Next Step Language Consulting 2

11/10/2025

Happy Monday!
Mr Pokee The Hedgehog
Thanks for Posting Helga Pearson

Everything is Connected, Everything is Divine.
Group: www.facebook.com/groups/pantheism
Website: www.pantheism.com

12/22/2024

How to help your child self-regulate their emotions and behaviors through puppet play. Puppet play gives children the opportunity to express what they are feeling, what is happening with their peers, their fears about school, where they are struggling in school and much more.

12/21/2024

Just hearing two languages helps babies develop cognitive skills before they even speak. Here's how - and how you can help them develop those skills.

12/21/2024

05/18/2024

Hi Parents,

I have a problem I could use some help with.

My name is Yolanda. I am passionate about animals, storytelling, children’s literature and illustration, language learning and teaching. I continue to learn and teach French, German, Spanish, and English at Next Step Language Consulting.

When I teach, I strive to share the wonder, joy, and fun of learning a language and discovering the culture (with an emphasis on art, music and dance) of the people who speak it. We humans have a wide spectrum of experiences, and I celebrate both our differences and our similarities.

My interest in languages and cultures began in Chicago, where I grew up surrounded by diverse cultures that captivated my attention. I had the opportunity to hear Spanish spoken around me and visit Mr. And Mrs. Tanaka’s home.

My parents nurtured my curiosity with music and stories from around the world, including "Peter and the Wolf" with music by Sergei Prokofiev and fairy tales from Russia, Persia, and China. My childhood was greatly enriched by these influences.

My relatives founded the first museum of African-American history, often hosting young people from Africa. My uncle, part Cherokee, grew up in Russia and performed as an acrobat in the Moscow circus. He influenced my first language learning attempts at learning Russian. School offered me the opportunity to learn French soon after. That’s all it took; it required no effort on my part to figure out what direction I would take in college.

How could anyone with such vibrant experiences keep them only for themselves? Naturally, they inspire me to share them with others. This has fueled my desire to offer free readings of stories from around the world, each enriched with cultural and linguistic insights.

There is only one problem: I want to read these stories live, with the opportunity to chat afterwards, and I don’t know how to do this. ZOOM will probably need to be used. If you can give me some ideas, I would truly appreciate it.

02/11/2024

El tlacuache fue de gran importancia para los pueblos antiguos ya que aparte de traer el fuego llego a un acuerdo con los habitantes de aquel momento los cua...

02/11/2024

Legends of America
Legends of America
Traveling through American history, destinations & legends since 2003.
Search for:
Facebook Twitter Email Pinterest
Primary MenuSkip to content
Home
What’s New
About Us/More
Contact
Privacy Policy
Newsletter
Social Media
Travel Blog
Resources & Credits
U.S. History
20th Century History
Discovery and Exploration
Exploration of America
Fur Trade
Overland Trails
Spanish Exploration
Westward Expansion
More …
Early America
Historic People
African Americans
Cowboys & Trail Blazers
Explorers
Gunfighters
Heroes and Patriots
Lawmen
Native Americans
Outlaws
Presidents of the United States
Soldiers
Women
More…
Native Americans
Heroes and Leaders
Indian Wars
Myths & Legends
Notable Native Americans
Tribes
More …
Old West
Feuds & Range Wars
Fur Trade
Lost Treasure
Mining
Overland Trails
People
Vices
Westward Expansion
More …
Transportation
American Automobile History
Byways & Historic Trails – Great Drives in America
The Railroad Crosses America
Stagecoaches of the American West
Tales & Trails of the American Frontier
True Crime in America
Bank Robbers & Thieves
Famous Unsolved Crimes
Gangsters, Mobsters & Outlaws of the 20th Century
Missing & Kidnapped in America
Murders and Mysterious Deaths
Outlaw Gangs
Outlaws Across America
Pirates of America
Scoundrels in American History
Serial Killers of America
Terrorism in the United States
Train Robberies of America
The Vice-Laden Wild West
War & Military
American Revolution
Civil War
Forts & Presidios
Heroes and Patriots
Indian Wars
Soldiers and Officers in American History
More …
More…
Destinations
Byways & Trails
Forts
Ghost Towns
Missions & Presidios
National Parks
Route 66
Roadside Attractions
RV Related
States
Vanished America
Travel Blog
More…
Geography
Regions of the United States
United States Maps
Learning Opportunities
Legends, Ghosts, & Mysteries
American Mysteries
Folklore & Superstition
Ghost Stories
Monsters & Strange Creatures
Native American Legends
Treasure Tales
Witchcraft in America
More …
Legends’ General Store
Americana
Native American
Old West
Route 66
Books, Magazines & More
CD’s & DVD’s
Digital Downloads
Postcards
Posters & Wall Art
T-Shirts
Legends’ Photo Shop
Ghost Towns
Native American
Old West
Route 66
States & Places
Legends’ Videos
Much More!
The Salt Witch of the Nebraska Plains

By Charles M. Skinner in 1896

A pillar of snowy salt once stood on the Nebraska plain, about 40 miles above the point where the Saline River flows into the Platte River, and white men used to hear of it as the Salt Witch.

An Indian tribe was for a long time quartered at the junction of the rivers, it’s chief a man of blood and muscle in whom his people gloried, but so fierce, withal, that nobody made a companion of him except his wife, who alone could check his tigerish rages.

In truth, he loved her so well that on her death, he became a recluse and shut himself within his lodge, refusing to see anybody. This mood endured with him so long that mutterings were heard in the tribe, and there was talk of choosing another chief. Some of this talk he must have heard, for one morning he emerged in war-dress, and without a word to anyone strode across the plain to the westward.

On returning a full month later, he was more communicative and had something unusual to relate. He also proved his prowess by brandishing a belt of fresh scalps before the eyes of his warriors, and he had also brought a lump of salt.

He told them that after traveling far over the prairie, he had thrown himself on the earth to sleep when he was aroused by a wailing sound close by. Then, in the light of a new moon, he saw a hideous old woman brandishing a tomahawk over the head of a younger one, who was kneeling, begging for mercy, and trying to shake off the grip from her throat. The sight of the women, 40 miles from the village, surprised the chief that he ran toward them. The younger woman made a desperate effort to free herself, but in vain, as it seemed, for the hag wound her left hand in her hair while with the other, she raised the ax and was about to strike.

At that moment, the chief gained a view of the face of the younger woman-it was that of his dead wife. With a snarl of wrath, he leaped upon the hag and buried his own hatchet in her brain, but before he could catch his wife in his arms, the earth had opened, and both women disappeared, but a pillar of salt stood where he had seen this thing. For years the Indians maintained that the column was under the custody of the Salt Witch, and when they went there to gather salt, they would beat the ground with clubs, believing that each blow fell upon her person and kept her from working other evil.

