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The Town Cats and Other Tales
The grand master of storytelling excels himself in this collection of eight tales about cats who outwit, outmaneuver, and often outclass the human with whom they come in contact.
From Pescato, the town cat who deals so shrewdly with a petty tyrant, to little Wittling, the unlikely apprentice, this is a collection full of slyly feline humor and clearly human truths.
From Pescato, the town cat who deals so shrewdly with a petty tyrant, to little Wittling, the unlikely apprentice, this is a collection full of slyly feline humor and clearly human truths.
126 pages, Paperback
First published October 28, 1977
3 people are currently reading
327 people want to read
About the author
Lloyd Alexander
142 books2,118 followersLloyd Chudley Alexander was an influential American author of more than forty books, mostly fantasy novels for children and adolescents, as well as several adult books. His most famous contribution to the field of children's literature is the fantasy series The Chronicles of Prydain. The concluding book of the series,
The High King
, was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1969. Alexander's other books have also won the National Book Award and the American Book Award. He was also one of the creators of Cricket Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
October 30, 2021
Entertaining.
April 22, 2015
Imagine a blend of fairy tales, Aesop's fables and talking animals with a touch of humor to get this book. The stories star talking cats who outwit, aid and rescue their owners. They are imaginative with no two tales alike.
There is the ruler who had never heard the word no. There is the dreaded tax collector arriving in a remote poor town. The princess and her true love must find a way to convince her father to let them marry. How much temptation will a fiddler resist to honor his promises?
Each tale is less than ten pages long making them delightful breaks during a busy day. If you enjoy fairy tales or stories with lots of humor and whimsy, you will enjoy these stories.
There is the ruler who had never heard the word no. There is the dreaded tax collector arriving in a remote poor town. The princess and her true love must find a way to convince her father to let them marry. How much temptation will a fiddler resist to honor his promises?
Each tale is less than ten pages long making them delightful breaks during a busy day. If you enjoy fairy tales or stories with lots of humor and whimsy, you will enjoy these stories.
August 15, 2009
This humorous collection of tales from master-storyteller, Lloyd Alexander, focuses on the unique wisdom of cats. Each tale has a unique setting, from the far Orient to France. My favorite tale by far was The Cat Who Said No. The frantic explanations given by the courtiers were truly comic. And the stories are simple enough that a seven year-old could read them, but that teens and adults can also find something well worth remembering in them as well.
April 9, 2012
When you need your cat or Lloyd Alexander fix, The Town Cats and Other Tales is just the thing. Each story is a standalone and a good way to kill a few minutes per story.
The cats talk, walk on two legs, and even dress like people sometimes, but still retain their cattiness.
Highly recommended.
The cats talk, walk on two legs, and even dress like people sometimes, but still retain their cattiness.
Highly recommended.
May 17, 2019
A delightful collection of entertaining short stories by the literary master, Lloyd Alexander, who was clearly a sincere lover of cats. We gifted this book to one of our granddaughters on her birthday, and had to get a copy for ourselves. Certainly not disappointed! Much good fun for reader and listeners.
November 23, 2020
Between The Town Cats and The Foundling, I dare say Lloyd Alexander had as much of a knack for short stories as he did for full-length books and series! Each of the eight tales in this collection is a timeless and endearing reading experience. They feel just like classic fairy tales you would find in an Andrew Lang Fairy Book, but with Lloyd Alexander's unmistakable wit. Fairy tale readers of all ages will feel at home with the narrative style, and cat people will appreciate the respect and affection with which Alexander always wrote about felines. Try The Town Cats if you're fond of folklore, felines, or any combination of the two!
February 5, 2019
Gotta love the cleverness of cats. :) 3.5 stars. My favorite story was "The Cat and the Fiddler."
March 23, 2020
Lloyd Alexander never disappoints, this is a collection of short stories about clever and not so clever cats, and their typically unwise human counterparts.
My favorite was The Cat and the Fiddler. A broke fiddler is approached by a black cat with white paws and a white star on his head, the cat asks the fiddler if he'll play for a ball, and the fiddler agrees. Each week that he plays for the cats they reward him for his playing. Each time he goes to the streets to play with his upgraded piece he is approached with job offers, but is forced to decline due to previous arrangements for those nights. Short story even shorter: he marries a princess. It was a perfect fairy tale in the classic form, highly condensed and the main voice of reason is a cat. I loved it.
