Let Me Tell You A Story

There once was a 4 year old boy. He was three turning four when this story takes place. For his birthday, he wanted nothing more than a pet of his very own. His mommy said, "maybe when you're older." So, being the intelligent little boy he was, he asked his daddy instead. His daddy said no and this made the little boy upset. He was very sad and maybe even cried a little. Or a lot. This made the daddy feel very sad. To make things better, he took the boy in his arms and said, "When you turn 8, I will get you a pet. I promise."

Now, maybe this daddy meant the promise. MAYBE. However, I wonder if the daddy thought the little boy would forget about the pet in time. The boy's 5th birthday came. Around the time of his birthday he reminded his daddy about the promise. He was convinced he wanted a parrot. A big pretty parrot that he would teach to talk. The daddy expressed surprise to his wife later that a child could remember something like that after a year. The boy's 6th birthday came and again the boy reminded his parents about their promise. Somehow the daddy's promise had become the wife's as well. The boy still wanted a parrot and that made the mommy nervous. She knew parrots could get depressed and lonely in captivity, so she started planting ideas about possibly getting a rat or other rodent. The boy's 7th birthday came and he reminded his parents of their promise. Each year the daddy was increasingly surprised about the boy's impeccable memory. The boy now wanted a guinea pig, like his good friend Jessica had at her house. He pointed out pet stores wherever the family went and they visited some on occasion.

A little before the boy's 8th birthday, he reminded his parents yet again about their promise. He said he wanted a rat at first, but then his mind changed without any influence. He suddenly wanted a kitten. The daddy assured the boy he would have his kitten. His birthday came and arrangements were made to find a kitty after the boy was baptized, for the sake of funds if nothing else. The boy was patient and bided his time. His baptism came and his grandpa brought him a wild kitty from off his farm. The wild kitty ran away, but the boy wasn't terribly upset because his grandpa had said it might. He said there were new kittens on the farm that were too young to leave their mother. He promised he would bring one as soon as they were old enough.

The boy was patient, mostly. He waited. Then, one day, his grandpa showed up on a warm Saturday afternoon. He brought with him an old, broken up maroon pet carrier. The boy and his siblings were ecstatic beyond belief. They jumped up and down at the window and shouted, "the kitten is here! The kitten is here!" His grandpa brought the carrier inside and the wire door was opened. Lo and behold, there wasn't one kitten, but three! What a surprise, especially for the mommy who was stressing out enough at the thought of ONE cat in the house. The kittens were handed out and smothered...I mean hugged.

The boy was so happy that his daddy had kept his promise, even after all those years...

The kittens were given names like, Nature Cat, Stripey, and Mew. And they lived happily ever after. Hopefully.

For the sake of cuteness, here is a photo of a cheeser to end this post...