By C

02/11/2024

Legends of America
Legends of America
Traveling through American history, destinations & legends since 2003.
Search for:
Facebook Twitter Email Pinterest
Primary MenuSkip to content
Home
What’s New
About Us/More
Contact
Privacy Policy
Newsletter
Social Media
Travel Blog
Resources & Credits
U.S. History
20th Century History
Discovery and Exploration
Exploration of America
Fur Trade
Overland Trails
Spanish Exploration
Westward Expansion
More …
Early America
Historic People
African Americans
Cowboys & Trail Blazers
Explorers
Gunfighters
Heroes and Patriots
Lawmen
Native Americans
Outlaws
Presidents of the United States
Soldiers
Women
More…
Native Americans
Heroes and Leaders
Indian Wars
Myths & Legends
Notable Native Americans
Tribes
More …
Old West
Feuds & Range Wars
Fur Trade
Lost Treasure
Mining
Overland Trails
People
Vices
Westward Expansion
More …
Transportation
American Automobile History
Byways & Historic Trails – Great Drives in America
The Railroad Crosses America
Stagecoaches of the American West
Tales & Trails of the American Frontier
True Crime in America
Bank Robbers & Thieves
Famous Unsolved Crimes
Gangsters, Mobsters & Outlaws of the 20th Century
Missing & Kidnapped in America
Murders and Mysterious Deaths
Outlaw Gangs
Outlaws Across America
Pirates of America
Scoundrels in American History
Serial Killers of America
Terrorism in the United States
Train Robberies of America
The Vice-Laden Wild West
War & Military
American Revolution
Civil War
Forts & Presidios
Heroes and Patriots
Indian Wars
Soldiers and Officers in American History
More …
More…
Destinations
Byways & Trails
Forts
Ghost Towns
Missions & Presidios
National Parks
Route 66
Roadside Attractions
RV Related
States
Vanished America
Travel Blog
More…
Geography
Regions of the United States
United States Maps
Learning Opportunities
Legends, Ghosts, & Mysteries
American Mysteries
Folklore & Superstition
Ghost Stories
Monsters & Strange Creatures
Native American Legends
Treasure Tales
Witchcraft in America
More …
Legends’ General Store
Americana
Native American
Old West
Route 66
Books, Magazines & More
CD’s & DVD’s
Digital Downloads
Postcards
Posters & Wall Art
T-Shirts
Legends’ Photo Shop
Ghost Towns
Native American
Old West
Route 66
States & Places
Legends’ Videos
Much More!

Legend Of Crazy Woman’s Fork
Tipis on the Little Bighorn River
Tipis on the Little Bighorn River

By Edmund B. Tuttle in 1873

The Absaraka, or Crow Nation, has the reputation of being good friends to the whites, and it is also said they have never warred with them.

Iron Bull, a renowned chief of the Crow, relates the following legend:

In the journey through that most delightful region of Montana from Fort Phil Kearney, Wyoming to Fort C. F. Smith (in the Powder River country), one of the most favored camping grounds is the one called “Crazy Woman’s Fork,” the name of a pretty little stream of water that rises in the Big Horn Mountains, and empties into the Little Horn River. About three miles from the mountains, this stream crosses the trail between the two military posts.

This camp on the Fork is noted for its danger from Indian attacks, as an abundant supply of game being found in the valley brings the Indian there to replenish his larder of wild meat.

Two Whistles, a Crow Medicine Man
Two Whistles, a Crow Medicine Man

Notwithstanding the dangers attending a journey through this region, it has its attractions in the beautiful and diversified views of lovely scenery, which hasten the parties traveling that region to encamp, for a night at least, on the banks of a limpid stream that refreshes man and beast from an unfailing source in the mountains. The banks are skirted with cottonwood trees, and to the west, one sees the tall spurs of the Rocky Mountains rising, as it were, from your feet, their dizzy heights covered with snow. Yet, at the same time, the haze that surrounds them gives them a halo of glory and weird-like appearance that the imaginative might compare to the garments that mantle the spirits of the blessed in Paradise!

Iron Bull said that about two hundred years ago, when the moon shone brighter, and there were more stars, his nation was a great people, and they roamed over all that country from the Missouri River to the west of the Yellowstone River, and no dog of a Sioux dare show himself there. But the people had been wicked, and the Great Spirit had darkened the heavens and made the sun to shine with such heat that the streams were dried up, and the snow disappeared from the highest peaks of the mountains. The buffalo, the elk, the mountain sheep, the deer, and the rabbit all disappeared and died away, bringing a great famine upon his tribe. The spirit of the air breathed death into the lodges so that the warrior saw his wife and papooses die for want of the food he could not find on all the plain or the mountainsides; so that the whole nation grieved and mourned in sorrow of heart.

Still, they kept up their wars with the Sioux and fought many a bloody battle with them when they suffered most, and the game had entirely disappeared. Their great medicine man called a council, and when the head-men had assembled, he told them of a wonderful dream that he had had, when the Great Spirit bid him to gather the chiefs of the tribe at the fork of the stream where they lived.

Upper Missouri River Breaks by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management
Upper Missouri River Breaks by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management

Their ponies had all been eaten for food, so the proud Indians were compelled to make the journey on foot to the place of meeting.

But when they had arrived at the bluffs, on the edge of the valley, they were surprised to see a bountiful supper spread on the bank of the stream, close by the Forks, and a white woman close by, standing up and making signs to them to descend from the bluffs.

Having never before seen a “white woman,” they were greatly astonished. So the medicine man descended to the valley. The white woman told him that the Great Spirit would talk to the council through her. She told him that the wars of the tribe were displeasing to the Great Spirit, and they must make peace with the Sioux nation. When that was done, the great chief, “The-Bear-that-grabs,” must return to her.

They sent out runners to the Sioux, and peace was declared between the tribes for the first time in 100 years.

Apsaroke/Crow Bull ChiefattheFord by Edward S. Curtis, 1905
Apsaroke/Crow Bull Chief at the Ford by Edward S. Curtis, 1905

She then told the great chief to follow the mountain in a westerly course until he came to the Big Horn River, and where the rock was perpendicular, he was to shoot three arrows, hitting the rock each time.

The chief departed on his mission, and as he gained the bluffs from the stream, he looked back at the white woman, but what was his surprise when he saw her rising in the air and floating towards the mountains! He watched her until she disappeared over the highest peak towards the sky.

