The Cat's Tale

This little poem tells the story of a man and his faithful pet, a cat. The two are close friends. He talks to the cat and tells him what goes on at his job and other things that happen during the day.

One day, some of his co-workers tease him about his hair, which has been thinning for some time. This bothered him quite a bit, for he couldn't seem to find an appropriate reply for their jokes and laughter. When he gets home, he is very sad.

He just plops down in a chair, hardly moving at all. All energy is gone. All he can think of is his image, what others think of him, all because they have more hair on top of the head that he does.

His faithful companion senses that something is wrong. As usual, he jumps up on his master's lap, snuggling close to him. The man reaches down and begins to rub and to scratch his friend, as he has done countless. As the cat begins to stretch out and to purr in contentment, the man seems a bit more relaxed. The man and the cat have a bond. The man draws strength from the cat's closeness, and he knows that the cat senses trouble and sympathizes with him.

Within a few minutes, the man dozes off. Then, a very strange thing happens. He dreams that he is telling the cat about his troubles, about the teasing in the office concerning his hair, or lack of it. The cat gives his full attention to what his master is saying, sometimes nodding his head in agreement and understanding.

Then, in that wonderful, peaceful dream, the cat begins to speak. He points out to his master that if hair meant anything, he, the cat, would certainly be labeled, and recognized as, a genius, for he, the cat, had more hair than almost any man, The cat went on to advise his master that it was what was in a man's head, not what was on top of the skull and skin, that marked the intelligence and the worthiness of a man. More and more examples were given, listing brilliant scientists, inventors, writers, and artists, and concluding that not one of them was noted or praised for the volume of hair on top of his head.

After some time, the man awoke. There he was, with the cat in his lap, seeming to have never moved at all. Very wonderfully, the man remembered every word that he had heard in his dream. He was not at all sad. He thanked the cat, and talked with it for a long, long time.

The next morning, the man arrived at his work with a completely different outlook. He was not at all nervous about being with the ones who had, just the day before, mocked him because of his thinning hair. Just the opposite. He had changed so much, he exhibited so much self-confidence, that the very same ones who had caused him trouble before were now, it seemed, a little afraid of him.

After that, he was never again bothered, not in the least, by what anyone might say about his har. He now had knowledge. He knew the facts. He remembered the cat's tale.