Dog and Cat

Alyssa has been writing short stories since she's been old enough to write. There are partially filled notebooks throughout our house with her works--full stories, portions of chapters, ideas jotted down. Sometimes she shares her tales with me, and every time I'm impressed. The girl has a knack for storytelling.

A few days ago, she said, "I think it would be cool to have a book published. Do you think I could do that one day?"

It reminded me of a story she wrote a couple years ago. She was 9 at the time and casually handed me a sparkly purple notebook. She was composing a collection of short stories called Crazy Tails that featured cats and dogs. Cute, right? I finished reading a story and couldn't help but notice the air of an Aesop's fable. Just like those timeless stories, hers too has a moral woven into its words.  

"Dog and Cat"

Once upon a time, there was a dog and a cat. The dog and the cat were best friends. The cat shared his milk and the dog shared his bone. But the meow of the cat bothered the dog and the bow wow of the dog bothered the cat. So when a witch came to town, the cat and the dog had her make them sound the same. They argued about whose sound they would do. So the witch cast a spell that made the cat and the dog both bow wow for a day then both meow for a day.

When the cat woke up to meow and bow wowed instead, boy, was that cat startled! So all day he didn't speak. When the next day came, the dog woke first and went to bow wow, but meowed instead, he didn't speak all that day. 

When the next day came, the dog didn't mind the meow and the cat didn't mind the bow wow.

What a lesson in friendship! We don't have to like every habit or personality trait of our friends, in fact, we probably won't. I don't even like everything that I do, so how could I possibly expect to like everything in others? 

The dog and the cat learned to overlook the irritating quirks of their friend. It's a good reminder to us not to allow little things annoy us, but to show grace, patience, and acceptance. The lesson was taught by my 9-year-old.

Do I think she could publish a book one day?

Absolutely.