The chief pursued his journey, and, arriving at the place told him by the white woman, he discharged his arrows. The first one struck in rock. The second flew over the mountain. The third was discharged, and a terrible noise followed: the heavens were aglow with lightning; the thunder shook the mountains.

The earth trembled, and the rocks were rent asunder, and out of the fissure, countless herds of buffalo came, filling the valleys and the hills. The hearts of the Indians were glad, and they ate and were merry and returned thanks to the Great Spirit and the good white woman.

The great fissure in the rocks is the canyon of the Big Horn River.

Native Plants - Native Healing
Native Plants – Native Healing Book

Iron Bull avers that when anything of note is about to befall the tribe, the image of the white woman can be seen hovering over the peak of the mountain at “Crazy Woman’s Fork.” He says the Crow have never killed any of the whites, and his people say and believe “that they are treated by the government agents worse than the tribes who give us all the trouble.”

In other words, because they are peaceable, we need not, as with others, buy them off with presents. And they say we have taken some of their lands and given them to the Sioux, who were fighting and destroying the whites as often as possible.

By Edmund B. Tuttle, 1873. Compiled and edited by Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, updated June 2021.

02/11/2024

Photograph your local culture, help Wikipedia and win!
Hide
Contents hide
(Top)
Traditional tale
Adaptations
Toggle Adaptations subsection
Live-action short
Animated short
TV pantomime
Other cultural references
Folklore
Song
Notes
References
External links
Babes in the Wood

3 languages
Article
Talk
Read
Edit
View history

Tools
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the children's tale. For other uses, see Babes in the Wood (disambiguation).
Colour plates from
Randolph Caldecott's book of the rhyme

The parents: so sick they were apt to die

"Now, brother", said the dying man, "look to my children dear"

With lips as cold as any stone, they kiss the children small

The parents being dead and gone, the children home he takes

Away then went those pretty babes, rejoicing at that tide

And he that was of mildest mood, did slaye the other there

These pretty babes, with hand in hand, went wandering up and down

In one another's arms they died
Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents entering unawares into any potentially dangerous or hostile situation.

Traditional tale
The traditional children's tale is of two children abandoned in a wood, who die and are covered with leaves by robins.

It was first published as an anonymous broadside ballad by Thomas Millington in Norwich in 1595 with the title "The Norfolk gent his will and Testament and howe he Commytted the keepinge of his Children to his own brother whoe delte most wickedly with them and howe God plagued him for it".[1]

The tale has been reworked in many forms; it frequently appears attributed as a Mother Goose rhyme. Around 1840, Richard Barham included a spoof of the story in his Ingoldsby Legends, under the title of The Babes in the Wood; or, the Norfolk Tragedy.[2] Harris cheekily claims in an endnote[2] that the true history of the children is, 'or ought to be,' in "Bloomfield's [sic] History of Norfolk", but that work's Wayland section does not mention it. The anonymous ballad was also illustrated by Randolph Caldecott in a book published in London in 1879.

The story tells of two small children left in the care of an uncle and aunt after their parents' deaths. The uncle gives the children to ruffians to be killed, in order to acquire their inheritance, telling his wife they are being sent to London for their upbringing. The murderers fall out, and the milder of the two kills the other. He tells the children he will return with provisions, but they do not see him again. The children wander alone in the woods until they die; their bodies are covered with leaves by the birds. Like many morality tales, the story continues with a description of the retribution befalling the uncle. In sanitized versions, the children are bodily taken to Heaven. The story ends with a warning to those who have to take care of orphans and others' children not to inflict God's wrath upon themselves. The story is also used as a basis for pantomimes. However, for various reasons including both the brevity of the original and the target pantomime audience of young children, modern pantomimes by this name usually combine this story with parts of the modern Robin Hood story (employing the supporting characters from it, such as Maid Marian, rather than Robin himself) to lengthen it.

Adaptations
Live-action short
Fox Film produced a 36-minute short of the story, The Babes in the Woods, adapted by screenwriter Bernard McConville in 1917. Fox's treatment included a wicked witch and a house of candy, elements borrowed from the Hansel and Gretel folk story. This film provides a happy ending for the children, with Robin Hood and his company rescuing them in the end.

Animated short
The Walt Disney Company re-worked this tale for their 1932 short animated film Babes in the Woods, incorporating some material from Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm, and adding a village of friendly elves (a feature not traditionally present in either tale) and a happy ending.

TV pantomime
On Christmas Eve 1973, Junior Showtime did a Babes on the Wood pantomime episode at Bradford Alhambra.[3][4] It starred Bobby Bennett as Robin Hood, Peter Goodwright as Alan A'Dale, Susan Maughan as Maid Marian, Roy Rolland as Nanny Riley, John Gower as the Sheriff of Nottingham, Eddie Large as Private Large, Syd Little as Private Little, Colin Prince as Little John, Norman Collier as Will Scarlett, Bonnie Langford as Babe Tilly, and Mark Curry as Babe Willy.[3][4]

Other cultural references
The 1915 Broadway musical Very Good Eddie featured a song entitled "Babes in the Wood" by composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Schuyler Greene. Main character Eddie Kettle comforts former love Elsie Darling in a duet in which each refers to the traditional tale.

Eddie: Then put on your little hood, And we'll both be, Oh, so good! Like the babes in the wood.

Elsie: When the babes were lost in the gloomy wood, It's no wonder they were so very good. Fourteen angels were watching them, So all the story books state, Sandman's coming now, it is getting late.

A recording of this song was included in the 1993 CD Jerome Kern Treasury, sung by Hugh Panaro (Eddie) and Rebecca Luker (Elsie) conducted by John McGlinn (Angel CDC 7 54883 2).

Several murders of children in English-speaking countries have been nicknamed the "Babes in the Wood murders":

Babes in the Wood murders (Pine Grove Furnace), 1934; between Maryland and Pennsylvania, USA
Babes in the Wood murders (Stanley Park), c. 1947; Vancouver, Canada
Babes in the Wood murders (Epping Forest), 1970; Essex, England
Babes in the Wood murders (Brighton), 1986; Sussex, England
Folklore
Folklore has it that the events told in Babes in the Wood originally happened in Wayland Wood in Norfolk, England. It is said that the uncle lived at the nearby Griston Hall. The ghosts of the murdered children are said to haunt Wayland Wood.[5] The village signs at Griston and nearby Watton depict the story. In the folklore version, the uncle resents the task and pays two men to take the children into the woods and kill them. Finding themselves unable to go through with the act, the criminals abandon the children in the wood where, unable to fend for themselves, they eventually die.

