Village Shepherd

Fluffy Cat was very miserable. She'd had a terrible argument with her best friend, Toby Mouse and now she had no-one to play with and no-one to talk to and no-one to share her meals.

Sometimes she chased Toby Mouse out of the house, and snarled at him and spat at him, and that was quite good fun. But it wasn't the same as playing with him. Besides, the argument was now so long ago that Fluffy Cat had almost forgotten what it was about, and it was quite an effort to appear angry all the time. She'd almost forgotten, but not quite.

When she remembered how Toby Mouse had drunk all the cream from her dish, Fluffy Cat felt angry all over again. Then she'd feel angry enough to sit outside Toby Mouse's hole, silently waiting to pounce. But Toby never appeared while she was waiting, and after a while Fluffy Cat felt bored and miserable again. Then she'd say to herself, "If only that pesky mouse would apologise! After all, it was entirely his fault. He only has to say sorry, and then we could be friends again." Fluffy Cat conveniently forgot that Toby Mouse had tried to apologise, but she had been so furious at the time that she hadn't given him a chance.

Toby Mouse was bored and lonely too. He didn't mind being chased by Fluffy Cat, because he knew he could outrun her every time. Toby Mouse was small and light and agile, whereas Fluffy Cat led a pampered life and had grown rather fat. So the chasing was all right for a while, but it wasn't nearly so much fun as doing things together.

Toby Mouse heaved a great sigh. If only Fluffy Cat would apologise. After all, it was entirely her fault. She'd always told Toby Mouse to help himself do anything he wanted, so by finishing the whole dish of cream he'd simply obeyed her instructions. And when he'd invited her to tea in his room in an attempt to make friends again, she'd totally ignored him. So it was clear who was to blame for the present miserable situation. Toby Mouse conveniently forgot that Fluffy Cat was much too big to be able to enter his tiny home.

Once or twice, Toby Mouse was so lonely he felt close to saying sorry - even though he wasn't to blame. Once or twice, Fluffy Cat was so lonely that she felt close to saying sorry - even though she wasn't to blame. And so they allowed a hatred to grow between them.

One day, when Fluffy Cat woke up from a long nap on her own special cushion, she noticed a strange contraption on the floor in the corner of the kitchen. It seemed to be made of wires and a spring, and it had tiny piece of cheese in the middle. Fluffy Cat opened one eye and gazed at it thoughtfully, then turned around on her cushion and went to sleep again.

When she woke again some hours later, she heard a high squeaking sound from the contraption on the kitchen floor. She realised to her horror that it was Toby Mouse. He'd eaten the tiny crumb of cheese, but he was caught fast in the trap. Fluffy Cat leapt down onto the floor and was beside Toby Mouse in a single bound.

"Are you hurt?" she kept asking over and over again. "Oh, it's all my fault. If only you hadn't been hungry, you wouldn't have gone after that cheese. It's all because I wouldn't let you share my meals."

Toby Mouse's tail was hurting where it was caught in the trap, but he suddenly knew he couldn't let Fluffy Cat take all the blame herself. "No," he managed to squeak, "it was me. I started it all. I was so greedy I drank all your cream and I didn't leave you any. Oh Fluffy Cat, I'm so sorry."

But Fluffy Cat was already busy, scrabbling at the trap with her paws and her teeth. She pressed down hard on the spring, and Toby Mouse's tail slipped out. He was free! They looked at each other a little shyly, then they both laughed.

"We have been stupid, haven't we?" said Fluffy Cat.

Toby Mouse nodded. "Yes, but we'll never do it again, will we! Come on, let's play."

And off they went.