Modern English High School

STD VIIIth English. (Rafat Miss)

1.2 Dick Whittington and his Cat (Summary)

Dick Whittington and His Cat is the Empish folklore surrounding the real-life Richard
Whittington (C 1354 1423), wealthy merchant and later Lord Mayor of London. The
legend describes his rise from poverty Stricken childhood with the fortune he made
through the sale of his cat to a rat-infested country. However. the real Whittington did
not come from a poor family of common stock, and there is no compelling evidence
Supporting the stories about the cat, or even whether he owned one, There is also
conjecture that certain aspects of the story, in fact, relate to a different occupant of the
office of Lord Mayor, Sir William Craven who was Lord Mayor in 1610, around the
same date as the first written records of the story, and whose life had much more in
common with that reflected in the story.
Another element in the legend is that Dick attempted to fire his service as a scion one
night, heading towards home for reached Highgate Hill in later tradition, but was
dissuaded by the sound of Bow bells, which promised he would be mayor of London
one day.Since the pre-Victorian era, the story has been a favourite subject of English
pantomime, especially during Christmas season.
In the reign of the famous King Edward II, there was a little boy called Dick Whittington,
whose father and mother died when he was very young, As poor Dick not old enough
to work, he was very badly off; he got but little for his dinner, and sometimes nothing at
all for his breakfast: for the people who lived in the village were very poot indeed, and
could not spare him much more than the parings of potatoes, and now and then a hard
crust of bread
Now Dick had heard a great many very strange things about the great city called
London for the country google at that time thought that falls in London were all fine
gentlemen and ladies; and that there was singing and music there all day long and that
the streets were all paved with gold
One day a large waggon and eight horses, all with bels at their heads, drove through
the village while Dick was standing by the signpost. He thought that this waggon must
be going to the fine town of London: so he took courage, and asked the waggoner to
let him walk with im by the side of the waggon. As soon as the wagon heard that poor
Dick had no father or mother, and saw by his ragged clothes that he could not be
worse off tron he was, he told him he might go The would so off they set together