Week 11 Story: Taking the High Road

Once upon a time there was an old, mangy cat that sat next to corner shops in hope to get a meal. The cat watched and meowed as people kept passing by, and with each passerby the cat's hope diminished. Weak with hunger, the cat slowly started walking toward a field to find a cozy place to sleep. The cat found a nice green patch of grass to sit on, and when the cat looked around it realized there was a large group of mice marching back and forth from their hole to another distant place.

Suddenly, the hungry cat had an idea.

With all it's energy, the cat stood on three paws, faced the sun, and opened it's mouth just enough to breathe through. Soon enough, one of mice noticed the strange behavior of the cat, and cautiously wandered up to ask a question.

"Cat, why are you behaving so?"
Without opening it's eyes, the cat replied, "My dear friend, I stand on three legs because poor mother earth cannot bear all four. I face the sun because it is He I worship, and my mouth is open because I only eat the air I breathe."
The mouse stared at the cat, waiting for something sly, but the cat remained in it's worshiping pose.
"Oh, cat," the mouse cried, "you are a divine being. I will tell my brothers and sisters about your noble cause." With that, the mouse scurried to tell the others. As the mice began to return home to their hole, each one bowed before the cat before to pay their respects.

However, this was all a part of the tricky cat's plan.

The next day as the mice left their hole, each one bowed before the cat and then continued on their way. As the last mouse bowed, the cat opened it's eyes to make sure all the other mice had their heads turned, and quickly grabbed the last little mouse and devoured him whole.
Each time the last of the mice bowed to the cat, the cat would grab them and eat them before any others saw. The cat had finally found a way to catch his prey.
A few days passed when the leader of the mice noticed his group was becoming quite small. He thought of the cat, and had a hunch that the cat was behind it all.

When the group of mice began to return to their hole, the leader of the mice stayed toward the back, and kept his eyes on the cat. When the last of the mice bowed, the cat grabbed the mouse and put it in his mouth. Quickly, the leader of the mice yelled, "Cat! I see what you have been doing!" The cat spit out the mouse it had almost swallowed and looked toward the leader of the mice. Soon, the group of mice surrounded the tricky cat.

The mice cried,
"We should drag this cat into our hole and kill it!"
"Let's give this cat a taste of it's own medicine!"
"We must avenge our friends!"

But the leader of the mice looked over the fearful cat, and although the leader of the mice wanted revenge, he knew what he must do.
He looked back to the large group of mice and said, "Friends, if we kill this cat, are we not the same or lower? This hungry cat came and killed our friends, but if you had no food wouldn't you go to extremes to satisfy that hunger?"
The group of mice quieted down, and mumbled among themselves.
The leader of the mice turned back to the cat, who had it's head down, fearful.
"Cat, there is a house to the North of here that sets food out for it's own pet. Go there and make friends with that pet to receive food. Never return here."

The cat looked up at the leader of the mice with large, green eyes. The cat looked from the leader to the group of mice, and knew that the leader was giving it a second chance at life. Quickly, the cat stood on all fours and pounced away, running toward the house that the leader had described.

The mice cheered that the cat had left. The cat found the home, made friends with the pet and the owner, and was warmly welcomed into their home where the cat was given enough food to fill it's belly.

They all lived happily ever after.

**Authors Note**

In this story, a cat is very weak from not being able to catch prey, and so decides to trick the nearby mouse troupe in order to catch some food. The cat stands on 3 legs, faces the sun, and breathes through his mouth. When the mice come up to ask what it is the cat is doing, he says that he worships the sun and eats only the air to survive. He stands on 3 feet because mother earth cannot hold all 4 of his feet. The mice respect the cat after hearing this, and every day, one by one, the mice bow to the cat before heading off to their hole. After the last of the mice bow, the cat catches the last mouse and gobbles them up before the rest of the mice see. Before long, the leader of the mice realizes this, and ultimately the mice troupe gang up on the cat and kill him.

I didn't like the ending of this story because I love cats and hate that they killed him. I changed the ending to where the leader of the mice lets the cat go and also helps the cat find another way to get food and shelter. I think it's a good lesson to try and take the high road, even if the person (or cat) has done you wrong.

Bibliography: The Hypocritical Cat by W.H.D Rouse from "The Giant Crab, and Other Tales From Old India"

Image Info: (Small cat with green eyes, Pxhere)