My favorite was The Cat and the Fiddler. A broke fiddler is approached by a black cat with white paws and a white star on his head, the cat asks the fiddler if he'll play for a ball, and the fiddler agrees. Each week that he plays for the cats they reward him for his playing. Each time he goes to the streets to play with his upgraded piece he is approached with job offers, but is forced to decline due to previous arrangements for those nights. Short story even shorter: he marries a princess. It was a perfect fairy tale in the classic form, highly condensed and the main voice of reason is a cat. I loved it.
July 14, 2016
Sommige verhalen in dit boek zijn beter dan andere. Af en toe had de schrijver zich wel iets beter kunnen informeren: een olieverfschilderij in één dag schilderen en er dan een doek overheen gooien kan onmogelijk een resultaat opleveren zoals dat in het verhaal beschreven wordt. Trouwens, details met één haar schilderen terwijl de onderlaag nog nat is, is ook zinloos. Kortom, dat soort dingen vond ik jammer. Hoewel ik vermoed dat het me als kind niet opgevallen zou zijn.
![Profile Image for Melody [not just some girl you can sway].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1285560989i%2F1612224._UX200_CR0%2C50%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
October 13, 2008
This was the first Lloyd Alexander book I'd ever read. Now I'm addicted. I love his way of writing, the way the different characters seem so real. These stories are all so funny. It only got 4 stars because the cursing seemed a bit excessive - a few too many d***s and a**s. Altogether, it was a really good book.
July 14, 2014
It's a whole book of Puss-in-Boots inspired tales about cats helping people (and sometimes mostly just pointing up their folly). Talking, sometimes clothes-wearing cats. Not for everyone, but for a select audience these stories should delight.
March 5, 2008
Fabulous collection of entertaining short stories. Wonderful for childern, and I enjoy them as an adult.
August 7, 2018
Yet another delightful, cat-loving work by this fine author! Love how his respect for cats and love of traditional fairy tale combine to create a charming series of fairy tales that wouldn't be out of place in any fairy tale tome! The repeated theme of "do what you do" and "don't let anyone change you" also doesn't hurt!
July 1, 2022
A breezy little Lloyd Alexander story collection.
Lloyd Alexander likes cats. He thinks humans should act more like cats.
That's about it.
These are well-written, light little pseudo-fairytales. Nothing too deep or special, but nothing offensive either. It's no Prydain, but I'm not sad that I read it.
Lloyd Alexander likes cats. He thinks humans should act more like cats.
That's about it.
These are well-written, light little pseudo-fairytales. Nothing too deep or special, but nothing offensive either. It's no Prydain, but I'm not sad that I read it.
May 22, 2019
Cats, personified cats, Victorian time period....I should have loved this collection. I'm not sure what it was, but I struggled to get through this collection and almost DNFed at multiple points. This one will be traded back to my local used bookstore
January 28, 2021
Not his best, but not bad. The edition I read had some lovely illustrations, and I got a few chuckles out of my time spent on this book. For a book I picked up for $1 at a library book sale, not bad at all.
December 3, 2023
This book has been sitting on my TBR shelves since I was about 10, and I’m so glad I picked it up because this was such a fun book! The stories read like fables, and I loved the portrayal of the cats as tricky, clever little guys. A must-read for cat friends with delightful illustrations.
January 31, 2019
Very nice fairytales, quite on par with Andersen, Wilde, Hauff, Hoffmann and Travers. :-)
June 2, 2020
These are so cute! If you like Puss in Boots, you'll love these modern fairytales.
January 1, 2022
A fine collection of short stories, splendidly displaying Alexander’s robust command of the English vocabulary.
July 1, 2025
Fairy tales with talking cats
July 13, 2019
A lot of cute stories, mostly about cats pretending to be humans and vice versa. You wouldn't think there would be that many stories to write on that theme, but here they are. As an adult they were just cute, not outstanding, but I probably would've loved them as a kid.
May 13, 2016
This is a book of short story fairy tales. All have cats as the main character - and most, (if not all) of the cats, talk. So you know it's a fairy tale.
The Town Cats
A wily cat rescues the town from being assimilated into a particular kingdom. All it took was one day of cats being people and people behaving like cats (moral people may have been clutching their pearls at the nudity).
The Cat-King's Daughter
Princess loves particular man. King refuses to allow the romance - or anything that he doesn't like in his kingdom, including cats. When a cat named Margot meets the Princess, they trade places and...... the suitors do not want to marry a cat. Love prevails and the ban on cats is lifted.
