Cat Fairy Tales – 9 Stories of Curious Cats and Clever Tricks
Curl up with this collection of nine classic cat fairy tales, fables, and folklore, one for each of our favourite animal’s nine lives.
Cats have prowled through centuries of storytelling, taking on the roles of trickster, companion, villain, and guide. From the well-trodden paths of European folklore to long-standing African and Asian traditions, these tales are stories of magic, mischief, and moral lessons. Meet a magical white cat who hides a royal secret, a boastful fox bested by feline tact, and a clever tabby who changes a poor man’s fate, as we present nine of our favourite cat fairy tales.
Worried that curiosity might kill the proverbial cat? Have no fear, no cats were harmed in the making or telling of these tales.
Cat Fairy Tales
- The Cat and the Parrot
- The White Cat; or, the Poor Miller’s Boy and the Cat
- Puss in Boots
- The Cat and the Sparrows
- Cat and Mouse in Partnership
- The Hypocritical Cat
- Why the Cat Kills Rats
- The Fox and the Cat
- The Town Mouse and the Field Mouse
The Cat and the Parrot
A lazy parrot, a tireless cat, and a kingdom gone missing.
This lively tale opens our collection with a mismatched pair. While the Cat toils to plant and harvest corn, the Parrot watches idly from his mango tree, and still expects to share the feast. But when the King, his bride, and even his elephants vanish, the Cat may have her revenge.
Read the full tale on our blog here.
First published in The Talking Thrush and Other Tales from India (1899) by W. H. Drouse, this story, accompanied by W. Heath Robinson’s whimsical illustrations, serves as a vivid retelling of the classic moral ‘you reap what you sow’.
The Cat and the Parrot by W. Heath Robinson
The White Cat; or the Poor Miller’s Boy and the Cat
A feline guide, a royal inheritance, and the blurred line between enchantment and love.
Two versions of this enduring tale unfold across very different worlds. In Madame d’Aulnoy’s seventeenth-century French tale ‘The White Cat’, a prince is set a series of near-impossible tasks to prove his worth as heir. Along the way, he finds himself enchanted by a mysterious white cat.
The Brothers Grimm later adapted the story into ‘The Poor Miller’s Boy and the Cat’, where a humble apprentice named Hans earns his future with hard work and loyalty to a magical tabby.
Read ‘The White Cat’ online here.
Read ‘The Poor Miller’s Boy and Cat’ online here.
Both versions speak volumes about the values of their time. D’Aulnoy’s tale reflects the culture and elegance of French aristocracy, including leisurely pastimes like hunting, art, literature, and music, while the Grimm adaptation rewards Hans’ efforts of hard work.
The White Cat by John Gilbert
Puss in Boots
A cunning feline, a poor master, and the most improbable rise to nobility.
Arguably one of the most beloved fairy tale cats, Puss in Boots is far more than a charming trickster. Inheriting nothing but a cat, a poor young man soon finds his fortunes transformed as his feline companion deceives kings, slays ogres, and secures a royal marriage, all through flattery, wit, and carefully spun lies.
Though there are numerous adaptations of the ‘Puss in Boots’ fairy tale, it largely owes its popularity to Giovanni Francesco Straparola’s ‘Costantino Fortunato’ and Charles Perrault’s ‘Le Maître Chat’. Both cat tales saw a revival in retellings at the end of the nineteenth century, particularly within Andrew Lang’s 1889 collection The Blue Fairy Book.
Read ‘Costantino Fortunato (Lucky Constantino)’ on our blog here.
Read ‘Le Maître Chat, ou Le Chat Botté’ online here.
You can read seven variants of this wonderful story in our illustrated collection Puss in Boots – And Other Very Clever Cats from our Origins of Fairy Tales from Around the World series.
Le Maître Chat, ou Le Chat Botté by H. J. Ford
The Cat and the Sparrows
A vanishing dinner, a jealous bird, and a cat who gets more than she bargained for.
A female sparrow returns home to find her meal mysteriously gone and her husband looking suspiciously full. When he lands himself in further trouble, she turns to a cat for help, but this cat may be a little too eager to please.
Read the full tale online here.
Another gem from The Talking Thrush and Other Tales from India, this story blends humour and morality to explore honesty, wit, and the occasional usefulness of a well-placed lie.
The Cat and the Sparrows by W. Heath Robinson
Cat and Mouse in Partnership
A pot of fat, three ominous names, and the slow unravelling of trust.
A cat and mouse agree to share a home and provisions for winter. But when the cat vanishes to attend mysterious christenings, the mouse begins to piece together a darker truth. Can their partnership survive the cold?
Read the full fairy tale online here.
This 1812 tale from the Brothers Grimm is a subtle meditation on betrayal and natural instinct. Despite appearances, some animals may never change their stripes (or their appetites).
Cat and Mouse in Partnership by H. J. Ford
The Hypocritical Cat
A promise of peace, a string of disappearances, and a wise leader who sees through it all.
An old cat claims he’s retired from the hunting of his youth and asks the mice to honour him daily for his mercy. Yet the community continues to shrink, and the cat keeps growing fatter. When the mouse chief investigates, the truth is laid bare.
Read the full tale online here.
Translated from Tibetan folklore by W. R. S. Ralston in 1906, this tale critiques hollow virtue. It’s a timeless warning against those who use kindness as a mask for self-interest.
Why the Cat Kills Rats
An innocent scapegoat, a love-struck thief, and a grudge that changed nature.
When a rat falls in love, he makes a bold move to woo his sweetheart, stealing from the king’s store. But it’s the unsuspecting cat who bears the blame. Wronged and cast out, she vows never to trust a rat again.
Read the full tale online here.
Collected by Elphinstone Dayrell in 1910, this Nigerian folktale offers a poignant origin myth.
The Cat and the Mouse by John D. Batten
The Fox and the Cat
A hundred tricks, one good idea, and a race against the hounds.
A boastful fox mocks the cat for having just one escape plan. But when a hunter and his hounds arrive, that one plan may prove far more valuable than all of the fox’s clever schemes.
Read the full tale online here.
This 1812 Grimm adaptation of an Aesop fable gently reminds us that wisdom lies not in quantity, but in reliability. In the end, humility (and a tree well climbed) may be the best defence of all.
The Town Mouse and the Field Mouse
A hairy priest, a deceptive disguise, and the peril of envy.
Jealous of her country cousin, a conniving town mouse introduces the field mouse to the ‘town priest’, who has a strangely glossy black coat, a white collar, and peculiar whiskers…
Read the full tale online here.
Collected by M. Gaster for the Folk-Lore Society, and published in 1915 in Rumanian Bird and Beast Stories, this Romanian variation on a classic fable reflects an age-old contrast between urban greed and charming rural simplicity.
Other Pook Press books you might like:
