The plot of the tale is very pleasing as it easily arranges itself into a simple drama of three acts:—
| Act I, | Scene i. | Revery of the Master. The Cat's promise to help. |
| Scene ii. | Puss in the rabbits' warren with his bag. | |
| Scene iii. | Puss takes the rabbits to the King in his palace. | |
| Act II, | Scene i. | Puss with his bag in the cornfield. |
| Scene ii. | Puss takes partridges to the King. | |
| Scene iii. | Puss and his Master. Puss gives advice. | |
| Act III, | Scene i. | The Marquis bathing and Puss by the river-side. |
| Scene ii. | The Drive. Puss runs before and meets the mowers. | |
| Scene iii. | The Ogre's Castle. Puss's reception of the coach. Marriage of the Marquis of Carabas. Puss becomes a Lord. |
The tale possesses an appeal to the emotions, we want Puss-in-Boots to accomplish whatever scheme he invents, and we want the Miller's son to win the Princess. Its appeal to the imagination is an orderly succession of images, varied and pleasing. The invention of Puss and his successful adventures make the tale one of unusual interest, vivacity, and force. The transformation of the Ogre into a Lion and again into a Mouse, and the consequent climax of Puss's management of the Mouse, bring in the touch of the miraculous. A similar transformation occurs in Hesiod, where the transformed Metis is swallowed by Zeus. This transformation may be produced by a witch, when the help of another is needed, as in Beauty and the Beast and in Hansel and Grethel; or the transformation may come from within, as in this case when the Ogre changes himself into a Mouse, or when a man changes himself into a Wolf. A situation which parallels the theme of Puss-in-Boots occurs in The Golden Goose where Dummling gets as his share only a goose, but having the best disposition makes his fortune out of his goose. Grimm's Three Feathers also contains a similar motif. D'Aulnoy's White Cat, the feminine counterpart of Puss-in-Boots, is a tale of pleasing fancy in which the hero wins the White Cat, a transformed Princess, who managed to secure for him, the youngest son, the performance of all the tasks his father had set for him.
