Dick Whittington and his Cat 迪克·惠廷顿和他的猫

this story was first recorded in 1605. richard whittington was a real person, the son of a knight and himself a rich merchant in london. he served three terms as lord mayor of london: 1397-99, 1406-07, and 1419-20. he died in 1423.
long, long time ago there lived a poor boy called dick whittington. he had no mother and no father, and often nothing to eat. one day he heard of the great city of london, where, said everyone, even the streets were paved with gold. dick decided to go to london to seek his fortune.
london was a big and busy city, full of people both rich and poor. but dick could not find any streets that were paved with gold. tired, cold and hungry he fell asleep on the steps of a great house. this house belonged to mr. fitzwarren, a rich merchant, who was also a good and generous man. he took dick into his house, and gave him work as a scullery boy.
dick had a little room of his own where he could have been very happy if it had not been for the rats. they would run all over him as he lay on his bed at night and would not let him sleep. one day dick earned a penny shining shoes for a gentleman, and with it he bought a cat. after that dick's life became easier - the cat frightened away all the rats, and dick could sleep in peace at night.

one day mr. fitzwarren called all the servants of the house together. one of his ships was leaving for a far-off land with goods to trade. mr. fitzwarren asked his servants to send something of their own in the ship if they so desired, something which could perhaps be traded for a bit of gold or money. dick had only his cat to send - which he did with a sad heart.
dick continued to work as a scullery boy for mr. fitzwarren, who was very kind to him. so was everyone else except the cook who made dick's life so miserable that one day dick decided to run away. he had reached almost the end of the city when he heard the bow bells ring out. 'turn again whittington, thrice lord mayor of london' chimed the bells. dick was astonished - but he did as the bells said and went back to mr. fitzwarren.
when he returned he found that mr. fitzwarren's ship had returned, and that his cat had been sold for a great fortune to the king of barbary whose palace had been overrun with mice. dick had become a rich man.

he soon learnt the business from mr. fitzwarren, married his daughter alice, and in time became the lord mayor of london three times, just as the bells had said.
作者简介：
马西娅·布朗曾经六次获凯迪克奖银奖，三次获凯迪克奖金奖，并三次获得美国图书馆学会最佳童书推荐，这个纪录是空前的。她应该是与凯迪克奖最有缘分的作家兼画家，得奖纪录整理如下：
·1948年凯迪克奖银奖：作品《石头汤》 stone soup
·1950年凯迪克奖银奖：作品《渔夫亨利》 henry fisherman
·1951年凯迪克奖银奖：作品《迪克·惠廷顿和他的猫》dick whittington and his cat
·1952年凯迪克奖银奖：作品《约翰船长的厨子》skipper john's cook
·1953年凯迪克奖银奖：作品《穿靴子的猫》puss in boots
·1954年凯迪克奖银奖：作品《坚定的锡兵》the steadfast tin soldier
·1955年凯迪克奖金奖：作品《灰姑娘》cinderella, or, the little glass slipper
·1962年凯迪克奖金奖：作品《从前有一只老鼠……》once a mouse...
·1983年凯迪克奖金奖：作品《影子》shadow

另外，美国国会图书馆宣布将马西娅·布朗的作品作为永久馆藏。1992年，她还因为对美国儿童文学的长期贡献而获得槐尔德奖（劳拉·英格尔·槐尔德，以《大草原上的小屋》及系列小说而享誉美国的经典作家）。
故事的传说：
这故事很有趣，说明大多数人还是想发意外之财。既然有时天上会掉馅饼，何必流血流汗。殊不知历史上真实的迪克•惠廷顿是个骑士的儿子，家境殷实。他去伦敦跟一个有钱的亲戚学习经商，师傅赏识他的才能，把女儿嫁给了他。他靠雄厚的资本成为巨商。那么人们怎么编出了一个猫的故事？原来，惠廷顿时代还有英国人说法语，他们说惠廷顿发家靠的是“achat”，即“买卖”。但法语中的“猫”是“chat”，所以有人就误以为他发家靠的是“a chat”，或者说“a cat”。以讹传讹，后来人们就附会出这样一段故事。
故事中提到的“bow bells”指伦敦圣玛利亚教堂（st.mary-le-bow）的钟声。圣玛利亚教堂位于伦敦市中心附近，多年来以其钟声著名。英国有句俗话说，“地道的伦敦佬出生在能听到圣玛利亚教堂钟声的地方（a true cockney is one born within sound of bow bells）。