Puss in Boots is one of the most famous fairy tales in the world. In this simple English retelling, you meet a clever cat who uses tricks and a pair of tall boots to help his poor owner. Soon, the cat tricks a king, fools an ogre, and wins a princess for his master.
This free interactive graded reader is perfect for English learners at the A2 Elementary level. As you read, you can click on difficult words for instant help. There is also a full story audio recording so you can listen and improve your pronunciation. At the end, you will find lesson notes to help you understand the story better and learn new vocabulary.
John was a young man. His father died and left him only a cat. John sat down and . But the cat said, "Master, don't be sad. Give me a pair of boots and a bag. I will help you." John was , but he gave the cat what he asked for.
First, the cat put on the boots. He took the bag and went to the . He a big rabbit. Then he went to the king's palace.
"Your Majesty," said the cat, "this is a from my master, the ." The king smiled. "Thank you," he said. "The Marquis of Carabas is very ."
Next, the cat brought more animals to the king. One day, the king said, "I would like to the Marquis of Carabas." The cat to John. "Jump into the river!" he said. John did it. The cat his old clothes. When the king came, the cat cried, "Help! The Marquis of Carabas is in the water!" The king gave John fine clothes to wear.
The king's daughter, the princess, saw John in the clothes. She thought he was a real marquis. They rode together in the . The cat ran ahead. He told the people in the fields, "Say these lands to the Marquis of Carabas!" They were afraid and said yes.
Finally, the cat came to a big castle. A ogre lived there. The cat went inside. "I heard you can a big lion," he said. "Yes!" shouted the ogre, and he became a huge lion. The cat was but then said, "But can you become a tiny mouse?" The silly ogre changed into a mouse. Quick as a flash, the cat ate him!
The castle was now the cat's. When the king arrived, he saw the castle. "The Marquis of Carabas is very ," he thought. The princess fell in love with John. Soon they got . John and the princess lived happily in the castle. And the clever cat? He wore his boots every day and became a great lord.
John was poor. His father died and left him only a cat. John cried. The cat said, 'Don't be sad. Give me boots and a bag, and I'll help you.' John gave them.
The cat put on boots, took a bag, caught a rabbit, and went to the king's palace.
The cat gave the rabbit to the king, saying it was from his master, the Marquis of Carabas. The king thanked him.
The cat brought more animals to the king. The king wanted to meet the marquis. The cat told John to jump into the river, hid his clothes, and cried for help. The king gave John fine clothes.
The princess saw John in fine clothes and believed he was a real marquis. They rode together. The cat told field workers to say the lands were the Marquis's, and they did.
The cat went to a castle with an ogre. He tricked the ogre into becoming a mouse and ate him.
The castle was now the cat's. The king thought the marquis was rich, the princess fell in love, and they married happily. The cat wore his boots and became a great lord.
The story is full of useful nouns and phrases. Let's look at a few key words you saw: boots, bag, forest, rabbit, palace, gift, marquis, carriage, castle, ogre, and lord.
Try to picture each one as you read. A marquis is a nobleman, an ogre is a scary monster, and a lord is a powerful man. Notice how these words build a fairy-tale world.
- boots - shoes that cover your feet and part of your legs
- gift - something you give as a present
- castle - a large, strong building where kings or lords live
- ogre - a big, ugly, and cruel creature from stories
The story uses the past simple tense because everything happened before now. Many of the verbs are irregular, so you need to learn their forms by heart.
For example: John sat and cried - not 'sitted' or 'crieded'. The cat gave a gift - not 'gived'. When the cat ate the ogre, it was a completed action in the past.
- Present → Past: say → said, give → gave, put → put, go → went
- Present → Past: catch → caught, become → became, think → thought
- Regular verbs just add -ed: smile → smiled, arrive → arrived
Adjectives make the story colourful. The cat is clever, the ogre is mean and silly, and John's clothes are old, then fine and beautiful.
Look at how the story uses phrases like 'quick as a flash' instead of just 'quickly'. This kind of description helps you imagine the action better.
- poor young man, big rabbit, fine boots, beautiful clothes
- mean ogre, huge lion, tiny mouse
- Quick as a flash = very, very fast
You can retell the story in your own words. Try changing some details - what if the cat asked for a hat instead of boots? Use the past tense and add your own descriptions.
Notice how the cat tricks everyone. Could you write a short dialogue between the cat and the ogre? Have fun playing with the language!
- Write three sentences about what the ogre did.
- Describe the princess using three adjectives from the story.
- Tell a friend the story without looking at the text.
Puss in Boots comes from the French / Perrault tradition and is best known as a fairy tale. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on Perrault/traditional; public domain, so the wording here is simplified for modern learners rather than copied from one old edition.
Older printings, translations, and retellings of this story can vary quite a bit. The original audience was usually kids/general, but this version is adapted for A2 Elementary learners studying English. Good clever-cat story; avoid DreamWorks version.
If you want to look into the source tradition, start with Project Gutenberg.
If you want to keep going, browse more in our English section and review the A2 English Vocabulary List. After that, try 1,200 English Phrases and Expressions for another useful next step.
