Puddles the Cat

Once upon a time, there was a duck. He was an ordinary kind of duck. He had a very ordinary quack, an ordinary way of swimming in the local pond, and yes, an ordinary waddle. Duck often waddled and quacked his way to a pond across the street from a quaint yellow house with white shutters. As Duck paddled in the water, he often wandered about the goings on of the happy house with the white shutters. One day, quite to his surprise, a little boy walked out of the house holding a cat in his arms. It was apparent he loved the cat as he rubbed his cheek against the soft fur of the feline’s head. The young boy’s mouth curled to a smile and his eyes closed as he gave the cat one last gentle squeeze before allowing her to lazily slink out of his arms to the ground. He giggled as she stretched in that way that only cats can, as if to lengthen each and every bone in her back. The cat then showed her appreciation to the boy by sliding against his legs before stepping away to the front lawn.

“Oh, to be a cat, “ thought Duck, “Then I would have a beautiful home to live in, a little boy to hold me and smile as he hugged me. I wish I could be a cat.”

Duck wasn’t alone in the pond. A water fairy observed Duck as he longingly gazed at the house and its inhabitants. The fairy fluttered her way closer to Duck and asked why Duck looked so sad. Duck responded by telling her his wish. Duck learned that Sprite, as she was called by her family, had the supernatural ability to grant wishes to unhappy pond inhabitants. Duck didn’t believe Sprite. Sprite reminded him of the recent change in city policy to allow passersby to feed the ducks. Duck smiled as he remembered the older gentleman who often came to the park with a sack of bread cubes. Sprite told Duck that the Canadian Goose had made that request. Duck summoned his courage and asked Sprite if it was possible for her to make him into a cat.

“Of course, silly Duck,” giggled Sprite, “I could make you into a giraffe if you wanted. But my spells have their limitations. I can change you into a cat, but you will still have the urges of a duck. You will look like a cat, walk like a cat, and meow like a cat. However, you will sometimes want to quack like a duck, waddle like a duck, and swim like a duck.”

“Oh no,” cried Duck, “If I’m allowed to be a well loved cat, I will NEVER, EVER want to act like a duck again.”

“Very well,” said Sprite, “As soon as you walk to the bank of the pond, you will be a cat.” Duck paddled as fast as he could to the edge of the pond. He took a couple of steps out and noticed that his head was closer to the ground and his movements felt very fluid. He turned to look at his reflection in the water and was amazed and delighted that he was a CAT!!!! And not any ordinary cat, either. He was beautiful! He was white with some yellow stripes. His feet were all yellow. He smiled as he thought that his new friends and family might nick-name him Goulashes, as his feet looked like he was wearing rain gear. Duck spent some time admiring his new body. He then thanked Sprite for the granted wish and sauntered toward the row of houses across the street. It was time to find a little boy to love him.

Several months passed. One day as Sprite was sitting on a rock hidden by the pussy willows, she saw Duck walking toward the pond. She was very excited to hear about his adventures as a cat. Duck greeted her with a loud, “MeeoowACK!” He hung his feline head in shame.

Sprite cautiously asked, “Do you have a boy to hug you?”

“Yes,” sniffled Duck.

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Sometimes, I want to swim in the pond,” sighed Duck. “But I really want to be a cat. I love being a cat. It is a wonderful life. I live in a white house with blue shutters. My boy loves and plays with me. He brings me toys and treats. It’s really, the most wonderful life! Why do I still want to quack and swim?”

“You were hatched as a duck,” answered Sprite. “You’re a new creature now, but your old nature is still there. Unfortunately, I don't have the power to make you forget your old nature. But I do know how to help."

“How?” Duck asked desperately.

“Live each day as a cat. Make cat friends. Make a commitment to live each day as a cat. Forget about your life as a duck. You were not happy as a duck. Remember?”

“Yes, I remember, “ Duck replied. In the distance, Duck and Sprite heard a boy’s voice.

“Puddles, Puddles. Where are you?”

Duck perked his pointed ears. “That’s my boy. He’s looking for me!”

A little boy with hair that matched the stripes in Duck’s fur skipped over to the bank of the pond and saw Duck sitting at the edge of the pussy willows. “There you are!” the boy laughed. “It’s going to rain and cats hate being stuck in the rain.”

The boy scooped Duck into his arms and rubbed his cheeks against Duck’s soft furry head. Peeking from her hiding spot, Sprite smiled as she noticed the boy’s eyes close and his mouth smile as he hugged his cat, Puddles. The cat formerly known as Duck.

"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead"
Philippians 3:13 NIV