Household Tales · Chapter
The Poor Miller's Boy and the Cat explained
A miller promises his mill to whichever of his three apprentices brings him the best horse.
What happens
A miller promises his mill to whichever of his three apprentices brings him the best horse. The two clever apprentices abandon the third, simple Hans, in a cave. Hans meets a tabby-cat who offers him a horse if he serves her faithfully for seven years. He works for her in an enchanted castle, using silver and gold tools, and after seven years she shows him twelve magnificent horses. She sends him home in his old rags, promising to follow in three days. His fellow apprentices mock him, but the cat, revealed as a princess, arrives with a coach and horses, dresses Hans splendidly, and marries him, making him rich.
Themes in this chapter
Virtue Rewarded and Vice Punished
Hans's faithful service is rewarded with wealth and marriage, while the deceitful apprentices end up with inferior horses and lose the mill.
Transformation and Redemption
Hans transforms from a ragged drudge to a handsome rich man, and the cat transforms from a tabby-cat into a princess.
Promises and Their Consequences
The miller's promise to give the mill to the best horse-bringer sets the plot in motion, and the cat's promise to Hans is fulfilled after seven years of service.
Characters to notice
- Hans
The simple miller's boy who is abandoned by his fellow apprentices but faithfully serves the cat for seven years.
- the tabby-cat / princess
A magical cat who is actually a princess; she tests Hans's faithfulness and rewards him with a horse and marriage.
- the miller
The old miller who promises his mill to the apprentice who brings the best horse.
- the two other apprentices
The clever but deceitful apprentices who abandon Hans and return with a blind horse and a lame horse.
Key passages
“The third of the boys was, however, the drudge, who was looked on as foolish by the others; they begrudged the mill to him, and afterwards he would not have it.”
The third apprentice, considered simple-minded, was treated as a servant by the other two, who resented the idea of him inheriting the mill.
Establishes Hans's low status and the jealousy of his peers.
“Nevertheless the seven years had gone by with him as if they were six months.”
The seven years of service passed quickly for Hans, suggesting his contentment or the magical nature of the cat's realm.
Highlights the subjective passage of time in the enchanted setting.
“After this, let no one ever say that anyone who is silly can never become a person of importance.”
The story concludes with a moral that even a simple person can achieve greatness.
Explicit moral of the tale, reinforcing the theme of virtue rewarded.