Whiskers the cat leaped out of the tree, almost landing on Molly the Collie’s long nose.
“Careful!” Molly cried.
“Is that all you have to say?” Whiskers asked. “Didn’t I scare you?”
“Scare me? Of course not.”
“I wish I was bigger and tougher,” Whiskers grumbled. “Then I would’ve scared you.”
“You mean BIG like a collie?” Molly asked.
Whiskers giggled. “No. I could never be a dog like you. That would be too embarrassing.”
“Humph!” said Molly. “Maybe you could be a Saint Bernard.”
“No, no, NO. I couldn’t be any dog.”
“How about a rhinoceros? They’re not dogs, but they are big and tough.”
Whiskers curled his nose. “They’re also stinky.”
“Hmm.” Molly nodded. “You’re right. I wouldn’t like living with you if you were stinky. How about being a giraffe?”
Whiskers hunched his shoulders. “No again. Then my neck would be so long I’d hit my head on things.”
“Yeah, that wouldn’t be much fun. I know! A shark. They’re really tough.”
Whiskers shook his head. “They live in water. I can’t stand water.”
“An eagle?” Molly suggested.
“No, all that flying would make me dizzy.”
“A polar bear?”
Whiskers shivered. “Brrrrr! They like cold. I like to be warm.”
Molly thought hard. “Of course!” she cried. “How could we have missed it? A lion! They aren’t too stinky, their necks aren’t long, they don’t like water, they don’t fly and they love the sun.”
“And they’re cats! Big, tough cats.” Whiskers clapped his paws. “Molly, you’re pretty smart for a dog.”
“Thank you,” Molly said. Then she frowned. “Of course, being a lion will mean big changes.”
“Changes?” Whiskers asked.
“Yes. You won’t be allowed in the house anymore. You won’t get to sit on the couch and be petted. You won’t get tuna or warm milk.”
“I won’t?”
“Nope,” Molly said. “And worst of all - you’ll have to live far away, not in the city.”
Whiskers scratched his chin. “I don’t wish to be a lion after all. But I do know what I want to be.”
“Great!” said Molly. “What is it?”
“ME,” said Whiskers. “I like me just as I am. And if I keep living here we can still be friends.”