Another version, from Lancashire, has it that the tale is based on real events of 1374, when "the villainous Robert de Holland" illegally seized the land of 13 year-old Roger de Langley and his young bride. The children flee to the nearby woods and are cared for by loyal retainers until they are rescued by their legal guardian John of Gaunt.[6]

Song
Traditional English singers Bob and Ron Copper sang "Babes in the Wood" and their version was released on the EFDSS LP "Traditional Songs From Rottingdean". According to Steve Roud, the Coppers' abridged version of the story and the song's tune came from musician and composer William Gardiner (1770-1853).[7]

Notes
Opie, I and Opie, P.: The Oxford Book of Narrative Verse, Oxford University Press, 1983, page 387.
"The Ingoldsby Legends – The Babes in the Wood; or, The Norfolk Tragedy". exclassics.com. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
"Junior Showtime – Babes in the Wood". BFI Collections. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
"Babes in the Wood (1973)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
"Norfolk Folk Tales – Legends said to have originated in Norfolk". Visit Breckland. Breckland District Council. Archived from the original on 4 March 2007.
Langley, Peter (July 2002). "Origin of the name Langley". Retrieved 3 May 2022.
Steve Roud, notes, Come Write Me Down: Early Recordings of the Copper Family of Rottingdean, Topic TSCD534, 2001.
References
"Babes in the Wood". Norfolk Myths. Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2005.
"Babes in the Wood Lyrics". Mama Lisa's World Song Lyrics Around the World. Retrieved 14 March 2005.
"The Babes in the Wood". The Phrase Finder. Archived from the original on 27 March 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2005. This includes the text of the Thomas Millington ballad.
"Babes in the Wood". Nursery Rhymes. Archived from the original on 15 March 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2005. This is the Mother Goose rhyme.
"Babes in the Wood". Tom Wilkins, The Encyclopaedia of Disney Animated Shorts. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2005.
External links
Children's literature portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Babes in the Wood.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Babes in the Wood.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
The Children in the Wood
The Babes in the Wood PDF with Lesson Plans
Caldecott, Randolph. The Babes in the Wood at Project Gutenberg
The Babes in the Wood The Babes in the Wood song lyrics with illustrations
The history of English pantomime
History of the story and its descendent versions
The Abandoned Children of Wailing Wood Animated and narrated version of the legend
Multiple fully online versions of Babes in the Wood from the University of Florida's Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature
Alternative origin for the Babes in the Wood Legend Agecroft Hall, near Prestwich, England)
babesinthewoods.skyrock.com Archived 25 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
https://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/songinformation.aspx?ID=1592
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
MusicBrainz work
Categories: English fairy talesPantomimeTraditional ballads
This page was last edited on 11 January 2024, at 05:59 (UTC).
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policyAbout WikipediaDisclaimersContact WikipediaCode of ConductDevelopersStatisticsCookie statementMobile view

Cat. #1592 (MFH #61) - As sung by Ralph Spencer Family, Coal Hill, Arkansas on November 20, 1976 VERSE 1My dear, don't you knowAlong time agoThere were two little babesWhose names I don't knowThey were strollin' awayOn a fair summer dayThey were left in th woodsI've heard people sayVERSE 2When it wa...

02/11/2024

Photograph your local culture, help Wikipedia and win!
Hide
Contents hide
(Top)
Overview
Synopsis
Toggle Synopsis subsection
Whittington Stone
Publication history
Toggle Publication history subsection
Origins
Parallels
Toggle Parallels subsection
Stage productions
Toggle Stage productions subsection
Relics
Toggle Relics subsection
Sir William Craven
Gallery
Notes
Toggle Notes subsection
References
Further reading
External links
Dick Whittington and His Cat

4 languages
Article
Talk
Read
Edit
View history

Tools
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the picture book by Marcia Brown, see Dick Whittington and His Cat (book).

Dick Whittington buys a cat from a woman. Coloured cut from a children's book published in New York, c. 1850 (Dunigan's edition).
Dick Whittington and His Cat is the English 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.

Another element in the legend is that Dick attempted to flee his service as a scullion one night, heading towards home (or 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 British pantomime, especially during Christmas season.

Overview
Written forms date from the early 1600s, over 150 years after the death of the historical Whittington. A drama play (1604–05) and ballad (1605) are known only by name; Richard Johnson's ballad of 1612 is the earliest surviving piece that refers to Whittington making his fortune with his cat. This early ballad already contains the tradition that Whittington fled his scullion's service and travelled towards home, but was beckoned back by the London bells which predicted his future of becoming mayor.

The earliest known prose rendition is The Famous and Remarkable History of Sir Richard Whittington by "T. H." (Thomas Heywood), published 1656 in chapbook form, which specified that the bells were those of Bow Church (St Mary-le-Bow), and that the boy heard them at Bunhill. Common chapbooks of a later period wrote that the boy reached as far as Holloway on the night he fled. Links to this village have not been corroborated in early folklore or literature, and it is thought to be an 18th-century invention. But based on this tradition, the landmark Whittington Stone at the foot of Highgate Hill is commonly perceived to be the place where Dick Whittington stopped and heard the famous bells.

The story was adapted into puppet play by Martin Powell in the early 18th century. Later, it has been performed as stage pantomimes and children's plays. It has also been retold as a children's story by a number of printers and authors to this day.

A number of foreign and medieval analogues exist that exhibit the motif ("Whittington's cat" motif, N411.2), where the hero obtains wealth by selling a cat, typically in a rodent-infested place direly in need of one. The tale is catalogued Aarne–Thompson (AT) tale type 1651, "Whittington's Cat".

Synopsis
The following summary gives a comparison of three textual sources. B = Johnson's ballad,[1] H = prose by Heywood, signed T. H. (Wheatley ed.);[a][2] C = Late chapbook (18th to 19th-century printing by J. Cheney):[3]

To London
Dick Whittington was a poor orphan boy, languishing in Lancashire (B), or some unnamed place in the country (H, C).[b] He set off to seek his fortune in London (B, H, C), enticed by the rumour that its streets were paved with gold (C). But he soon found himself cold and hungry,[c] and fell asleep at the gate of the home of a wealthy merchant named Fitzwarren (H, C).[d] Fitzwarren gave him lodging and hired him to be the scullion in the kitchen (B, H, C).

Dick and his cat
In the prose versions, an account of Dick Whittington's cat subsequently follows, but in the ballad, it is preceded by Dick's flight and church bells episode.

