CAT AND DOG

I've heard different versions of the cat and dog story, so I decided to write one of my own

Many many years ago, the cat and the dog existed as best of friends. They live together as good neighbours and did everything together. When they went hunting they both combined each other’s abilities to the quest; the cat’s skills and speed with the dog’s strength and aggression to bring down their pray. When they hunted for fruits, the cat would climb the tree and toss the fruits down. When it was time to fight, the dog will stand in for him and scare their foes away with his loud howl and fierce barks. But when it came to being clever, the cat was thought to be miles ahead of the dog.

One day man came into the kingdom and overthrew the Lion as king. He declared a hunting competition among all the carnivores in the kingdom. Any animal that returns with the biggest game will win a chance to live under his care as a friend, and to feed from his cooking pot. Never will he have to hunt for food or be hunted by man again.

At midnight, every animal set out in search of wild deer and buffaloes. As expected, all the large pray went into hiding, making the hunt a bit more difficult. The cat suggested to the dog that they should go to the lake in the village nearby to hunt the animals that come early to drink off it.

Before sunrise, they were at the lake. They lay there in ambush, waiting patiently. Shortly, the animals came one after the other in their herd to drink from it. Right after the monkeys, the baboons, the antelopes, even hyenas, and then the herd of deer came to the lake to drink.

The dog was losing patience. He wanted to jump out from hiding and attack right away. He couldn’t wait any longer, he could already picture himself lying on the floor by the feet of man, getting a back rob and feasting on his meal.

The wait was endless.

The pack of deer were quick to scramble off, scared away by a stampede of buffalos rushing towards the lake. When the new arrivals settled, they took their time to bath and drink from the water. The sight was glorious, the hefty beasts threw their pounds around so gracefully; massive trunks, dark polished horns and hoofs. The patient gamers nodded in agreement. The leader of the herd who was the largest stayed aside monitoring the terrain vigilantly, waiting to alert the others when danger approached. The beast was monstrous, puffing what looked like steam from it's nostrils. He was their pick.

The opportunity had presented itself, but bringing down such mass pf muscle, flesh and fibre will prove to be a herculean task. Instantly the cat thought out a brilliant plan to put down the large beast. They tied one end of a strong rope to the trunk of a tree across the path that led to the stream, and covered it in leaves. The dog sneaked to the opposite end of the stream, from there, he howled like a wolf from behind the bushes. The terrified pack followed their leader and swiftly raced towards the path way. As the leader approached the path, the cat pulled the rope, tripping it, and the unsuspecting herd stamped their leader to death.

The task has been done but only one could have a place in the man's home. The cat thought this through and knew it would be impossible to negotiate with the dog, he scowled and sighed as he worked towards the catch. An idea came to his thought, and an evil grin masked his face. Twisting his whiskers he chuckled and matched on.

The dog was elated, wagging hard and panting rapidly and hopping round the carcass. The cat walked up to him beamed a smile and offered him a warm hug, congratulating him for a job well done.

The cat suggested a meal before they set out back home. They caught some fishes, and the cat being the better cook volunteered to prepare their meal. The conning cat sent the dog away in search of leaves. When the dog traded out of sight, the cat proceeded with his evil plot. He stuffed one of the fishes with poison leaves that would make the dog sleep. The dog with his incredible sense of smell caught a scent of this. He sneaked closer and watched.

The dog returned soon after with the leaves, but remained mute about what he observed. After the meal the dog dropped and pretended to be glued within the depths of sleep. The cat picked up the loose end of the rope bound to the corpse and started dragging the heavy trophy to the village. At about a hundred yam length ahead, the dog sprung to its limbs and stalked after. He had pretended to have eaten the poisoned fish but hid some into the unsuspecting cat’s portion.

At a sight of the village through the greens, the weary cat slumped to earth, panting and gasping for breath. Soon he was in deep slumber. While having his catnap, the dog carefully lifted their game and set out.

When the cat got out of his snooze, he saw the dog in the distance stumping gallantly with the carcass.  The cat ran like never before, chasing after the Dog. He couldn’t make it, the dog had set the carcass at the feet of man, and assumed a valiant pose.

The cat arrived enraged and cried his plea, claiming a foul play, as he narrated their ordeal. All fell on deaf ears.

Man duly kept his words and made the dog his best friend. For the cat's cleverness and wonderful hunting skill, he rewarded by allowing it stay around the house, promising to accept the clever creature, if it impressed him well enough.

The rivalry lingered on generations upon generations, things never remained the same, they have till today been in constant competing. While the dog remained obedient and never left sight of its master, it also used his aggression to fight and scare enemies away from man's territory. The cat tried his best to be neat and of best behaviour, pretending to be calm and quite at all time, diligently hunting rodents in the house and scaring reptiles away.

The dog guards his rank jealously, and whenever they crossed each other's path, a chase begins, and a fight is eminent. No one knows it they can never forgive each other or trust each other again.

It continuous.