When I was very young I read about Dick Whittington and his
cat. Dick was an orphan who traveled to London in search of fortune. Cold and
hungry, he only found work as a kitchen drudge. He was about to leave when he
heard church bells call his name and promise he’d be mayor someday. There are several versions of the tale, but
the one I read was a cross between Puss in Boots and The Pied Piper. Dick had a
cat who was a very clever mouser. Somehow it singlehandedly relieved London of
its awful rat problem, making Dick a very rich man – and mayor of London. Richard
Whittington really was London’s mayor in the 14th century. But he
evidently had no rags-to-riches story, nor even a cat. There IS a tabby living
at 10 Downing Street, though. Larry was brought to live in the Prime Minister’s
home in 2011, to rid the place of rats.
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