The Meeting Day Parable

The orange cat sat at the table on the animal side of the forest, far away from the human side. He was sipping tea. His fur was shiny and smooth from the bath he had given himself that morning. He decided against wearing his top hat; it was far too warm for that. So he was naked except for a wristwatch and a bow tie, its purple spots popping against his sleek, striped coat.

Cat picked up a macaroon with his paw and admired the green glaze before popping it into his mouth. He purred with appreciation as the sugar hit his tongue. He ate three more and then decided it would be best to save some for his friends. Today was the big day, and he was waiting for Rabbit and Mouse to arrive. When they arrived, The Meeting Day could begin. This was the time they gathered each year to discuss fall preparations.

The preparations were important because they kept all the animals safe. They marked the start of the season, a season that began with colorful leaves and ended coated in layers of dusty snow. Icey white would coat their cozy forest and stretch as far as the eye could see. They needed to plan early, or they would all have grumbling tummies.

They all had important jobs on their side of the forest. Rabbit’s job was warmth and comfort. Mouse had the essential job of finding all the best morsels for storage. And, Cat? Cat had the most critical job of them all, overseeing.

Cat glanced at his watch; if Rabbit and Mouse were delayed just one more minute, they would miss The Meeting Day and all that went with it-warm milk and flaky cookies filled with the finest mascarpone. He tapped his paws nervously on the blue opaque enamel of the table and counted…one, one thousand….

Cat felt like howling. Something seemed amiss, maybe a little erroneous. Rabbit and Mouse were never late, especially for snacks, meticulously prepared just for them. It was The Meeting Day, after all, and planning needed to be done straightaway, posthaste. Preparations didn’t plan themselves, and Cat couldn’t do it all alone, now could he?

Just then, the ding-dong of the clock in the Big Square interrupted his concentration. The clock was fastidious about time. It was not one minute too slow or fast. Hearing the chimes, Cat got up from the table and began pacing. He walked left, and he walked right. He walked in circles, and then he walked right into the table.

Cat rubbed his throbbing nose and realized something must be terribly, horribly wrong. His friends would never miss a The Meeting Day, the most important day of the year. He needed to take action; he needed to do something.

He started walking towards Rabbit’s house, towards the enormous square, just past the long and narrow road. Cat had to find his friends and find out what was keeping them. He can’t stop worrying, worrying, worrying…meow! He carefully put one paw in front of the other, avoiding the stones, dust and, most importantly, humans.

As he ambled down the road, closing in on his destination, he pondered the most important forest rule. The one rule that was unbending. Stay on your side of the forest. Never, ever get close to a human. They were not like animals! They were hideous, harmful creatures that could hurt you.

Finally, Cat arrived at Rabbit’s house, but it looked quiet. Cat knocked on the pine door. “Rabbit” he calls; “Rabbit, are you in there?” But Rabbit was not in his house. He was not out back among the orange and green stalks of shiny vegetables either. Cat peered in all the corners just to make sure.

Cat kept walking. In time, he came to a fork in the road where the leafy branches hung low. He looked left, and he looked right. Then wagged his tail, closed his eyes tight and headed south, scurrying faster now, almost in a run. He puttered down the path for at least a mile and stepped out of the forest, and then he saw them! He saw Rabbit and Mouse. Well, at least he saw Mouse.

Mouse was peering into a jagged hole in the glade. It was a rather large hole, much bigger than tiny Mouse, who was pacing around the perimeter. As he did, he scratched his ears and muttered something under his breath. Back and forth he went, striding around the bright green grass growing around the hole.

Mouse saw Cat and raised his paw in recognition, a slow smile spreading across his face. His whiskers twitched and he cried, “Hello there, Cat, so good of you to come. It seems we have an issue here.” And he looked at Cat and then back at the wide hole; the stomping of Mouse’s little feet caused dirt to slide in like confetti.

Cat ran over to the hole and peered in, and there was Rabbit looking back up at him. Rabbit doesn’t quite look like himself; there are dark smudges of dirt like patchwork on his fur. When he realizes Cat has arrived, two small tears glisten at the edge of his eyes and spill over onto his whiskers.

“This is quite a predicament,” growled Cat, licking his paw and cleaning his ear in thought. “Whatever are we going to do? We must save Rabbit from this hole!” No sooner had he said these words when the trees at the end of the glade where the forest grew dense, rustled, their leaves sweeping back and forth.

There were soft patters of feet before a looming figure popped out of the forest, causing Mouse and Cat to scurry to the other side. They dove under a tree stump, shaking with fright. They both stood hidden, hugging each other tight-it was a human on their side of the forest!

Trembling, Cat peered up from the stump to survey the situation. There stood a boy with dirty blue pants and straggly blonde hair. He could hear Rabbit scurrying in the hole and ran over, cautiously peeking into the hole. His face softened when he saw poor Rabbit staring back at him.

The boy reached into the deep hole and gently grasped a wide-eyed Rabbit. He lifted him ever so carefully and set him down in a patch of grassy green. The boy smiled and motioned that Rabbit would be okay. He turned and skipped back into the woodland.

Rabbit sighed with relief and called out to his friends, who eventually slid out from behind the nubbly stump. He hopped as fast as he could to join them, throwing his paws around his delighted friends.

Together again, Cat, Mouse and Rabbit started walking. It was then that Cat, having time to ponder what transpired, realized something important. The minor act of saving Rabbit made the boy benevolent, and that was special. It was kindness that differentiated someone, be it human or animal, the spark of empathy shining around the good ones like halos. Perhaps humans weren’t so bad after all. Cat had been so busy, he never considered this possibility.

Cat straightened his silky bow tie and looked at his friends with admiration. He chatted with them excitedly on the way back to his place as they discussed all they had to do. Today would be the best Meeting Day yet.