The Earl of Cattenborough by Joseph Jacobs:
Characters: John, Miss Puss, King, Princess
John: The youngest of three sons. Inherits only a cat(that can talk!!)
Miss Puss: is magic and can talk. Why is he not famous and rich somewhere? Why is he
King: is very impressed by the talking cat. (understandably) should really vet suitors for his daughter more. Should also not get jealous that said cat will be speaking for his master.
Plot: A miller and his wife pass away and leave a mill, a donkey, and a cat to their three sons. They each take one thing. The youngest got the cat. The cat vowed to help the son survive and succeed. The cat had a pouch with a string and the boy would put cheese in it. They caught random small mammals and birds. The cat would take the extra catchings and bring them to the king's guard. She would then tell them that it was a gift from the Earl of Cattenborough. This intrigued the King and eventually, he wanted to meet the Earl himself. The cat then made a plan to get clothes from the king because the boy was poor. He told the king that they'd been robbed, so the king sent him some clothes. They came to the palace and only the cat spoke and the King thought this meant that he was extremely rich. He then wanted to visit the boy's palace. On the way there, the cat tells some peasants to say they are the Earl's workers. The cat also goes and eats a goblin in a castle to make room for the earl. The King is super impressed and gets him married to his daughter.
Setting: Some kingdom. I don't think the physical setting matters as much as the temporal setting. Like saying that this happens in medieval times is more important. A story like this probably isn't working in a steampunk setting.
Things I would change: I would like to see how the cat would react if the boy had messed up his role somehow. Maybe the princess was a little too pretty and he blurted something out or maybe he messed something up in the palace.
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