The Lazy Cat

A cat, a bear, a dog, and a mouse all coexisted on a beautiful island. The animals did everything together and each contributed what they could to maintain the liveliness of their close-knit community. One day while they were preparing for their annual festival the cat became ill  “ I don’t feel well guys” the cat announced to the other animals “ don’t worry” they all said “ we’ll bring the festival to you, you won’t have to lift a finger.” In the back of his mind, the cat knew just how much each of the animals cared for him, he knew they would share with him regardless of how much he helped them. From that day forward the cat told himself he would sit back and be rewarded without doing the hard work “they won’t mind” he thought. Every time the animals got together to build, or cook, or clean, or plant the cat pretended to be sick or busy – the animals still made sure the cat got to benefit from all their hard work even thou he didn’t contribute. One day the Bear came running back to the island screaming frantically “ A horrible storm is coming, we have to prepare.”  The animals, being no strangers to hard work began planning and preparing for the big storm.  Just after they finished their planning the cat rolled onto his back dramatically “ ouch ouch, it hurts! “ I the cat screamed grabbing his stomach “I can’t move, I can’t help, I’m so sorry, I feel so bad!”  The animals helped the Cat back to his house and assured him they’d get the job done.  They worked tirelessly through the night gathering wood for the boat, cooking and storing food, and boarding their homes. All of the animals toiled away exhausting themselves while the Cat danced around in his house without a care in the world.  During a short break Mouse decided to check on Cat and make sure he was ok, he walked pass Cat’s window and saw him jumping around and twirling. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing; he ran back to tell the other animals as quickly as his little feet would allow him to. The creatures were devastated, they felt stupid and used, and how could they not have noticed they were being played? They decided they would have the last laugh so they devised a plan to leave the cat stranded without saying a word to him. The storm came, and the wind blew hard and strong, the rain was pouring and the animals set out to board the ship. The cat came running behind them “wait for me, don’t leave me, “ he said. The Cat watched in horror as the Bear rolled up the gangplank.  “ You don’t work, you don’t sail “ the Bear said sharply.  The storm worsened and swept away the island and the Cat.

Moral: Never cross the people who got your back

            What you do in the dark, always come to light

            Don’t take advantage of others

            If you don’t work, don’t expect to get