An English Folktale

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Retold by The Legendary Connection

TLC#00182

Also known as Dick Whittington and His Cat

A long, long time ago, during the reign of King Edward III, there lived a poor little boy named Dick Whittington. Dick’s parents had passed away when he was very young, and since he was too little to work, he often went without food. The people in the village where he lived were poor too, so they could only give him small scraps, like bits of potato or hard bread.

Dick often heard stories about a great city called London. People said that in London, everyone was a fine gentleman or lady, and there was music all day long. They also said the streets were paved with gold! This made Dick very curious and hopeful that life in London might be better.

One day, a large wagon passed through the village, pulled by eight strong horses with jingling bells. Dick bravely asked the kind wagon driver if he could walk beside him to London. The driver saw how poor Dick was and agreed to take him along.

When Dick arrived in London, he eagerly ran through the streets, hoping to find the golden pavements. But to his surprise, there was no gold, just dirt. Poor Dick was tired, hungry, and alone. He sat down on a street corner and cried himself to sleep.

The next morning, Dick woke up even hungrier. He tried asking people for food, but no one paid attention to him. After walking around all day with an empty stomach, a kind man noticed how weak and tired Dick looked. The man asked, "Why don’t you find some work, young lad?" Dick replied, "I would work, sir, but I don’t know where to start."

The kind man took Dick to a field where he helped with the hay. For a while, Dick was happy to have food and work, but soon the job ended, and Dick found himself hungry again. He wandered the streets until he collapsed near the door of a rich merchant named Mr. Fitzwarren.

Mr. Fitzwarren’s cook, who was a very mean woman, saw Dick and shouted at him, “Get away, you lazy boy or I’ll throw hot dishwater on you!” Just as she was about to splash him, Mr. Fitzwarren came home. He asked Dick why he was lying outside.

Dick explained, “Sir, I would gladly work, but I am weak from hunger.”

Feeling sorry for the boy, Mr. Fitzwarren took him inside, gave him food, offered him work in the kitchen, and gave him a room in the attic. Although the mean cook often scolded Dick and made his life difficult, Dick worked hard. 

Dick’s only complaint was that his tiny attic room was full of rats and mice.  The rats and mice made it hard for him to get any sleep.  So when he received his first payment for his work, he used the little money to buy a cat to chase them away. Soon, the cat became Dick’s faithful companion and it kept the attic free from pests.

One day, Mr. Fitzwarren’s ship was set to sail to faraway lands, and it was a custom for all the servants to send something on the ship to try their luck at making a profit. Everyone had something to send except for Dick. He had no money or possessions. But when Mr. Fitzwarren’s daughter, the kind Miss Alice, noticed, she suggested to Dick to send his cat.

Though sad to part with his only friend, Dick agreed and sent the cat aboard the ship. While the ship was away, the cook treated Dick worse than before, so one day, he decided to run away. As he sat on a stone outside of town, thinking about what to do, he heard the church bells ring. It was as if they were saying, “Turn back, Whittington, Lord Mayor of London!”

Surprised by the thought that he might one day be important, Dick decided to return to Mr. Fitzwarren’s house and continue working.

Meanwhile, the ship had reached a far-off land where a king and queen lived in a beautiful palace—but their palace was overrun with rats and mice! The captain of the ship told them about Dick’s cat and how it could solve their problem. The king and queen were eager to try, and when Dick’s cat was brought to the palace, she chased away all the rats and mice. The king was so happy that he bought the cat for a huge sum of gold and jewels.

When the ship returned to London, Mr. Fitzwarren called Dick to tell him the good news. “Your cat has made you a very rich young man!” he said. At first, Dick didn’t believe it, but when he saw the treasure, he was overjoyed.

Now that Dick was wealthy, he could have kept all the riches for himself. But instead, he remembered the kindness of others. He shared his fortune with the captain, the sailors, and even the mean cook, showing his generous heart.

With his newfound wealth, Dick grew into a generous and fine young man. He married Miss Alice, and together they helped many people in need. Dick became a successful merchant and eventually was chosen to be the Lord Mayor of London—three times!

Source: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7439/pg7439-images.html#link2H_4_0033