used to suck on the wool as a sign of good luck. Renaissance and Victorian depictions In the Renaissance, cats were often thought to be witches' familiars in England (for example, Greymalkin, the first witch's familiar in Macbeths famous opening scene), and during festivities were sometimes burnt alive or thrown off buildings. Cats became popular and sympathetic characters in folk tales such as Puss in Boots. One English folk tale in which a cat is given a role of a friend who was betrayed is Dick Whittington and His Cat, which has been adapted for many stage works, including plays, musical comedies and pantomimes. It tells of a poor boy in the 14th century, based on the real-life Richard Whittington, who becomes a wealthy merchant and eventually the Lord Mayor of London because of the ratting abilities of his cat. There is no historical evidence that Whittington had a cat, In the tale, Dick Whittington, a poor orphan finds work at the great house of Mr. Fitzwarren, a rich merchant. His little room infested with rats, Dick acquires a cat, who drives off the rats. One day, Mr. Fitzwarren asked his servants if they wished to send something in his ship, leaving on a journey to a far off port, to trade for gold. Dick decided to sell his only close friend, his cat. In the far-off court, Dick's cat had become a hero by driving very troublesome vermin from the royal court. When Fitzwarren's ship returned, it was loaded with riches. Dick was a rich man. He joined Mr. Fitzwarren in his business and married his daughter Alice, and in time became the Lord Mayor of London. Russia Unlike Western countries, cats have been considered good luck in Russia for centuries. Owning a cat, and especially letting one into a new house before the humans move in, is said to bring good fortune. Cats in Orthodox Christianity are the only animals that are allowed to enter the temples. Also, cats an integral attribute of Russian Orthodox monasteries. According to Russian law, a huge fine was imposed for killing a cat, the same as for a horse or ox. Many cats have guarded the Hermitage Museum/Winter Palace continually, since Empress Elizabeth's reign, when she was presented by the city of Kazan in Tatarstan five of their best mousers to control the palace's rodent problem. They lived pampered lives and even