That Cat

Once upon a time there was a cat that couldn't be kind.

Other cats were petted and loved. They didn't steal or scratch or bite. They purred. And this cat wanted to be like them. But when someone came close to give her food or pet her, she hissed and her hair stood on end. She couldn't help it.

Long ago she had been a pet. A little boy had given her a name. One day, the little boy wondered if a cat was like a lizard. He cut off that cat's tail to see if it would grow back. When it didn't, the little boy got bored, and one day he dumped the cat in the weeds by the river.

She was all alone and hungry, and she had no name. She learned how to slip into people1s houses unseen, and she learned to steal food. People started calling her "That Cat".

That Cat began livig in a damp alley where people left their garbage and sad people slept. She crept out only at night.

Sometimes, when she felt lonesome, she would sit in a small clearing in the park, gaze up at the moon, and talk to it.

Sitting on a rock in the moonlight, she wuld ask, "Why am i so unlovable?" "Why does life hurt?" And she would look at the stub that used to be her tail.

One night the moon was so lovely and bright that she couldn't stop looking at it. She just sat and stared. She didn't even noticed a monk in long robes smiling down at her.

"Well what do you know, a cat talking to the moon!" he wispered.

Startle, That Cat dove under the shrubs, rom where she peeped out, her hair on end, ready to attack.

But the monk sat down on a bench some distance away and began opening the bag he carried. He took out a box that held the dinner he had been saving. Then he took out a piece of fish and set it on a large leaf.

That Cat raised her nose and sniffed. The food smelled good.

Then the monk began talking. "Some people say cats are demons. They say the Cat was banished from the Chinese zodiac because it refused to pay repect to the Buddha".

"But i've seen an old, old paining, " he said. "It showed the gods, demons, humans, and other creatures who came to say goodbye to the Buddha. And the cat was there, crying."

His voice was soothing. "Don't blame yourself, little one. You've shown so much courage already. Just do your best to be the cat you truely are", he said.

"You are a kind cat. I can see it", he said. Ten he got up and slowly walked from the clearing.

That Cat crept out from under the bushes and ate up all the fish. And she thought about what the monk had said.

She didn't feel like going back to th dank alley. So, her stomach full, she curled up under the shrubs, and soon she was fast asleep.

When she awoke, she felt refreshed. Slowly she streched each leg, and as she was trying what to do next, she heard someone walk into the clearing.

It was a boy. He sat down on a rock. He was all alone and crying.

That Cat watched as big tears fell silently, one after another... drop...drop...drop. For a long time she watched.

Then quietly, ever so quietly, That Cat came out from under the shrubs and crept towards the boy. Her heart was racing. eleven steps away. Then just six. Now two.

The boy looked up, feeling her warmth.
They looked at each other for a long, long time.

Then the boy smiled. And slowly, he put out his hand.
And when he touched her, she purred.


-The End-


The Joyous World, 2008 December