In the reign of the famous King Edward III there was a little boy named Dick Whittington, whose father and mother died when he was very young, so that he remembered nothing at all about them, and was left a ragged little fellow, running about a country village. As poor Dick was not old enough to work, he was in bad shape; but he begged for scraps from the people who lived in the village and they usually came up with potato peelings or a hard crust of bread for him.
For all this, Dick Whittington was a very sharp boy, and was always listening to what everybody said. On Sunday he was sure to hear the folks as they stood around in the church yard and talked. On market day, you could see little Dick leaning against the signpost of the village ale-house, where people stopped to eat and drink as they came from the next town to market. And when the barber’s shop door was open, Dick listened to all the news that his customers told one another.
In this manner Dick heard a great many very strange things about the great city of London. The foolish country people at that time thought folks in London were all fine gentlemen and ladies, that there was singing and music all day long, and the streets were all paved with gold!
One day a large wagon and eight horses drove through the village while Dick was standing by the signpost. He thought this wagon must be going to the fine town of London, so he gathered his courage and asked the driver to let him walk along with the wagon. When the driver heard that Dick was a poor orphan, he agreed to let him ride on the seat next to him all the way to London.
I do not know how little Dick managed to get food and water along the way, or where he slept at night when the wagon stopped at an inn. Perhaps some kind-hearted people in the towns he passed through gave him something to eat and drink, and maybe the driver let Dick sleep on one of the soft, cushiony seats inside the wagon at night.
Dick got safely to London, however, and was in such a hurry to find the streets of gold that he forgot to say good-bye to the kindly driver. Instead he ran off as fast as his legs would carry him, darting down streets in search of riches. Poor boy! He ran until he was too tired to move. He was so disappointed to see only dirt in the streets where he had thought he would surely find gold, that he cried himself to sleep in a dark corner.
In the morning he tried to beg for money to buy food, but no one paid him any mind and soon he became quite weak from hunger. At last a good-natured gentleman saw how hungry he looked. “Why don’t you go to work, my lad?” said he to Dick.
“That I would, but I do not know how,” answered the boy.
“If you are willing to work, come along with me,” said the gentleman, and took him to a hay-field, where Dick worked and lived happily and had plenty to eat until the hay was made.
After this he was as poor as before, and after wandering around the city, he collapsed on the doorstep of Mr. Fitzwarren, a rich merchant. He was noticed by the cook, who was an ill-tempered creature who told him to move along or she would pour hot dishwater on him.
Just then, Mr. Fitzwarren came home. Seeing the dirty, ragged boy on the doorstep, he said to him, “Why do you lie there, my boy? You seem old enough to work; you must be a lazy boy.”
“No, indeed, sir,” said Dick to him, “that is not true. I would work if I could, but I do not know anybody to ask for a job and I am hungry and weak now and can’t get up.”
Being a good man, Mr. Fitzwarren ordered him to be taken into the house, given a good dinner, and kept around to do what dirty work he could for the cook. This would have been a nice arrangement except for the ill-natured cook, who found fault and scolded Dick from morning to night. She would often beat him with a broom for no good reason. At last, word of her abuse of Dick reached Miss Alice, Mr. Fitzwarren’s daughter, who told the cook she must watch her mouth and her behavior toward the boy or she could find another job.
It worked for a while. Now that the cook was treating Dick a little more kindly, he had another problem to solve. His bed was in an attic that had so many mice and rats that every night he was tormented by the rodents and had trouble sleeping. One day a gentleman paid him for shining his boots and so Dick went in search of a cat he could buy with his penny. When he saw a girl with a cat, he asked if she would sell it to him for a penny and she agreed. As she handed over the cat, she told Dick the cat was an excellent mouser.
Dick hid the cat in his attic and brought her scraps from his own dinner. In a short time he had no more trouble with the rats and mice, and slept quite soundly at night.
One day Mr. Fitzwarren announced that he was putting together a ship that would sail to foreign shores to trade goods. He thought all his servants should have some chance for good fortune as well as himself, so he called them all together and asked them what they would send on the ship to trade.
They all had something they were willing to venture except poor Dick, who had neither money nor goods and therefore could send nothing.
When Miss Alice offered to put in something for him, her father rejected the kind gesture, saying that it must be something of his very own. At this, Dick remembered his cat and reluctantly offered her for the voyage.
“Fetch your cat then, my good boy,” said Mr. Fitzwarren, “and bid her farewell.”
Dick went upstairs and brought down his little cat, and with tears in his eyes, gave her to the captain. He would miss her terribly, and he knew the mice and rats would bother him again now that she was gone. Seeing how sad he was, Miss Alice gave him a penny to buy another cat.
