Because I Can

It was mid-morning before the small bright creature finished washing the dishes of all the restaurant patrons.

Such an adventure breakfast had turned out to be! This was going to be a marvelous day.

The small bright creature turned a corner on the path and spied something off in the distance.

It hurried towards it...

o-o-o

The cat sat sphinx-like, sleeping - or so it seemed.

The small, bright creature was talking.

"... and it's such a beautiful day too!"

An ear twitched.

The small, bright creature tried again.

"Such a day - and all you can do is sit. There is more to life than this! Come with me - there are so many adventures we can have."

The ear twitched again.

"Come on, you can't just sit there."

The cat's head slowly swiveled and luminous, yellow-green eyes opened, the pupils long narrow slits in the bright sun.

"Well, finally! Do you know how long it took me to get your attention?"

The small, bright creature moved closer in its light, dancing way. The cat stared, as was its way.

"I was telling you, you can't just sit there. There are so many things to do, places we can go. It will be fun!"

A low rumbling could be heard. The small, bright creature leaned forward. The rumbling was coming from the direction of the cat.

The cat spoke.

"This is what I do"

The statement was delivered in a tone that brooked no discussion. The small, bright creature was not so easily deterred.

"Ha! You can't tell me that. I know there is so much more that you can do."

The rumbling deepened. The cat stared for another while, impassive. Just as the small, bright creature could stand it no longer and prepared to launch into another round of persuasion, the cat spoke again.

"Oh, much more."

If one were to listen closely, a hint of amusement - and possibly threat - could be heard. The small, bright creature was not listening that closely.

"You see - I told you. Come on, we can have so many adventures together. You just have to believe that you can - and then just do it".

The cat stared - its face unreadable. Suddenly it yawned. Its jaw hinged open far more than it had a right to and an impressive, and frightening, array of teeth was on display for a moment before the mouth shut with a sharp click.

The small, bright creature did not seem impressed and watched as the cat stretched.

"Excellent - that's the spirit. You never know what you can do until you try. Let's go, follow ... Eeeek!"

There was a blur and the small, bright creature found itself brought to a sudden halt. One of its limbs was trapped by a set of long, very strong and extremely sharp-looking claws that had sprung from the cat's outstretched soft, padded paw. Those claws had not been visible a moment ago.

"Why did you that?!!"

The rumbling deepened - into a full-throated purr that seemed to shake the very air.

"Because I agree with you. There are some things you should do, simply because you can."

The cat paused, before continuing. "Now, while you still can, perhaps you might go off somewhere in search of adventure - by yourself."

The cat closed its eyes again, the purring dying down to a distant rumble. Then, almost as an afterthought, the claws retracted, freeing the trapped limb.

Opening its eyes briefly some long time later, the cat noted that there was no other creature to be seen.