Don’t Be Mistaken

A cat and a dog once had a chat

Said the cat to the dog, “I am a cat.”

Said the dog to the cat, “Is that a fact?”

Said the cat to the dog, “I’ll swear to that.”

Said the dog to the cat, “I’m glad I know

For now I can add you to my list of foes.”

“Oh no,” said the cat, trembling to his toes

In a just a bit I’ll be in death throes.”

Some things you should keep to yourself

This could greatly enhance your health,

This knowledge to the dog was like wealth

Instantly he went into a mode of stealth.

The cat was trying to make a friend

Instead she came upon a long time fiend.

Upon whom could she call for help to send?

In this dilemma she was at her wit’s end.

But then she remembered her feline crew.

“I have a sister that’s bigger than you.

She’s ferocious and fierce and cunning too

And dogs like you she’ll be happy to chew.”

“Well you don’t know my family clan:

Fox, wolf and hyena, beat that if you can.

We rule the earth, every inch and span

We put fear in everyone, even a man.”

“My family head is the king of all beasts,

Yours revere him from the greatest to the least.

It would do you well with me to make peace

Lest he should come and make you his feast.”

“Who is this king of beasts you talk about?

 Would he hear you if you should shout?

Is he different from any my family did rout?

While the getting is good you’d better get out.”

“My family, the lion, is king over all,

Everyone who opposes him takes a great fall,

He’d be here in a minute if I should call,

If you like your life you would no longer stall.

“Ha, ha, ha, you really make me laugh,

If I were not careful I would crack in half,

I had never thought you’d go that path,

Sorry you won’t be here for the aftermath.”

With that said the dog rushed at the cat,

The cat stood her ground and humped her back,

The dog stopped suddenly in his attack,

“Was this fiction or was this really a fact?”

He stared at the cat; surely he was stunned,

He thought to himself, “This cat should have run.”

The dog realize this was no longer fun

And suddenly he wished the matter could be done.

“I have bitten more than I could chew,

I don’t know as much as I thought I knew,

O how I wish I could fix this, I really do!”

There was no doubt he had a change of view.

There is an exception to every rule,

I am sure you have heard this even at school,

This dog had mistaken this cat for a fool

And now at the end it was not even cool.

He thought the matter would go his way

Only to find out it was not his day.

The cat had managed to keep him at bay

It was really the dog that had gone astray.

Cats are afraid of dogs; that’s what we know,

In this case it seems this wasn’t so

Even though at the beginning it started to show

But greater than her fear this cat did grow.

She thought of family but this didn’t help

And she wasn’t a dog so she couldn’t yelp

And she couldn’t pretend to be a whelp

Because she was a cat and that’s how she felt.

Be yourself when things get tough,

Be yourself when the going is rough,

There are times when enough is enough,

You must stand your ground even if it’s a bluff.

The cat’s action left the dog bemused

The cat should have run but defiantly refused,

As a result the poor dog became confused,

“Was this for real or just a cat’s ruse?” 

While the dog thought, the cat walked away,

She had made her point; she had had her say,

This dog’s black and white had become grey

What if the matter had become a fray?

I hope this lesson you have learned,

It’s better to back off than to get burned,

Commonsense should never be spurned,

A cat claw in the eye is worse than a germ.

This meeting could have gone differently,

There was no need for animosity,

They too could have lived together in harmony

Had the dog’s response been more friendly.

So in the final stanza I’ll show the reverse

It would be good if we all could rehearse

Then there would be harmony instead of a curse.

To get the point just read the last verse.

A cat and a dog once had a chat

Said the cat to the dog, “I am a cat.”

Said the dog to the cat, “I know, that’s a fact.”

Said the cat to the dog, “You can count on that.”

Stewart Russell © August 2017