In the prose legend, Dick is provided quarter at the Fitzwarrens' garret (room in the attic) (H, C), which was infested with rats and mice (H, C). But Dick owned a cat (B, H, C), that the prose versions say he had bought for a penny he earned by shining shoes (H, C).[e] The cat controlled his rodent problem, which made her an indispensable companion.

When Fitzwarren organized a trade expedition sending the merchant ship Unicorn (H), Dick's cat was "ventured" to this mission to be sold for profit abroad (B, H, C). The versions also differ regarding the circumstances: either Dick relinquished the cat of his own volition, hoping its sale in a foreign land might reap a "store of gold" towards the fulfillment of the omen of the bells (B), or, Dick was compelled to do so by Fitzwarren, who maintained a steadfast rule that everyone in his household should have some article of worth riding on the venture, with due dividends forthcoming from the proceeds (H, C).

Flight, and the bells tolling
Dick became disenchanted with the scullion's lot and attempted to flee, either because he received only room and board for his labours but was denied monetary wages (B), or because the kitchen maid (H) or female cook named Mrs. Cicely (C) abused and physically beat him beyond his tolerance. He ran as far away as Bunhill (H) or Holloway (C), where he heard "London Bells" (B), Bow bells (C), or the bells of "Bow Church" (H), that seemed to be telling him,

"Turn again Whittington, Lord Mayor of London" (H).

which persuaded him to retrace his steps. (The wording of the bells' message differ slightly according to the textual source).

Rags to riches
The ship was driven off course to the Barbary Coast, where the Moorish king purchased the entire cargo for a load of gold, and insisted on entertaining the English traders with a feast. But the banquet was swarmed with rats and mice, whereby the English "factor" (business agent) informed their hosts that they were in possession of a creature which could exterminate these vermin (H, C). Thus Dick Whittington's cat was immediately put to the test, chasing and destroying the rodents. The Moors, even more pleased to learn that the cat was pregnant, paid more (H) (or ten times more (C)) for the cat than the rest of the cargo combined.

The ship returned to London and Fitzwarren who was apprised of the success of the venture (at his home on Leadenhall (H)), summoned the besmirched scullion Dick Whittington to the parlour (H) (or compting-room (C)) and sat him in a seat, addressing him in dignified fashion as Master (H) or Mr. Whittington. Dick was upset at first that this was being done in mockery, but Fitzwarren insisted it was all in earnest, explaining that the profits from the ship now made Dick a richer man than himself (C, H). Dick married his former master's daughter Alice Fitzwarren (C, H), and joined his father-in-law in his business (H). In time, Whittington became the Lord Mayor of London three times, just as the bells had predicted. Whittington's acts of charity included the building of a college, a church (B, H, C), and Newgate Prison (B, H, C). He also burnt the bonds he owned, which the Crown had issued to fund the war (B, H).

Whittington Stone
Main article: Whittington Stone
Today, on Highgate Hill in front of Whittington Hospital, there is a statue in honour of Whittington's legendary cat on the site where, according to late versions of the story, the distant Bow Bells beckoned young Dick back to London to claim his fortune.[5] The cat statue was placed atop the Whittington Stone later, in 1964.[6]

The site of the Whittington Stone lies within confines of "Upper Holloway" according to 19th century writers,[7] which corresponds with some chapbooks that say the boy ran away to as far away as "Holloway".[8][f]

It is not clear how far back this marker can be dated. Whittington biographer Lysons felt it stood there as a marker for "many centuries", even if it was actually just the debris of an old cross with only the plinth or base remaining, as some had suggested.[9] Henry B. Wheatley argued that Whittington's association to "Holloway" must have been a later embellishment, as it is lacking in the early T. H. text (in which the boy only goes as far as Bunhill, just north of London). He thus does not think the stone could be dated anywhere near-contemporaneously to Whittington's lifespan, but he does allow that a purported stone was removed in 1795, so that the tradition at least predated the relocation of Whittington College to Highgate.[g]

Wheatley also observed that Holloway was at such a distance that it would have been difficult for a child to have reached there by foot and returned the next morning.[11] and that it was only barely within earshot of the bells of "Bow Church".[12][h]

Publication history
The earliest recorded instance of the folklore in written form is a registry notice dated 1604–1605 for a theatrical play.

The drama The History of Richard Whittington, of his lowe byrth, his great fortune was licensed for the stage 1604–1605. Based on the only remaining evidence, which comes from the record at the Stationers' Registers, there is no proof beyond doubt whether the play accounted for Dick's rise from "lowe birth" by means of a cat, but it is considered likely, since a play from the contemporary period entitled Eastward Hoe (1605) makes an explicit cat association with the line: "When the famous fable of Whittington and his puss shall be forgotten". This line also stands as the earliest surviving literary reference of Whittington and his cat.[14]

Ballad
A lost ballad is also known to have existed from the Stationers' Register of 1605. It records "A ballad, called The vertuous Lyfe and memorable death of Sr Ri: Whittington mercer sometymes Lo. Maior of the honorable Citie of London" licensed on 16 July 1605 to be printed by John Wright.[15] The earliest surviving complete text of the legend in any form is the ballad written by Richard Johnson on the subject. The 17-octave piece, included in Johnson's Crowne Garland of Goulden Roses (1612), begins with the following lines:

Here must I tell the praise
Of worthie Whittington...

This ballad of 1612 already contains the tradition that the hero made an attempt to flee his service as a scullion and headed towards "his country", but was persuaded to abort his flight when the London bells beckoned him back, seeming to tell him "Whittington, back return" and pronouncing the omen that he would eventually become Lord Mayor. The ballad goes on to tell[i] how Whittington had a very humble past working as a kitchen scullion, but that he "had a cat...And by it wealth he gat".[16][1] This ballad was sung to the tune of "Dainty come thou to me".[16][17][18] Chappell prints the musical notation to a tune that accompanied the ballad of Richard Whittington, which he suggests may be the same one as "Dainty".[19]

Of intermediate date is a version entitled "An Old Ballad of Whittington and his Cat", printed and sold in Aldermary Church Yard, London, dated 1750(?)[citation needed]. A copy is owned by the Bodleian Library (bequest of the Francis Douce collection),[20] and in the U.S., by the Huntington Library[21] and Yale University.[22] These copies show the same woodcut illustrations. A later edition dated to 1773 was part of the Roxburghe Collection of Broadside Ballads.[j][23]

Other broadside ballad printings have been made into the 19th century. A version entitled London's Glory and Whittington's Renown; or, A Looking-Glass for Citizens of London, printed for R. Burton at the Horse-Shoe, in West Smithfield, c. 1650, has been reprinted from the Roxburghe collection.[24] Another is a broadside published in London by J. Pitts (between 1802 and 1819).[25][26]

Earliest chapbook version

From title page of The Famous and Remarkable History of Sir Richard Whittington, Three Times Lord-Mayor of London (1770), Thomas and John Fleet, printers.
—Boston Public Library
The story was also set in prose, especially in the form of common chapbooks.

