The tale of ‘Dick Whittington and His Cat’ is deeply entwined in England’s cultural and historical imagination. Richard Whittington, the real-life character behind the folklore, was a medieval merchant and a politician who served as the Mayor of London four times between 1397 and 1420. The legend, however, has a few embellishments to his actual journey. According to the folklore, Richard was a poor orphan from Lancashire. He made his way to London, attracted by the idea that the city was so prosperous, the streets were ‘paved with gold.’ In reality, he found life in London to be more challenging and was about to give up and return home during his initial days when he heard the Bow Bells (the bells of the church of St Mary-le-Bow). The bells seemed to say, ‘Turn again, Whittington, Lord Mayor of London.’ Inspired, he decided to stay in the city. In another trademark element of the tale, Richard makes his fortune largely through his cat. The story suggests that Richard owned a cat that caught the eye of a wealthy man from a rat-infested country. The merchant paid a fortune to acquire the cat to tackle his rat problem, thus setting up Richard as a wealthy man. Although it’s unlikely that the cat was instrumental in Whittington’s actual success, the whimsical imagery is thoroughly embraced in the folklore, earning the tale its cherished place in the English tradition. This version became immensely popular through fairy tale books and pantomime shows of the Victorian era.