Now, on the big hill nearby stood a tall castle that belonged to an ogre. He was not a bad ogre, but he was very grumpy. Whenever the farmers walked near his fields, he stood on the castle wall and shouted, "GO AWAY! KEEP OFF MY LAND!" He could also change his shape, and he loved to show off. So nobody ever went near.
Puss decided to visit. He walked up the hill, tap, tap, tap, and knocked on the huge door. "Good afternoon, Mister Ogre! I've heard you can do amazing magic tricks." The ogre was so surprised to have a visitor that he forgot to shout. "Well, yes, I can!" He spun around and turned into a lion. "ROAR!" Puss's whiskers wobbled, but he stayed polite. "Wonderful! But can you become something very, very small?" Poof! The ogre turned into a tiny brown mouse.
Puss sat down and looked at the little mouse kindly. "You know," he said, "when you're small like this, you aren't scary at all. You're rather sweet." The mouse gave a tiny, sad squeak. "Nobody ever visits me. I shout because I'm lonely, and I don't know how to say hello." Puss nodded. "Then let's practise. It's easy." Poof! The ogre became big again, and together they practised. "Hello! Nice to meet you! Would you like some tea?" The ogre said it softly, then a little louder, and then he smiled a big, shy smile.
The next day, Puss arranged a picnic in the meadow. The king came, and the princess, and Colin with a basket of strawberries, and all the farmers too. The ogre walked down the hill, very nervous, and said, "Hello! Nice to meet you!" Everyone smiled and said hello back. The ogre was so happy that he did magic tricks for the children all afternoon, turning into a rabbit, a butterfly and a bouncing frog.
Then the ogre had an idea. "My fields are far too big for one ogre. Let's share them and grow a village garden! And Colin, would you be the head gardener?" Colin said yes with a big grin. The ogre gave him a snug little cottage with a dry roof, right beside the garden.
So Colin grew fruit and flowers for the whole village. The princess came to help him plant roses, and they became the best of friends. The ogre never shouted again, except to call out, "Hello! Tea's ready!" And Puss in Boots? He kept his red boots shiny and walked around the garden every evening, tap, tap, tap, very pleased that honesty and kindness had made everyone so happy.
Parent tip: Tap your fingertips on the table, tap-tap-tap, whenever Puss walks in his boots, and let your child join in.
Ask your child: After the story, you can ask: “Who was kind in this story, and what did they do?”
This is a gentle retelling: everyone is honest and kind, and the grumpy ogre simply learns to make friends.