"How the Cat Saved Japan"

A very hard story to tell an innocent little boy...

“Will you please read to me, Aunt Tina,” my four-year old nephew, John, begged from the top of the stairs.

I immediately recognized the delay tactic for what it was. I had been trying to get the child to sleep for over an hour, but a glance at his pleading face melted my heart.

“Just one story, please?”

“Alright, alright” I gave in. “Go find a book, and I’ll be up in a minute.”

Grabbing a coke from the fridge, I headed up and found him all settled into bed wearing a huge victor’s smile and extending a book to me. Shaking my head at my own gullibility, I reached for it.

Then I froze when I saw the book he picked.

“No, John, lets not read this one. How ‘bout a different one?”

“But, Aunt Tina,” he countered, “It’s the book you wrote about me.” Certain that settled the matter; he thrust the book back at me.

It would take too long to argue with him, I knew from experience. If I just read the book quickly, then maybe we could move on to something else, like the child actually going to sleep.

I glanced at the cover, flipped the book open, swallowed the lump in my throat, and began, “There once was a cat named Rabbit and a boy named John…”

“No,” he interrupted, “you have to read it from the beginning.”

Disgruntled, I flipped to the Title Page and tried to bail out of it one more time. “Why don’t you have mommy or daddy read this tomorrow night? They won’t be on date night then.”

“No,” he whined. “You read it.”

Recognizing defeat, I started at the very beginning.

“How the Cat Saved Japan: A Rabbit the Cat and John the Boy Story, written and illustrated by Tina B.”

I flipped the page, and the lump in my throat grew a little bigger.

“This book is dedicated to wonderful people in Japan. Thank you for graciously welcoming me into your world for the two years I lived there…”

He chimed in again, “caused you were in the Navy before you wrote books, right?”

“That’s right, pumpkin.”

I continued with the dedication “and thank you for showing me your kind and gentle spirit.”

I paused to collect myself and push back the images of the giant tidal wave that washed over Sendai last week.

Clearing my throat, I read the part John really wanted to hear. “This book is also dedicated to Rabbit, the best cat in the world and John, the best nephew in the universe. May this be the start of many adventures for all of us.

John nodded, satisfied, so I continued.

“There once was a cat named Rabbit and a boy named John. Rabbit the Cat was just a tiny kitten when he and John the Boy first meet.”

I read the details about how John and Rabbit became friends and about some of their lesser adventures. Then I started to choke up again when I came to the true conflict of the story.

“Rabbit the Cat and John the Boy lived at the foot of the world’s largest volcano, Mt. Aso. One day, the volcano was so angry he decided to wipe out half of Japan, and nobody knew what to do except Rabbit the Cat.”

My sharp four-year old nephew noticed my downcast face.

“Why are you sad, Aunt Tina?”

I had no idea what to say. He’s too little for real life stories. Do I tell him the horrible things that Mother Nature can really do? Then there was the fact that I wasn’t in the habit to lying to the kid.

“I’m just sad because there was an earthquake in Japan last week, and a lot of people were hurt, kiddo.”

I dove back in the story as quick as I could to prevent further questions. I wove the tale about how the cat and the boy joined forces to appease the angry mountain so there would be no destruction.

I looked up and saw John’s eyes were half closed, so I quietly finished.

“Rabbit the Cat and John the Boy were heroes. Because Rabbit the Cat and John the Boy stopped the volcano from hurting people, they carved a huge statue of them and put it at the foot of the mountain. That way, Mt. Aso would always remember how Rabbit the Cat and John the Boy taught him not to get so angry.

The End”

Peering over the top of the book, I was relieved to see my nephew fast asleep.

I tiptoed downstairs, turned on CNN and sank into the couch. The real Rabbit the Cat jumped in my lap and curled up to go to sleep, too.

“Witnesses describe watching the earth roll beneath them,” the newscaster mournfully reported.

I couldn’t stop the tears now as picture after picture flashed on the screen of incomprehensible loss.

Next, the trembling voice of a Japanese woman “We don’t have any electric, water, gas. Some how we can hang in there and hope.”

Another newscaster describes the nuclear disaster.

“Workers aren’t very well protected…keep that plant from overheating…and they know they’re being exposed to radiation...”

My low sobbing was interrupted by a gasp of surprise at the top of the stairs. I looked up to see shock and fear on my little nephew’s face as he saw the same images I did.

In all his innocence, John looked first at me, then the TV, and then to the sleeping cat and asked, “how come Rabbit the Cat didn’t stop it?”

I turned the TV off and tried to explain. “’How the Cat Saved Japan’ is just a story, pumpkin.” I answered. “Cats and little boys can’t really stop earthquakes and volcanoes.”

I watched the innocence drain from his eyes and fill with accusation, dismay and horror. He ran back to his room, and I wished more than anything that cats and little boys could have truly saved Japan.

Tina B

Word Count=1000
Prompt: Write a story or poem entitled "How the Cat Saved Japan."

The truth in this story:
-I do have a cat named Rabbit (and I got him when I was stationed in Japan)
-I fall for “please, Aunt Tina” all the time.
-The largest volcano in the world is Mt. Aso in southern Japan.
-To me, the Japanese people are the kindest people I ever met.
-The CNN newscaster and Japanese woman quotes are verbatim from a news clip on CNN's website titled “Japan Disaster: The First 7 Days.”
-I can’t keep from crying every time I see the loss and devastation brought on by the earthquake and the tsunami.


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