How many hats does Bartholomew Cubbins have?

Bartholomew Cubbins has 500 hats in The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. The hats appear one after another whenever the boy removes the one on his head.

The 1938 story takes place in the Kingdom of Didd. Bartholomew is a peasant boy whose ordinary red hat becomes a royal crisis when King Derwin orders him to remove it. Each supposedly removed hat is replaced by another, leading the king’s officials to try arrows, magic, and other methods to solve the mystery.

The hats become increasingly elaborate near the end. The 500th is decorated with a huge gem and rare feathers, making it the most magnificent of the set. The king ultimately buys all 500 hats for 500 gold coins and appoints Bartholomew as an adviser and page boy. The number is sometimes confused with the story’s many failed attempts to remove the hats, but 500 is the canonical total in the title and plot.