Once upon a time, there lived an old miller by the name of Sephiroth. He never married nor begat any child; instead, all his life, he had three apprentices. One day, many years later, he called to the boys, saying, "I am old and do not wish to work anymore. Go out and to whoever brings me the best chocobo I shall give the mill."

The two oldest boys looked to the youngest, named Vincent, and laughed, for Vincent was tall and skinny, pale as death and had never been able to work as hard as either of them. "You should just stay here," they told Vincent. "You'd never be able to bring back a chocobo stronger than you."

Vincent didn't say anything and merely followed the other boys into the plains of Gaia as they began their search. As it turned night and the three lay down to sleep in a cave, the two older boys decided that Vincent would merely hinder their search and, as he slept, they craftily crept off.

Morning came and Vincent awoke to find himself quite alone. "Where am I?" he questioned, but only Echo responded, offering his own words back to him. He stood and left the cave, wandering into the forest. As he walked, he thought to himself, "How am I ever to find a chocobo now, by myself and with no lure?"

It was as he was walking and thinking that he almost walked right by a little tuxedo-furred cat if it had not called out to him.

"Where are you going, Vincent?"

"You cannot help me," Vincent responded.

"Ah, but I can," the tuxedo-cat claimed. "For I'm a magical cat – my name is Cait Sith and you are looking for a chocobo. If you will come with me, and be my servant for seven years, I will give you the most beautiful chocobo you've ever seen."

"Well," thought Vincent, "that certainly is a claim. But I must see if what this cat says is true."

And so he followed Cait Sith to a tall tower in the far away land of Midgar. Inside, there were nothing but thousands of mogs – all Cait Sith's servants. They bounded up and down the hallways, happy as could be and during dinner, three of them were charged with making music. One played bassoon, another the fiddle and a third played the trumpet loudly, cheeks puffing out as much as they could.

As the table was being cleared, Cait Sith turned to Vincent, who had been seated next to him, and said, "Dance with me."

"I cannot," Vincent replied. "For I have never danced with a cat before."

"Then take him to bed," Cait Sith sighed. Three mogs accompanied Vincent to his bedroom. One mog removed his dirty work-boots, the second his socks, and the third blew out the candles that once gently lit the room.

The next morning, the mogs returned. One helped him out of bed, another dressed his feet once more; a third washed his face and the last dried him with his paw. Vincent, however, did have to work for Cait Sith and chop some wood every day, and to do that he had an axe of silver, and the wedge and saw were of silver and the mallet of copper. So he chopped the wood. He stayed there in the tower and had good food, but never saw any one but Cait Sith and his servant-mogs.

Once day, Cait Sith said to him, "Go out and mow my meadow, and dry the grass." Vincent was then given a scythe of silver, and a whetstone of gold, and was bid to come back well. So Vincent went out and did as he was told. When he had finished, he carried the scythe, whetstone, and hay to the tower, and asked if it was time for Cait Sith to give him his chocobo.

"No," said Cait Sith, "you must first do something more for me. There is timber, a carpenter's axe, and everything that you would need - all of silver; with these, I should have you build me a small house."

Vincent then built the house, and said that he had now done everything, and he still had no chocobo. Nevertheless, the seven years had gone by as if they were merely six months.

Cait Sith one day asked him, "Would you like to see the chocobos I have promised you?"

"Yes," said Vincent.

Then Cait Sith opened the door of the house, and when he had opened it, there stood twelve chocobos – six male and six female all of glowing, glittering gold.

Cait Sith shared a final meal with him and said, "Go home, I will not give you your chocobos yet. But in three days, I will find you and bring them."

So Vincent set out, and Cait Sith showed him the way back to Sephiroth's mill. However, Cait Sith never once given him a new coat, and he had kept on his dirty old red cloak, which he had brought with him, and which during the seven years had become entirely too small for him.

When he reached home, the two other apprentices were there as well, and each of them had a chocobo with him. The oldest by the name of Zack had brought a blue chocobo that was blind in one eye, and the one named Cloud had found a green chocobo that was lame in its wings and legs. They asked Vincent where his chocobo was.

"It will arrive in three days," was all Vincent would say.

The other boys laughed and said, "Indeed, Vincent, how did you find a chocobo? It will surely be one as weak as you!"

Vincent entered the parlor, but Sephiroth said he could not sit down at table, for he was so dirty and ragged, that all the others would all be ashamed of him if any visitors came in. So the other boys pushed him outside, and at night, when they went to sleep, the two others would not let him have a bed, and he was forced to creep into the moogle-house, and lie down on the hard floor.

In the morning when he awoke, the three days had passed, and a coach came with six golden chocobos and they shone so bright that they glowed. And a servant brought a seventh as well, already saddled with a crystal and silver bridle, which was for Vincent.

From the coach, a tall Prince dressed in a gold and black suit emerged, and he entered the mill. He asked Sephiroth, "Where is the pale boy, Vincent?"

Then Sephiroth said, "We cannot have him here in the mill for he is so dirty. He is sleeping in the moogle-house, your majesty."

Then the Prince said, "My name is Reeve and you are to bring him immediately to see me."

So Sephiroth and his apprentices brought Vincent out, and he had to hold his cloak together to cover himself. The servants unpacked splendid tuxedoes of rich blue and deep black, and washed him and dressed him. When that was done, no King could have looked more handsome. Then Prince Reeve desired to see the chocobos that the other apprentices had brought home with them, hardly hiding his mirth at the sight of the blind and lame chocobos.

He then ordered the servant to bring the seventh chocobo, and when Sephiroth saw it, he said that such a chocobo as that had never yet entered his yard.

"And that is dear Vincent's," said Prince Reeve.

"Then he must have the mill," said Sephiroth, but the prince said, "Since the chocobo is already here, you may keep this mill as well."

And with that, Prince Reeve took Vincent and set him in the coach, and drove away with him. As they drove, Vincent said to the Prince, "I am glad you took me with you, but who are you?"

The Prince Reeve smiled at Vincent and unbuttoned his tuxedo-jacket, pulling it apart. From the empty chest-cavity, Cait Sith appeared as he had before – a small tuxedo-cat. "I am Cait Sith – the magical king of all cats!" He revealed his true self, for during those seven years of service, he had fallen in love with Vincent and would show his love as nothing other than himself. "And I would have you as my Queen, Vincent."

Vincent smiled and hugged his groom-to-be, as the coach drove them to the little house which had been built with the silver tools. Behold! It had become a great castle, and everything inside it was of silver and gold. And then Cait Sith and Vincent were married, and he was rich, so rich that he had enough for all the rest of his life.

And as for Sephiroth, Zack and Cloud, Sephiroth sold the crystal and silver bridle and with the money gained, took to his bed until the end of his days, never wanting anything more. Zack and Cloud were forced to work the mill with their blind and lame chocobos until a young flower girl arrived at the mill and Cloud ran off with her, disappearing and leaving Zack to work for the rest of his life.

END

Just so that everyone knows, I have nothing against Zack – I just needed someone to use.

So, disclaimer time: I don't own anything involved in this story, not the characters, not FF7, not "The Miller's Boy and the Cat" and probably not anything else recognizable. I just wrote this. So, till next time!