The Poor Miller’s Boy and the Cat

Once upon a time there was a mill where an old miller lived. He had no wife and no children, but three young men worked for him as apprentices. They had been with him for several years when one day he said, “I am old now and I want to sit by the fireplace. Go out into the world, and whoever brings me the best horse will get the mill. In return, he must take care of me until I die.”

The third apprentice was the one who did all the dirty work, and the others thought he was stupid. They did not want him to get the mill, so they said mean things about him.

All three went out together, and when they reached the village, the two clever ones said to stupid Hans, “You might as well stay here. You will never get a horse as long as you live.” But Hans went along with them anyway.

At night they came to a cave and lay down to sleep. The two clever ones waited until Hans fell asleep, then they got up and left him there alone. They thought they had done something very smart, but it would certainly turn out badly for them.

When the sun rose, Hans woke up and found himself lying in a deep cave. He looked all around and cried out, “Oh, heavens, where am I?” Then he got up and climbed out of the cave. He walked into the forest and thought, “Here I am all alone and deserted. How will I ever get a horse now?”

While he was walking and thinking, he met a small tabby cat who spoke to him very kindly. “Hans, where are you going?” she asked.

“Alas,” said Hans, “you cannot help me.”

“I know what you want,” said the cat. “You wish to have a beautiful horse. Come with me and be my faithful servant for seven years, and then I will give you a horse more beautiful than any you have ever seen in your whole life.”

“Well, this is a wonderful cat!” thought Hans. “But I am determined to see if she is telling the truth.” So the cat took him to her enchanted castle. In the castle there were nothing but cats, and they were all her servants. They leaped nimbly up and down the stairs and were merry and happy. In the evening when they sat down to dinner, three of the cats made music. One played the bassoon, another played the fiddle, and the third put a trumpet to his lips and blew out his cheeks as much as he could.

When they had finished eating, the table was taken away, and the cat said, “Now, Hans, come and dance with me.”

“No,” said Hans, “I won’t dance with a pussy cat. I have never done that before.”

“Then take him to bed,” said the cat to the other cats. So one cat lit his way to the bedroom, another pulled off his shoes, another his stockings, and at last one of them blew out the candle. The next morning they came back and helped him out of bed. One put his stockings on, one tied his garters, one brought his shoes, one washed him, and one dried his face with her tail.

“That feels very soft!” said Hans.

Hans had to serve the cat. Every day he had to chop wood, and for that he had an axe of silver, and the wedge and saw were also made of silver, and the mallet was of copper. He chopped the wood into small pieces. He stayed in the house and had good food and drink, but he never saw anyone except the tabby cat and her servants.

One day the cat said to him, “Go and mow my meadow and dry the grass.” She gave him a scythe of silver and a whetstone of gold, but she told him to bring them back carefully. So Hans went to the meadow and did as he was told. When he had finished, he carried the scythe, whetstone, and hay back to the house and asked if it was not yet time for her to give him his reward.

“No,” said the cat, “you must first do something more for me. There is timber of silver, a carpenter’s axe, a square, and everything you need, all made of silver. Build me a small house with them.”

So Hans built the small house. When it was done, he said that he had now done everything, and still he had no horse. Nevertheless, the seven years had passed by him as if they were only six months. The cat asked him if he would like to see her horses.

“Yes,” said Hans.

Then she opened the door of the small house, and inside stood twelve horses. They were so bright and shining that his heart rejoiced at the sight. Now she gave him food and drink and said, “Go home. I will not give you your horse now, but in three days I will follow you and bring it.”

So Hans set out, and she showed him the way to the mill. She had never given him a new coat, and he had to keep wearing the dirty old smock-frock he had brought with him. During the seven years it had become much too small for him.

When he reached home, the other two apprentices were already there. Each of them had brought a horse, but one was blind and the other was lame. They asked Hans where his horse was.

“It will follow me in three days,” said Hans.

Then they laughed and said, “Indeed, stupid Hans, where will you get a horse?”

“It will be a fine one!” said Hans.

Hans went into the living room, but the miller said he could not sit at the table because he was so ragged and torn that they would all be ashamed if anyone came in. So they gave him a bite to eat outside, and at night, when they went to bed, the other two would not let him have a bed. At last he had to creep into the goose-house and lie down on a little bit of hard straw.

In the morning when he woke up, the three days had passed. A coach came with six horses, and they shone so brightly that it was delightful to see them. A servant brought a seventh horse as well, which was for the poor miller’s boy. A magnificent princess stepped out of the coach and went into the mill. This princess was the little tabby cat whom poor Hans had served for seven years.

She asked the miller where the miller’s boy and drudge was.

“We cannot have him here in the mill,” said the miller, “for he is so ragged. He is lying in the goose-house.”

Then the king’s daughter said that they should bring him immediately. So they brought him out, and he had to hold his little smock-frock together to cover himself. The servants unpacked splendid clothes and washed him and dressed him. When that was done, no king could have looked more handsome.

Then the maiden wanted to see the horses that the other apprentices had brought home. One was blind and the other was lame. So she ordered the servant to bring the seventh horse. When the miller saw it, he said that such a horse had never entered his yard.

“And that is for the third miller’s boy,” said she.

“Then he must have the mill,” said the miller.

But the king’s daughter said that the horse was already his and that the miller should keep his mill as well. Then she took her faithful Hans and set him in the coach, and they drove away together.

First they drove to the little house that he had built with the silver tools, and behold, it was a great castle, and everything inside was made of silver and gold. Then she married him, and he was so rich that he had enough for the rest of his life.

After this, let no one ever say that someone who is silly can never become a person of importance.