*Papa Gatto   Ruth Sanderson 

Papa Gatto is a traditional tale, an Italian fairytale.   Papa Gatto is about a father cat who recently has 8 kittens with his wife, but during the birth mama cat dies, leaving Papa Gatto a widow with kittens.  He puts an ad to find a nanny to care for his kittens while he is away, and a stepsister responds.  She is an evil girl who does not want to care for the kittens but rather steal the riches from Papa Gatto.  There is another sister who is good, and she comes over and takes care of the kittens by feeding and loving on them, and Papa Gatto believes that the other evil sister is truly doing the good work, but he soon finds out that Sophia, the evil stepsister is neglecting his kittens and stealing his jewels and riches.  He scratches her face in fury and sends her on her way.  The handsome prince comes by to see Papa Gatto and his precious kittens, and Papa Gatto says he has the perfect bride for him.  They go to see the good sister, but Sophia pretends that she is the good sister and the evil step mother and Sophia hide the good sister and place a black veil over Sophia's face to cover the scratches, she then proceeds to pretend to be the good sister.  The kittens do not go to her, and Papa Gatto pulls the veil off to see the scratches he has placed on the evil Sophia.  The kittens run outside and reveal the good sister.  She is happy to see them and loves on them and the prince falls in love with her for her good heart.  This is traditional tale because it has a talking cat, is a fable, and has a prince and princess who live happily ever after.  This story is great for older children since the mama cat does die during child birth and it might be too sensitive material to introduce to a younger crowd.