The Famous and Remarkable History of Sir Richard Whittington by "T. H." (first edition, 1656) is the earliest extant chapbook version of the tale in the estimation of its editor Henry B. Wheatley.[k] The author's identity is only given as "T. H.", but the work is ascribable to Thomas Heywood.[29][30] Heywood certainly knew the cat story, for it is spoken of by the cast of characters in his play If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody (1606).[31]

Other chapbooks
A number of other chapbook editions appeared,[l] such as the one datable to 1730.[32] Perhaps the latest chapbook example is The Adventures of Sir Richard Whittingon, printed by J. Cheney, 1788–1808[33] which is quoted in full by Wheatley in his introduction.[3] The later chapbooks contain embellishments[34] such as London being a town with the reputation of being paved with gold,[35] or the boy reaching Holloway, which is several times farther (than Bunhill).[36]

The localization in Holloway or Highgate Hill that appeared in common chapbooks is not found in any early versions,[10] and Wheatley believed it to be an 18th-century invention.[37] Holloway is situated in a historically inconsistent direction since it lies up north, which contradicts the tradition that the boy was fleeing towards home;[m] the real Whittington's place of origin being Gloucester, lying westward.[5]

Modern printings
The artist George Cruikshank published an illustrated version of the story in about 1820.[38] The Australian Joseph Jacobs printed a version that is a composite of three chapbook texts in his English Fairy Tales (1890).[39]

Cynthia Harnett's Ring Out Bow Bells! (1953) is a retelling of the legend,[35] as is a 1958 adaptation titled Dick Whittington and His Cat, written by Oscar Weigle and published by Wonder Books.

Origins

Dick Whittington and His Cat, a statue in the Guildhall, London.—Laurence Tindall (1999).[40]
The story is only loosely based on the life of Richard Whittington. Although Alice Fitzwarren, Dick's love interest in the play, is named after the historical Richard Whittington's wife, the cat story cannot be traced to any early historical source,[41] and there is insufficient evidence that Whittington ever owned a cat.[42][35]

It is unknown how the cat story came to be attached to Whittington. Suggestions were made that the cat may be a corruption of the French achat meaning "purchase" (Henry Thomas Riley),[43] or that it may come from the word "cat", another name for a coal-carrying boat which Whittington may have engaged in his business (Samuel Foote),[n][44][43] but these explanations were downplayed as implausible by later commentators.[45][41]

The Elstracke portrait of Whittington and his cat probably dates to around 1605,[46] and does not predate the times of the earliest literary adaptations. But commentators have strived to demonstrate that various pieces of art and architecture might be allusions to the legend of Dick Whittington and His Cat that predate the early 1600s (See §Relics).

Parallels
Antiquarians have noticed similarities to foreign tales of medieval origin, which tells of a character who makes his fortune selling his cat abroad. The motif was later catalogued "Whittington's cat" (N411.2) in Stith Thompson's motif-index scheme.[47]

Stith Thompson noted in his seminal book The Folktale that the tale harks back to a literary version written in the 12th century, around 1175, which was later attached to the character of Dick Whittington.[48]

Two Italian examples can be noted. One was told by Lorenzo Magalotti (d. 1732), regarding a 16th-century merchant Ansaldo degli Ormanni who made his fortune selling his cat to the king of the isle of Canary (Canaria).[49][50] Another, the Novella delle Gatte ("Tale of the she-cats") told by Piovano Arlotto (d. 1484), was published in the collection of witticisms (Facetiae) attributed to him.[51][52]

A similar tale is "also found in a German chronicle of the thirteenth century",[53] but the tale is localized in Venice, Italy. Albert von Stade in his Chronicon Alberti Abbati Stadensis, writing on the events in 1175,[o] sidetracks into a legendary tale involving two early citizens of Venice. The rich man about to mount on a trade expedition offers to take a consignment of merchandise from the poor man (who could only afford 2 cats), and a great profit is realized to reward the poor friend. Keightley, who identified the tale as a parallel Whittington's, said the legend "was apparently an old one in Italy", although nothing was certain beyond it being known in the 13th century.[54]

A Persian story localized around Keish (Kish Island) tells of a certain widow's son who lived in the 10th century and made his fortune in India with his cat. This tale occurs in the Tarik al-Wasaf (Tārīkḣ-i Waṣṣāf), a 14th-century chronicle. The similarity was noted by James Morier, Second Journey (1818), and William Gore Ouseley, Travels (1819).[55][56][p]

A convenient source of the parallels is Keightley, who devoted Chapter VII of his Tales and Popular Fictions (1834) to the topic, boasting of the largest compilation of these parallels ever.[54] though he was not the first to make note of the parallels in published form.[50]

"Whittington and his Cat" is listed as one of the analogues grouped under Grimms' tale KHM 70 Die drei Glückskinder [de] ("The Three Sons of Fortune") in Bolte and Polívka's Anmerkungen. The list organizes parallel folktales by different language (including Dutch and German printings of "Whittington and his Cat").[57]

Stith Thompson suggests the tale has migrated to Indonesia via oral transmission and seems popular in Finland.[58]

Another parallel could be found in Puss in Boots.

Tale type
In modern folkloristics, tales with the same plot structure are classified under Aarne–Thompson (AT) tale type 1651 "Whittington's Cat".[59] Examples of the tale type need not feature a cat, and the helper can be replaced by the angel St. Michael or St. Joseph.[60]

Stage productions
The story has been adapted into puppet play, opera, dramatic play, and pantomime.

