The Black Cat and the Graceful Deer
by Julian VorpalleOnce upon a time, there was a little Black Cat. He wasn't so very special - he was, in fact, very small and very weak. He lived all alone in the alleys of a big city, trying very hard to survive. The Black Cat was afraid to talk to the other alley cats...they were all so big and so mean, and very few of them meant him well. So in that alley the Black Cat remained, wistfully staring at the skyscrapers in the distance.
"Why," he would always whisper before going to sleep, "Why don't the other cats like me?" He was very, very lonely indeed.
Well - guess what happened? One day, a little boy with hair like flames found the Black Cat. He smiled and told him that he would never be hungry again, and that he would live comfortably from now on. The Black Cat liked this very much - and was sure he would get his happily ever after.
The boy took him to a beautiful Island, far, far away from the city. He gave him a beautiful cat-house, fed him, and told him he could go wherever he wanted. This was wonderful...but...the Black Cat was still so very lonely.
"Why," he said to himself one day, sitting in his cat-house, "I love it here so - but I do wish I weren't all alone!"
"You aren't."
To the Black Cat's surprise, there was another Cat - a beautiful Smiling one, with silvery fur with black stripes. The Smiling Cat was everything the Black Cat wished he could be - confident, happy, and so friendly he was SURE no one could dislike him. The Black Cat and the Smiling Cat became fast, fast friends.
They played together in the cat-house, which...curiously, it seemed the Smiling Cat had none.
They talked together in the forests and on the beaches.
The Black Cat trusted in the Smiling Cat above all else, and felt that he didn't need the other animals on the Island.
That is...until one day, when he was playing alone by the lake. He chanced to look up - and spotted the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She was a Graceful Deer, shining in the light like nothing else on the Island. The Black Cat was struck still - he couldn't possibly speak to such a lovely creature...and so he ran, tripping over every branch on the way.
Once he was back at his cat-house, he fell fast asleep. And, it must be confessed, he didn't wake for a long time...until he felt something nudging at his nose.
The Black Cat woke in surprise, looking up at the Graceful Deer. He was afraid - but she was kind, and she was gentle. They talked for hours...and though the Smiling Cat didn't like her, the Black Cat swore he would be her friend forever.
They met every so often, talking about nothing and everything.
"But don't get too close," the Smiling Cat would say, "She is not our kind."
The Black Cat ignored the warnings, however. He grew to like her, then really like her...then, one day...he grew to love her. He told the Smiling Cat this - and the Smiling Cat grew angry.
"Just remember what I've been telling you," he growled. "She is not our kind, and you will only be hurt. It won't matter, soon, anyhow."
"Don't be stupid," said the Black Cat as he walked away, "She would never hurt me."
___
The Black Cat got lost in the forest that day. He was frightened and alone - and desperate for help.
"It's so very dark," he said aloud, "Please! Someone! Help!"
Just then, he heard a faint rustling in the distance. The Black Cat followed it, hoping, wishing he would find someone to help - and as luck would have it, there was the Graceful Deer! He started to run forward through the trees, smiling....
...And then stopped as he saw something else.
Another Deer.
The Black Cat didn't know what to think. He was so very sad.
"Why," he wondered, "Has she forgotten about me? Maybe she doesn't love me back. But why?" He looked down at his paws in sadness....
But only saw the silver paws of the Smiling Cat. You see...he had been so wrapped up in the way he felt, he had ignored all warnings. Of course he and the Smiling Cat were the same kind...for he had become the Smiling Cat.
"She is not our kind," he had said. "And she will hurt you. One day you will understand, and one day, I will take that pain away." The Smiling Cat had done that...there would be no more pain.
So the little Black Cat was never seen again...and the Smiling Cat, the Graceful Deer, and the Other Deer lived on happily ever after.
The End 
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