Dick Whittington and the Cat

Dick Whittington was a poor boy. He had no parents to look after him, so he was often very hungry. He lived in a small village in the countryside. He had often heard stories about a faraway place called London, where everyone was rich and the streets were paved with gold.

Dick Whittington decided to go there and make his fortune by picking up lots of gold from the streets. One day, he met a kind carter who was going to London. The carter offered to take him along, and so he went. When they arrived in the big city, Dick could hardly believe his eyes. He saw horses and carriages, hundreds of people, tall buildings, and lots of mud – but nowhere did he find any gold. He was disappointed, wondering how he would make his fortune and how he would buy himself any food.

After a few days, he was so hungry that he fainted in front of a rich merchant’s house. Just then, a cook came out of the house.

“Go away!” she yelled. “Dirty, ragged boy!” And she tried to shoo him away with a broom.

At that moment, the merchant came home and, being a kind man, felt sorry for poor Dick.

“Bring him inside,” he told the servants.

After being fed and rested, Dick was given a job working in the kitchen. He was grateful for the merchant’s kindness, but unfortunately, the cook was always bad-tempered. When no one was looking, she would beat him and scratch him. Another thing that troubled Dick was that he had to sleep in a tiny attic room that was crawling with mice and rats. They would run across his face and try to bite his nose as he tried to sleep.

Dick was so troubled that he saved every penny he earned and bought a cat. This cat was very special — it was the best mouse and rat catcher in all of London. After a few weeks, thanks to this clever cat, Dick’s life became much better because it hunted down every mouse and rat, allowing him to sleep peacefully at night.

A few days later, Dick overheard the merchant telling everyone in the house that if anyone had anything to sell, he could send it with him on his ship. The ship was going to make a long journey across the seas, and the captain would sell the goods for a profit. The poor boy wondered what he had to sell. Suddenly, an idea came to him.

“Sir,” he said shyly, “would you take my cat with you?”

Everyone laughed aloud, but the merchant smiled and said, “Yes, Dick. I’ll take it with me, and all the money we make from selling the cat will be yours.”

After the merchant left, Dick was once again left to struggle with the rats at night and the cook’s cruelty during the day. Feeling hopeless, he decided to run away.

1. As he stepped out, the church bells began to ring, and it felt as if they spoke to him:

“Dick Whittington,

Return to London and you will be three times the Lord Mayor.”

“Good heavens!” thought Dick, astonished. “If I’m destined to be the Lord Mayor, it’s better that I stay. I’ll bear the cook’s cruelty and the mice for now, and one day when I am Mayor, I’ll show her.” So he went back.

Meanwhile, far away across the seas, the merchant and his ship arrived at their destination. The people were happy to see them, and the merchant decided to send some gifts to the King and Queen. The King and Queen were delighted and invited the merchant and his crew to a banquet. But, as soon as the food was served, hundreds of mice appeared, gobbling it up before anyone could have a bite.

“Oh dear,” said the King. “It’s always like this — I can never even have a bite of an apple. What can I do?”

The merchant smiled and said, “I have an idea. I have a very special cat with me from London. It can kill the mice as quickly as they can eat the food.”

After some convincing, the King and Queen agreed, and when the next feast was held, the cat appeared and pounced on the mice with lightning speed, killing every one. The King and Queen were overjoyed and, in gratitude, gave the merchant a ship full of gold in exchange for that remarkable cat.

When the ship returned to London, the merchant gave Dick all the gold that came from the sale of his cat. Dick was overwhelmed with emotion. Year after year, he used the money wisely, doing many good things for himself and for those who worked for him. Eventually, he was elected Lord Mayor of the City of London three times. But he never forgot his kind merchant friend, who had been honest and gave him every penny earned from the cat and kept none for himself.

As Dick grew older, he fell in love with the merchant’s beautiful daughter, Alice, and married her. They lived happily ever after, just like people do in fairy tales.

“Dick Whittington,

Return to London and you will be three times Lord Mayor.”

And that is exactly how it came to be.