Story: Individuality

There once was a kitten named Charlie with extremely large ears. He was already a small kitten compared to all of his friends and siblings and he had to run extra hard in order to keep up with his pals. His friends always made fun of him for having such large ears and Charlie was very insecure about them. His mother told him not to worry because his large ears would come in handy one day; she told him to embrace his differences. Even though his siblings teased him and he often got his large ears caught on things when he ran and played with his friends, Charlie tried to do as his mother had told him and embrace his giant, elephant-like ears.

One day Charlie wanted to go play in the woods with his brothers and sisters and their friends. His mother had never let them go play alone because the other creatures that lived in the woods were dangerous and unpredictable. The woods are a big place with lots of different predators and the kittens were so small and defenseless. Since the kittens had just had their nine week birthday, the mother cat decided it was time to let them go off on their own for just a little while. "Be back in an hour and make sure to keep an ear and an eye out for danger," she told them.

Charlie was so excited because he finally felt like a big cat, adventuring without his mother by his side. The kittens played for a long time; hide and seek, wrestling, and racing games were their favorite. Little Charlie had really worn himself out and decided to lie down and watch everyone else play. Soon, he began to hear noises off in the distance. They sounded like quiet huffing at first. Charlie asked the others if they could hear the noises as well. They answered that they could not hear anything. They teased Charlie and told him that his big ears were just hearing things. After a few more minutes, the sounds seemed to be getting louder and more distinct; the kitten could tell that the noises now sounded more like barking. Charlie quickly realized it was a group of dogs and they were heading straight to where the kittens were playing.

Immediately, Charlie yelled at everyone to stop playing and to run as fast as they could back to where Mother Cat was at. His friends all took off running together. They could all now hear the panting of the big pack of dogs as they ran towards the small group of kittens. Thankfully, they were able to escape the dogs. Without the head start that Charlie had given them, they might not have been as lucky. The friends all apologized to Charlie and told him that they were very thankful that he had been born with such big ears. Never again did the kittens tease Charlie for his special ears; instead they also embraced his differences.

No one person or thing is the same. This is what makes the world so cool and unique; it is made up of individuals who have different skills and traits that all come together to complement each other. What many don’t realize is that their quirks or insecurities are what set them apart and make them special and allow them to help others.

Photo of kittens Pixbay

Author's Note: The story that inspired my retelling is from The Hart and the Hunter. It is about a deer with amazingly beautiful and immense antlers. One day the deer is admiring his great antlers in the reflection of the water. He loves his antlers, but is not so proud of his petite, skinny legs. He wishes for legs that were worthy of his beautiful antlers. A hunter, who is especially impressed by the deer’s great antlers, spots him. The deer notices that the hunter has targeted him and because of his slim legs, he is able to make a quick escape...almost. In the end of this story, the deer is running from the hunter and in his attempt at escape, he gets his antlers stuck on a tree which was hanging lower to the ground than expected. This causes the deer to become easy prey to the hunter. He is unable to free himself and the hunter takes action on the vulnerable animal. I think this story is very easy to relate to because everyone has features and aspects about themselves that they do not like. Likewise, we all have things that we like a lot. I like the moral that this story told, which is to not take for granted the things about ourselves which we do not like; in the end, these could be the things that we end up needing most. I liked this story, but it made me sad that the deer was ultimately caught for something that he liked about himself. I changed my retelling of the story because I wish the deer had been given the chance to appreciate his legs more and learn their true value. The only reason he had been able to make a quick escape in the first place is because of his legs in which he was not proud of. This is why in my story, I enabled the kitten to understand his ears’ value and ability.

Bibliography: The Hart and the Hunter, by Joseph Jacobs