The Cat Who Said No
Do not play chess with this cat. The ruler of the area was coddled and was always catered to.... until there was this cat.
The Cat and the Golden Egg
A stingy skinflint merchantman is outwitted after a cat makes him believe that sitting on eggs will result in gold coins. The absurdity of his actions drives the man out of town.
The Cobbler and His Cat
When a cobbler gets an inheritance.... the money goes to his head. The cat helps him realize the foolishness of thinking of himself as better than others.
The Painter's Cat
When a painting is commissioned by the Town Council (instead of new cobblestones, a new horse watering station or night guards), the cat paints the picture of how they look to him (as cats!).
The Cat and the Fiddler
The fiddler welcomes the cat into his home, and receives a commission to play for the cat's weekly ball. He keeps his promises even when tempted by more lucrative offers and threatened after he refuses the offers as they fall on the same night as that weekly ball. This has an unexpected effect.
The Apprentice Cat
A couple determines that their cat needs a trade. Hilarious disasters ensue.
The Town Cats
A wily cat rescues the town from being assimilated into a particular kingdom. All it took was one day of cats being people and people behaving like cats (moral people may have been clutching their pearls at the nudity).
The Cat-King's Daughter
Princess loves particular man. King refuses to allow the romance - or anything that he doesn't like in his kingdom, including cats. When a cat named Margot meets the Princess, they trade places and...... the suitors do not want to marry a cat. Love prevails and the ban on cats is lifted.
The Cat Who Said No
Do not play chess with this cat. The ruler of the area was coddled and was always catered to.... until there was this cat.
The Cat and the Golden Egg
A stingy skinflint merchantman is outwitted after a cat makes him believe that sitting on eggs will result in gold coins. The absurdity of his actions drives the man out of town.
The Cobbler and His Cat
When a cobbler gets an inheritance.... the money goes to his head. The cat helps him realize the foolishness of thinking of himself as better than others.
The Painter's Cat
When a painting is commissioned by the Town Council (instead of new cobblestones, a new horse watering station or night guards), the cat paints the picture of how they look to him (as cats!).
The Cat and the Fiddler
The fiddler welcomes the cat into his home, and receives a commission to play for the cat's weekly ball. He keeps his promises even when tempted by more lucrative offers and threatened after he refuses the offers as they fall on the same night as that weekly ball. This has an unexpected effect.
The Apprentice Cat
A couple determines that their cat needs a trade. Hilarious disasters ensue.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2013
"This Book is the Cat’s Whiskers!"
Lloyd Alexander is one pro-feline author, since he has written other books with cat protagonists. THE TIME CAT and THE CAT WHO WANTED TO BE A MAN. This delightful little book features a bold tom garbed in a cloak, who reminds me of that clever, fabled Puss in Boots. The premise of these 8 tales is simple: the cats talk, dress and interact with humans quite naturally, although certain feline characteristics persist.
While the cats featured in each tale exhibit wit and wisdom, the merely Human characters prove absurdly lacking in these desirable qualities; it takes a cat to get many of them out of their scrapes. The people prove vain, gullible, mean or greedy. However most cats are smart enough to be content with themselves just as they are. One tale provides us with an underlying theme; no cat worth his whiskers wants to be what he is not—-better a respectable cat, than a human jackass!
The settings for these tales are not specified, but there is a definite European flavor; the names of the characters suggest Italy, France, Poland, Holland, England, plus the Middle East and some places out of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Alexander’s style is light and lively, with wry humor; he pokes fun at human foibles as viewed through the intelligent eyes of cats. This is a quick and enjoyable read—a must for all cat lovers. When it comes to the short story genre, Kitka rates this a full Nine lives!
(June 25, 2010. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)
Lloyd Alexander is one pro-feline author, since he has written other books with cat protagonists. THE TIME CAT and THE CAT WHO WANTED TO BE A MAN. This delightful little book features a bold tom garbed in a cloak, who reminds me of that clever, fabled Puss in Boots. The premise of these 8 tales is simple: the cats talk, dress and interact with humans quite naturally, although certain feline characteristics persist.
While the cats featured in each tale exhibit wit and wisdom, the merely Human characters prove absurdly lacking in these desirable qualities; it takes a cat to get many of them out of their scrapes. The people prove vain, gullible, mean or greedy. However most cats are smart enough to be content with themselves just as they are. One tale provides us with an underlying theme; no cat worth his whiskers wants to be what he is not—-better a respectable cat, than a human jackass!