Puppet play
There is an early record of puppet performance of the legend, dating to Samuel Pepys's diary of 21 September 1668, which reads: "To Southwark Fair, very dirty, and there saw the puppet show of Whittington, which was pretty to see".[61]

At Covent Garden, performances of "Whittington and his Cat" were put on by the puppeteer Martin Powell (fl. 1710–1729).[62] Powell was a successful showman, providing such a draw that the parish church of St. Paul would be drained of its congregation during hours of prayer when his plays were on.[63] An advertisement bill of the puppet show has been copied out in Groans of Great Britain, once credited to Daniel Defoe but since reattributed to Charles Gildon (d. 1724), with a description of some of the many extraneously added characters and elements:

At Punch's Theater in the Little Piazza, Covent-Garden, this present Evening will be performed an Entertainment, called, The History of Sir Richard Whittington, shewing his Rise from a Scullion to be Lord-Mayor of London, with the Comical Humours of Old Madge, the jolly Chamber-maid, and the Representation of the Sea, and the Court of Great Britain, concluding with the Court of Aldermen, and Whittington Lord-Mayor, honoured with the Presence of K. Hen. VIII. and his Queen Anna Bullen, with other diverting Decorations proper to the Play, beginning at 6 o' clock.[64]
The puppet play Whittington and his Cat was reviewed by an anonymous correspondent in The Spectator, No. 14, dated 16 March 1711, soon after it opened.[63][q] It featured Punch (of the Punch and Judy shows) as did all of Powell's puppet plays. Punch danced a minuet with a trained pig in the opening scene. Punch also gave his "reflections on the French" that was a breach of "the Moral", as was King Harry (Henry VIII) resting his leg on his queen in an immodest manner. Little else on the performance can be gleaned, except that the hero's role (i.e., Punch's role) was performed in a squeaky high voice, just like the lead of the Italian opera Rinaldo and Armida, the rival draw at the time at Covent Garden which the anonymous reviewer was simultaneously critiquing. The reviewer concludes "as the Wit of both pieces are equal, I must prefer ... Mr Powell, because it is in our own language".[63]

Opera
An opera production that never came into realization was a topic in Joseph Addison's piece in The Spectator (1711). Addison states he was "credibly informed that there was once a Design of casting into an Opera the Story of Whittington and his Cat, and that in order to it, there had been got together a great Quantity of Mice", but that Mr. Rich (Christopher Rich) who was proprietor of the playhouse (he managed several including Drury Lane theatre[r]) objected that the rodents once released will not be thoroughly collected.[65][66][s]

Later Whittington and his Cat, an opera written by Samuel Davey, was performed at the Theatre in Smock Alley, Dublin, 1739.[69]

Whittington, with music by Jacques Offenbach and English text by H. B. Farnie was first produced at the Alhambra Theatre over Christmas 1874–75,[70][71] and in 1895 the comic opera Dandy Dick Whittington written by George Robert Sims and composed by Ivan Caryll played at the Avenue Theatre.[72]

Pantomime
The first recorded pantomime version of the story was in 1814, starring Joseph Grimaldi as Dame Cicely Suet, the Cook.[73][74]

Ella Shields (Camden Theatre, 1907), Sybil Arundale (Theatre Royal, Birmingham, 1908), Helen Gilliland (Lyceum, 1925) are among the actresses who have played the principal boy.[75][76] Cast in other productions are listed below, including the production Dick Whittington, which was the 2018 winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment and Family.[77]

Dick's cat has been given the names Thomas, Tommy, Tommy Tittlemouse (1890),[78] or Mouser (1908).[t][80][81] and so forth.

The pantomime has introduced an arch villain, King Rat (or the King of Rats),[u] as well as the usual pantomime fairy, the Fairy of the Bells, personifying the London bells.[84] An early record of King Rat and fairy occurs in an 1877 production at Surrey Theatre. This production pitches the archvillain King Rat against the Fairy Queen, for whom the fairy Beau Bell serves as messenger.[85] "King Rataplan (Rat-a-plan)" occurs even earlier, alongside "Queen Olivebranch" who assigns Cupid to uplift Dick Whittington from poverty, in a Charles Millward script for the Theatre Royal, Birmingham production of 1870.[86]

In some versions, Dick and his cat Tommy travel to Morocco, where the cat rids the country of rats. The Sultan rewards Dick with half of his wealth.[87]

The pantomime version remains popular today. Other notable pantomime productions included an 1877 version at the Surrey Theatre described below, as well as the following:

1872 on Broadway, with music by William H. Brinkworth.[88]
1877 at the Surrey Theatre in London, entitled Dick Whittington and His Cat; Or, Harlequin Beau Bell, Gog and Magog, and the Rats of Rat Castle, by Frank Green, with music by Sidney Davis, opening 24 December 1877. With comedian Arthur Williams, Topsy Venn was Dick, and David Abrahams[v] as the cat. The Harlequinade also featured Tom Lovell as Clown.[89][85]
1891 by Geoffrey Thorne, with music by William H. Brinkworth at the Grand Theatre, with Lottie Collins.[90]
1894 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, with a libretto by Cecil Raleigh and Henry Hamilton. The cast included Ada Blanche as Dick, Dan Leno as Jack the idle apprentice, Herbert Campbell as Eliza the cook and Marie Montrose as Alice.[91]
1908 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, with a libretto by J. Hickory Wood and Arthur Collins and music composed and arranged by Arthur Collins. The cast included Queenie Leighton as Dick, Wilkie Bard as Jack Idle, Marie Wilson as Alice and George Ali as Mouser, the cat.[80]
1909, starring Tom Foy, Lupino Lane and Eric Campbell at the Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool.
1910 at the King's Theatre Hammersmith, with a libretto by Leslie Morton. The cast included Kathleen Gray as Dick, Adela Crispin as Alice, Jack Hurst as the cat, Percy Cahill as Jack, Robb Wilton as Alderman Fitzwarren and Wee Georgie Wood as Alice's brother.[92]
1923 at the London Palladium. The cast included Clarice Mayne as Dick, Hilda Glyder as Alice, Fred Whittaker as the cat, and Nellie Wallace and Harry Weldon as the villains.[93]
1931 at the Garrick Theatre. The cast included Dorothy Dickson as Dick, Jean Adrienne as Alice, Roy Barbour as Alderman Fitzwarren, Hal Bryan as Idle Jack, Harry Gilmore as the cat and Jack Morrison as Susan the cook.[94]
1932 at the London Hippodrome. The cast included Fay Compton as Dick, Audrey Pointing as Alice, Fred Wynne as Alderman Fitzwarren, Johnny Fuller as the cat, Leslie Henson as Idle Jack.[95]
1935 at the Lyceum Theatre.[87]
2017, as Dick Whittington at the London Palladium with Elaine Paige as Queen Rat, Julian Clary as the Spirit of the Bells, Diversity and Gary Wilmot as Sarah the Cook. The production also featured Paul Zerdin as Idle Jack and Nigel Havers as Captain Nigel while Alice Fitzwarren was played by Emma Williams. At the 2018 Laurence Olivier Awards, this production won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment and Family, and Hugh Durrant was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Costume Design.[77]
2018 at the Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury where Dick was played by Amy Bridges (Jane Seymour in Six), Laura Barnard played Alice, Ben Eagle (Hamlet, USA) played the chirpy cook called Sarah and Derek Frood (BBC Poldark) played the role of King Rat.
2020 at the Royal National Theatre. The cast included Lawrence Hodgson-Mullings as Dick, Cleve September as Tom Cat, Melanie La Barrie as Bow Belles (a personification of Bow Bells), and Amy Booth-Steel as the Queen Rat.[96]
Other adaptations
Dramatic play versions were written by H. J. Byron in 1861,[97] Robert Reece in 1871.