This and many other acts of kindness by Miss Alice made the ill-tempered cook jealous of poor Dick and she began to be mean to him again, worse than before. At last he could take no more. He packed his few things and started off early one morning. He walked as far as Holloway and sat down on a stone, which to this day is called Whittington’s Stone, and began to think to himself which road he should take from there.
While he was thinking about what he should do, the Bells of Bow Church began to ring, and he fancied their sound said to him,
“Turn back, Whittington, Lord Mayor of London.”
“Lord Mayor of London!” said he to himself. “Why, to be sure I would put up with almost anything now to be Lord Mayor of London one day and ride in a fine coach! Well, I will go back and think nothing of the cook’s ill treatment if I am to be Lord Mayor of London at last.”
Dick went back to Mr. Fitzwarren’s home and arrived before anyone noticed he had gone. He set to work with new excitement, dreaming of the day he would be Lord Mayor.
The ship with the cat on board had been a long time at sea and was at last driven by the winds to the Barbary Coast, where the Moorish people lived. The English had never seen Moors before and neither had the Moors seen the English. The Moors came in great numbers to see the sailor who came from so far away, and treated them well. As the two groups became better acquainted, the Moors were eager to buy the fine things from the ship.
The captain took some samples of his finest goods to the King of Barbary. The king and queen were delighted to receive such unusual visitors and goods, and they called for a feast to be prepared. The platters of fine foods were brought in and placed in the center of the room. It was not long before a large number of rats and mice rushed in, helping themselves from almost every dish. The captain was amazed and asked the king if this happened all the time.
“Oh yes,” said the king, “they are very troublesome and destructive, indeed. I would give half of my treasure to be freed of them, for they not only destroy my dinner, but also attack me in bed. I am so afraid of them, I have a guard watch me all night while I sleep, so that no rodents attack me.”
Remembering Dick Whittington’s cat, the captain said he had a creature on board ship that would rid the palace of these vermin in no time. The king’s heart leapt so high at the happiness this news gave him that his turban dropped off his head. “Bring this creature to me,” commanded the king, “and I will load your ship with gold and jewels in exchange for her.”
The captain’s mate hurried to fetch the cat while another feast was being prepared in the palace kitchen. When he returned with the cat, she took one look at the table full of rats and sprang into action. In a few minutes she had downed most of the rodents. Those remaining alive scampered off to their holes in fear.
The king and queen were delighted by this little creature who had done them such a great service and asked for her to be brought up to them. The queen was concerned about touching a creature who had just killed so many mice and rats, but when the captain stroked the cat’s head and said, “Nice pussy,” the queen reached out and patted her head, saying, “Nite putty,” for English was new to her. The captain put the cat down in the queen’s lap, where she curled up and purred herself to sleep.
The king traded with the captain for the entire ship’s cargo. He kept his word and loaded the ship with riches in exchange for the cat, whose kittens would soon provide the whole country with cats, and rid the place of rats. The ship set sail for England on the next morning’s tide, and catching a good tailwind, they quickly arrived back in London.
The captain made haste to Mr. Fitzwarren’s shipping office to bring him the good news of the prosperous voyage. Mr. Fitzwarren was delighted, and when he heard what had happened, he called his servants to the office and said, “Go fetch Mr. Whittington.”
At that moment, Dick was scouring pots for the cook. When they brought him to the office and offered him a chair, he thought they were going to make fun of him, and begged them not to play tricks.
“Indeed, Mr. Whittington,” said Mr. Fitzwarren, “we are quite serious and have good news for you from the ship’s captain. He traded your cat to the King of Barbary and in return, brought you more riches than I possess in the whole world. I hope you may live long and enjoy them to the fullest!”
When Dick saw the great treasure that now belonged to him, he hardly knew how to contain his joy. He begged his master to take what he pleased, since he owed his good fortune to his kindness. But Mr. Fitzwarren refused, saying it was all his and he was sure Dick would use it well.
Dick next asked Mrs. Fitzwarren and then Miss Alice to accept a part of his good fortune, but they would not, telling him they felt great joy at his success. The good fellow was too kind-hearted to keep it all to himself, so he made a present to the captain, the mate, and the rest of Mr. Fitzwarren’s servants; and even to the ill-natured old cook.
After this, Mr. Fitzwarren advised him to send for a tailor to make him a suit appropriate for a gentleman. He told Dick he was welcome to continue living in his house until Dick could buy one of his own.
When Dick was bathed, his hair curled, and proper clothes put on, he was as handsome as any young man in London. Miss Alice was smitten, and the two soon became sweethearts. It wasn’t long before a wedding was announced.
History tells us that Mr. Whittington and his lady lived in great splendor and were very happy. They had several children. He became the Sheriff of London, and also Lord Mayor. It is known that he also received the honor of knighthood by King Henry V.
The carved stone figure of Sir Richard Whittington with his cat in his arms was to be seen until the year 1780 over the archway of the old prison of Newgate that stood across Newgate Street in London.
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