| abstract | - Tommy Tucker was an orphan and street urchin. Living on the streets of the big city, Tommy would often busk for food and sleep in barrels. While sleeping in a barrel Tommy met a stray cat. The feline claimed ownership of the barrel and demanded that Tommy pay rent in order to lodge in the cask. Tommy, having no money, offered to get food for the cat and the two set off to the local bakery where Tommy would perform to get food from the baker. When the pair reached the bakery, they found the shop deserted. Everyone had gone to the mayor's wedding, and so the two set off to the wedding to continue their quest for food. When they reach the wedding, they find that all the guests have left and the mayor and his new wife are cavorting at the head table. Tommy asks them if he can have any food. The two playfully offer him food in exchange for a song. Tommy sings a song for the couple, but they have another task for Tommy before granting him permission to eat. He must cut a piece of bread into four parts without using a knife. Tommy questioned how one could cut without a knife, stating that it is like asking someone to marry without any wife. The two are delighted by Tommy's rhetoric and quick wit. The are so amused that they not only offer him all the food he (and the cat) can eat, but also offer to adopt him. And so Tommy Tucker became their son; and he grew up to became the mayor himself and was known as Sir Thomas Tucker.
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