The settings for these tales are not specified, but there is a definite European flavor; the names of the characters suggest Italy, France, Poland, Holland, England, plus the Middle East and some places out of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Alexander’s style is light and lively, with wry humor; he pokes fun at human foibles as viewed through the intelligent eyes of cats. This is a quick and enjoyable read—a must for all cat lovers. When it comes to the short story genre, Kitka rates this a full Nine lives!
(June 25, 2010. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)
August 22, 2011
We loved Alexander's "Time Cat," so we thought we'd try this. Written like older fairy tales, these stories of cats who speak, sometimes where clothes, and always outwit humans who are just asking for it made Logan laugh out loud. The writing is clearly meant to be read aloud and I enjoyed the fact that a couple of the stories pushed the limits of my fairly strong read-aloud skills with fun flowery language and long words. For example, a grovelling courtier tries to convince his outraged leader that the clear 'no' spoken by a cat was actually the desired 'yes:'
"'O Fountain of All Pharmaceutical Wisdom,' he said confidently, 'with apologies to my learned colleague, it is clear to me this cat suffers from a strangulation of the brain pan, with consequent disorder of the cerebellum. In short, his senses are altogether deranged. While his lower glottis and upper uvula may express a sound resembling 'Nuh-ooh,' his unfortunate victim of delusion and hallucination sincerely believes himself to be saying 'Yes.' For the illumination of Your Diagnostic Delectability, I shall draft a report on this rare medical phenomenon.'"
A couple of the stories weren't as exciting, but most were clear winners and L can't wait for me to buy a copy of it to add to his collection of well-loved cat stories.
"'O Fountain of All Pharmaceutical Wisdom,' he said confidently, 'with apologies to my learned colleague, it is clear to me this cat suffers from a strangulation of the brain pan, with consequent disorder of the cerebellum. In short, his senses are altogether deranged. While his lower glottis and upper uvula may express a sound resembling 'Nuh-ooh,' his unfortunate victim of delusion and hallucination sincerely believes himself to be saying 'Yes.' For the illumination of Your Diagnostic Delectability, I shall draft a report on this rare medical phenomenon.'"
A couple of the stories weren't as exciting, but most were clear winners and L can't wait for me to buy a copy of it to add to his collection of well-loved cat stories.
July 1, 2015
This was a discarded book from my sons' school library. Of course, I saw a cat on the cover and swiped it up because I have since learned that I am an all-out ailurophile (cat obsessed) from the book, "Honorable Cat" by Paul Gallico. This book was laying under it, so I started reading it since I could not decide what to read next; So glad I read this!
This book is so clever, funny, and wonderfully written! Lloyd creates personified cat characters that can outwit their humans anytime and they do so with perfect cat-like ability. This will seem funnier to adults than to younger kids due to the clever trickery the cats inflict on the unsuspecting two-legs. Will definitely read more of Lloyd Alexander's writings!
This book is so clever, funny, and wonderfully written! Lloyd creates personified cat characters that can outwit their humans anytime and they do so with perfect cat-like ability. This will seem funnier to adults than to younger kids due to the clever trickery the cats inflict on the unsuspecting two-legs. Will definitely read more of Lloyd Alexander's writings!
January 15, 2019
While the book was amusing overall, some of the stories in this collection appealed to me more than others. My favorite was The Cat-King's Daughter.
Did I like it? Yes.
Would I reread it? I would enjoy rereading a few of the individual stories, but not the entire collection.
Would I recommend it? I think it was worth reading once in it's entirety, and fans of Lloyd Alexander's writing should definitely seek it out.
Did I like it? Yes.
Would I reread it? I would enjoy rereading a few of the individual stories, but not the entire collection.
Would I recommend it? I think it was worth reading once in it's entirety, and fans of Lloyd Alexander's writing should definitely seek it out.
December 6, 2015
Here are some stories of cats set in some fanciful time and land in the distant past, with a lot of humor. Tales of cats who are looking for appropriate suitors, cats who are wiser than their masters and do all their work, etc. It is fun and good for kids - and adults should get a few smiles from it as well.
June 21, 2007
Of the three, this book was the most enjoyable of the three young young-adult books that Lloyd Alexander wrote. The stories reminded me of Russian stories by blending the obsurd with a particular moral. Another cute read for the summer!
February 7, 2011
My husband and I had actually found this book on the street, and the price was right, so we took it home. This is painfully adorable and sweet, and warmed my cynical heart. I had actually read and remembered "The Cat Who Said No" from elementary school, so it does stick with you.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews