Puss in Boots for Early Readers

This playful version of Puss in Boots was created specifically for a classroom of early readers. The leading narration and simple lines help young performers gain confidence while having fun acting out a story. Puss in Boots is a classic tale from Italy about a trickster cat who uses deceit to gain power and wealth for his master. This script can be modified to fit the needs of your group.

About the playwright:

Corinna Rezzelle is thrilled to be a playwright on Drama Notebook! Corinna has been an active actor, director, and stage manager since childhood and a theatre teacher for almost eight years. Holding an M.A. in Educational Theatre and a teaching credential, Corinna’s goal is to create engaging theatrical scripts that all students will enjoy performing. You can purchase her other fantastic scripts, Pecos Bill and the Rip-Roaring Tornado and Peter’s Big Adventure, in Drama Notebook’s Script Library!

Excerpt from the play:

CHARACTERS
Adult Narrator
Father
Son 1
Son 2
Boy 1
Boy 2 (can be combined with Boy 1)
King 1
King 2 (can be combined with King 1)
Princesses (add as many as needed)
Rabbit 1
Rabbit 2 (add as many as needed)
Soldiers (add as many as needed)
Ogre
Cat 1
Cat 2 (can be combined with Cat 1)
Cat 3 (can be combined with Cat 1)

SCENE 1

Teacher Narrator:
Bonjourno! Good day, it’s story time and today our story is from Italy! It’s called, “Gatto con gli stivale” or…PUSS IN BOOTS!
(Father, Son 1, Son 2, and Boy 1 get into place)

Narrator:
Once upon a time, there was a miller who had three sons. The miller was very old, and he was ready to retire. So, he gave his first son a donkey, the second son the mill, and to the third son, Jack, he gave…a cat. And then the miller said—

Father:
Ciao! (exits)

Narrator:
And the sons said-

Son 1 and Son 2:
Grazie!
(Son 1 and Son 2 exit, leaving Boy 1 and Cat 1 alone on stage.)

Narrator:
The youngest son who received the cat was very sad because all he got was just a simple cat! He thought that he would never be able to make any money and would live a poor life. But one day, the cat said—

Cat:
I’ll catch some rabbits!

Narrator:
And the boy said-

Boy 1:
You can talk??

Narrator:
The cat told him that if he would get him a pair of boots he would make sure that the boy would never grow hungry again. Jack spent all the money that he had on a pair of boots for the cat. The cat put on the boots and took a bag from Jack’s house and went out into the woods to catch some rabbits. He knew that the king loved to keep rabbits for pets. So, once he caught them, he brought them to the king.