A number of television versions have been created, including a 2002 version written by Simon Nye and directed by Geoff Posner.[98]

Relics
There are various pieces of art and architecture which have been used to try to date the Whittington association to earlier than the 1600s. The Elstracke engraving providing Whittington's portrait with a cat had been ascribed a c. 1590 date by some 19th century authors. A Newgate statue claiming to be Whittington's cat was actually a Libertas goddess statue, and though there were suggestions it was made by the executors of Whittington's will when they rebuilt the prison, the existence of the statues prior to the Great Fire of 1666 cannot be firmly established.

Other relics are a relief tablet of a boy and animal said to be found at a home that belonged to the family, a chariot with a cat carving that was the gift of the family.

Early painting with cat

Richard Whittington and his Cat, considered a "fictitious portrait".[99]—Benoist's engraving, after a lost painting at Mercers' Hall,[99] from The New Wonderful Museum, and Extraordinary Magazine (1805).[100]
A Whittington portrait painting depicting the mayor with a cat, allegedly dating to 1532, was once kept at the Mercers' Hall.[101][102] The original has been lost, prompting Wheatley to remark that the disappeared artwork "can scarcely be put in evidence".[14] However, a facsimile of it has been reproduced in engraving in The New Wonderful Museum (1805) edited by William Granger and James Caulfield (see image at top).[103]

The portrait painting that did exist at Mercers' Hall, affixed with a 1536 date had been witnessed and described by James Peller Malcolm (d. 1815) in Londinium Redivivum, Vol. 4 (1807). The painting was in the apartment of the clerk of Mercers' Company at Mercers' Hall. According to Malcolm, this portrait of Whittington's had "on the left hand ... a black and white cat, whose right ear reaches up to the band or broad turning down to the shirt of the figure". Malcolm admits that the 1536 date had been repainted at a later date after the canvas was cropped, but commented that "it is hardly to be supposed" that this date "was then invented".[104]

This painting had disappeared by the time Rev. Samuel Lysons, who published the mayor's biography in 1860, requested a viewing of it at Mercer's Hall. Another portrait was available for him to see, but it was more modern and did not correspond to Malcolm's descriptions. At Mercer's hall also had on display an engraved portrait of Whittington and his cat by Guillaume Philippe Benoist.[101] The Benoist was published 1766, and according to the caption represents the Whittington and cat portrait then still hanging at Mercer's Hall.[w][99][x]

Early engraving with cat
There was also an early engraving by Reginald Elstrack (1570 – after 1625). This engraving, entitled the "True Portraicture" or Vera Effigies Preclarmi Domini Richardi Whittington Equi Aurat is reproduced in the inset of Lyson's work.[106] The engraving cannot be definitely dated; Lysons noted that the printmaker flourished c. 1590, and this is the date assigned by Sir Walter Besant and James Rice,[107] but other sources give a 1605 date.[46] On the prints can be read "R. Elstrack Sculpsit" at bottom,[46][108] which is truncated in Lysons's reproduction.

It has also been noted that the engraving originally depicted Whittington with a skull under his hand, but had been replaced with a cat underneath, to cater to public taste, "as the common people did not care to buy the print without it".[109][110][y]

Newgate statue
The antiquarian Thomas Pennant believed that a statue of Whittington with his cat was installed in a niche in Newgate in 1412, by the executors of Whittington's estate, but that it was damaged in The Great Fire of 1666 and replaced.[113][114] Lysons[115] and others[116] had lent some credance to this statement by Pennant. But much of Pennant's assumptions here have been subjected to corrections and refutations.

This "assertion that a carved figure of a cat existed on Newgate gaol before the great fire is an unsupported assumption", or so it was pronounced by historian Charles Lethbridge Kingsford.[117] Work on Newgate at Whittington's bequest did not commence during his lifetime in 1412, but in 1442.[118] A copy of Whittington's will kept at Guildhall that prescribes this fails to mention a statue, or him and his cat.[120]

This statue was actually the female Liberty ("Libertas" carved on the hat) with a cat at her feet, but it was "alluding to" Richard Whittington, as explained by Maitland.[121][122] The stone Liberty was one of a set of seven, the others being Peace, Plenty, Concord, and Justice, Mercy, and Truth.[121][118]

This Whittington statue (Liberty statue) was taken down when the old Newgate was being demolished, in 1766 or 1776, to be placed in the new Newgate Prison.[123][124][119][z] The Liberty statue could later be seen at the new Newgate Prison, but the cat was not with her.[118]

Chariot with carved cat
Also a chariot with a carved cat, purportedly presented by Whittington's heirs to the merchant's guild in 1572, was available for the biographer Samuel Lysons to examine.[115]

Boy and a cat from Gloucester
It was purported that in 1862 at the site of a former residence of Whittington (in Gloucester), there was unearthed a piece of stone, possibly chimney stone, bearing a bas-relief of a boy holding a cat. It was allegedly of 15th-century workmanship. The relic came into the possession of Samuel Lysons.[125][126] Besant and Rice called this "remarkable proof" that the cat story was in the family,[127] but Wheatley thought "this find, however, appears rather suspicious".[128] This artwork could have been acquired after the cat legend was established, as American folklorist Jennifer Westwood points out,[aa] and the supposed "cat" looked more like a lamb to others.[129] The cat has been preserved at the Gloucester Folk Museum (now called Gloucester Life Museum), but taken off display.[130]

Sir William Craven
Sir William Craven was Lord Mayor of London in 1610. It has been noted that the story of "Dick Whittington and His Cat" has some similarities to Craven's career, though the story was first published before Craven became Lord Mayor.[131][132]

Gallery
Original portrait with Skull, by Renold Elstracke circa 1590, possibly 1605
Original portrait with Skull, by Renold Elstracke circa 1590, possibly 1605

Elstrake's printseller Peter Stent has the skull changed to a cat
Elstrake's printseller Peter Stent has the skull changed to a cat

William Luson Thomas softens Whittington's face
William Luson Thomas softens Whittington's face

Samuel Lysons' version with a smiling cat
Samuel Lysons' version with a smiling cat