The Tail of the Cheshire Cat

Many years ago, there lived a young British Shorthair. He was a cat of great pride, one who always kept his head high and tail up. He was a king among cats, as his territory spread far and wide in the principality of Cheshire, England. From the start of his rule, all the other cats adored him. They all followed him and lay their heads down in respect for him, putting their tails between their legs as a show of surrender to him. "You all shall be below me. If you are to walk on a higher wall than I, you shall put your head down so I know, that you know who your ruler is." He was quite certain about his right to his throne.

There was one thing, however, that was a shared similarity in all cats in Cheshire: a love for cream. They all enjoyed their owners putting out bowls of cream for them to indulge themselves in. It was something they all loved. The thick, sugary milk-like substance was their favourite treat. And no cream was better than the cream in Cheshire.

The young Cheshire Cat's power was never challenged. He could always face down any challenge that came at him. However, one day a new threat came to his rule. So ludicrous, so powerful, he could have never seen it coming. One day, a younger Persian cat came into Chesire. She came with a young farm girl and her family. The Cheshire Cat looked upon her with a certain lust. After a long days' work patrolling his territory with his tail high in the sky, he slipped back down the stone fence out back and found her lying on the back porch. "Who is you, who looks so far away?" he asked, for he had never seen an Asian cat like her. She stood up and yawned slowly, looking at the young feline. "I am Aki. Nice to meet you. I come from a place west in Asia. I would not look like a European cat." she purred softly. He stiffened up, for he had not met an Asian cat before. "And you are?" she asked. "I am the Cheshire Cat. Young ruler of this territory which is known as Cheshire. Allow me to take you to our Normal Grounds." The normal grounds was a lakeside near a dairy farm, the biggest in Cheshire. He figured he would take her out to have some of the delicious substance known as Cheshire cream, and she would be all his. After taking her to the place where most of the cats regularly attended for cream, he slid her a bowl of the liquid gold. She took a few sips, and grinned at him. "This is very good. Allow me to show you a contribution from my land. She brought him back to the old farmhouse near her master's house. There she thrust at him a small gold bundle. "It is a rare delicacy from my home land. A dairy delicacy." He looked at it and gave it a small push with his paw, almost certain it was a poison. "This looks... unlike anything else I've encountered. What do you call it?" he asked her with a growing suspicion. "In Asia we call it food gold. But I hear here you call it cheese. It's a special type, very rare, very tasty." Still suspicious of this new item, he took a very minimal bite out of the side. It tasted quite salty yet delicious to him, and didn't appear to harm him, but the unfamiliar and suspicious look put him off. He backed away, looking at her with disgust. "This strange foreign food... does not satisfy me. I do not want it seen outside this farm." he said. She looked at him with disappointment. "The others shall probably like it." she argued. Furious she had taken a stance against him, he said "Heed what I say or you shall not be welcome among the other felines here." and he left in a hurry.

The next day he proceeded to the Normal Grounds to look upon his followers. When he arrived at the Grounds though, he discovered a terrible surprise. Aki had given the cheese from her land to the others, and they were quite enjoying it. "No!" he screamed, drawing his claws to scare her off. "No no, Cheshire. This is quite good. There is no reason to make her leave." said one cat. "But it is poison! It comes from far away. How do we know she's not trying to harm us with this substance.?!" he asked, frustrated. "Because, it is just cheese. Different than we know, but cheese all the same. There is no evidence of poison in it." Cheshire Cat was furious; how dare they be so bold as to defy the one who ruled them with. Seeing him upset, Aki simply said "See? They enjoy it. You can too. All cats like dairy, this should be no different to you." He stomped off in anger.

Over the next few moons, the cats slowly began accepting Aki as their new leader. Cheshire Cat no longer provided the cream that they all loved so much, as the cats of Cheshire found that they liked Aki's treat much better. Cats would stand up just as high as him or just avoid him altogether. He was no longer their king, just another arrogant and snobby British Shorthair. But Aki treated them well, and even thought she had come from an unseen land, they didn't care. She was nice and respectful to others, letting them eat the cheese and all the foods that gave them joy in the land. Meanwhile, the Cheshire Cat fell asleep each night in shame.

One day, walking, he saw Aki sitting nearby, laughing with all the cats that had followed him, the ones he cares about. That night, he once again found Aki lying in her backyard, sound asleep. She stirred as he approached. "I thought you despised me." she said. He sat down awkwardly. "I believe I owe you an apology. I realize I misjudged you for wanting to do something else just out of sheer feelings. I assumed it would be bad, simply because it was different from what I knew. But what you were doing was kind, and perfectly fine. In no way poison. I see that now, even if I could not before, I am sorry." he said softly, to the ground. She looked at him and grinned to him once again. "That's all you needed to say."

Over time, the Cheshire Cat regained his support. Although now, he had an adviser to help him whenever he may have strayed onto a less kind or unaccepting path. And every day, at around sunset, he would head to Aki's house to have some of the cheese. As the sun turned into moon, he enjoyed his special treat, from his new lover. She welcomed the newly reformed king into her paws, and they had both gained real feelings for one another. And whenever the Cheshire Cat took a bite of that cheese, his face would crack into a wide, euphoric grin.