So this week is a little different. Today’s page in my fairy tale book is not really a fairy tale. It’s the story of Dick Whittington and his cat. Now I don’t know about the cat, but Dick was a real person. Sir Richard Whittington lived from 1354 to 1423 and served as the Lord Mayor of London three times. He was knighted by Henry V. History says he was the second son of a merchant.
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Here’s what the legend says:
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In the reign of Edward III, Dick Whittington was orphaned. He was from a small town and had heard tales of the streets of London being paved with gold. Knowing that if he could just get a pebble of the golden street he would never want for anything again, he made his way to London where he found only dirt. Starving, he begged for half-pennies and took work in the fields when he could. Barely staying alive, he happily took a job scrubbing pots in the house of a rich merchant, Mr. Fitzwarren.

Old grunge stone board with golden City of London text

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In the garret where he slept, there were many rats that kept him from his sleep. He’d earned a penny scrubbing shoes and used it to buy a cat. The cat was an excellent mouser and though the cook mistreated poor Dick, he was happy.
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One day Mr. Fitzwarren offered to let his servants have a part of a shipment to Africa. Each of the servants put in what they had. Having nothing to contribute, Dick sadly gave over his cat to the captain of the ship. When the captain reached the Barbary Coast he met with the king about buying the goods on the ship. However, seeing that the castle was overrun with rats and thinking of poor Dick, he offered to sell the King and Queen the cat.
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The king bought all that was on the ship and gave a chest of gold and jewels for the cat.
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Dick became quite rich and married the merchants daughter. The figure of Sir Richard Whittington holding his cat stood over the archway of the old Newgate Prison until 1780. And it was Whittington who built the famous prison too.

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Once again it comes down to having a cat. Just get a cat and all with be well? LOL   What’s your favorite Legend?