THE CAT TRIUMPHANT 129 



wariness saves him from the utter ruin of nobler 

 and duller beasts. 



In the fable, as in folk-lore, it is always astute 

 rascality which wins a final triumph. Honesty is 

 never the best policy, and the Master Thief still 

 shines, a dazzling hero, despite our centuries of 

 ethics. Not for his integrity do we value Puss-in- 

 Boots, that hardy and brilliant impostor, who lifted 

 the miller's son on the crest of his splendid lies 

 until he landed the stupid lout, who could n't lie 

 for himself, at the foot of a throne, with a princess 

 for a bride. " Puss-in-Boots " was translated from 

 Italian into French in 1585, and from French into 

 English a few years later ; but the story itself is 

 very, very old. Like so many fairy tales, it may 

 be traced to India, where the cat's part was origi- 

 nally played by a fox, — a fox as unscrupulous as 

 Reineke, but more faithful, through whose cunning 

 and devotion a peasant lad becomes the son-in-law 

 of a king. The surpassing cynicism of the Eastern 

 tale lies in the ingratitude of the peasant, who, 

 having reached the summit of his ambition, has 

 no further need of his colleague, and drives him 

 shamefully from the palace doors. One is glad that 

 this touch of unutterable baseness has never con- 

 taminated our nurseries ; and that all children who 

 rejoice — as good children should — in the trium- 

 phant scampishness of Puss-in-Boots, . are told in 



