The Cat and Mouse

         There once was a mouse that lived in the forest of life, he was a young and lively mouse. The mouse spent his days gathering berries and twigs for his nest. After days of gathering twigs and berries he grew tired of this routine. The mouse wanted adventure, he wanted excitement, he wanted his life to have meaning. He went for a walk in the forest hoping to find meaning for his life. After the mouse had walked for a while he came across a small cave. Curious the mouse entered the cave; after his eyes adjusted he saw a small pond in the middle of the cave. The mouse was thirsty from his adventure and he drank from the small pond. It was getting dark out so the mouse headed home, over the years the mouse never aged, he never grew frail like all his friends. He watched all his friends die, and the mouse became lonely. The mouse began to pray the he would die as he was heartbroken and lonely.
         The next day the mouse had a sudden urge to go to the small pond he had been to years before. On the way he saw a cat, at first the mouse was scared, as cats hunt mice. But when the mouse saw the sadness in the cats eyes he knew that the cats was no threat to him.
         "What is making you so sad Mr.cat?"
         "I have lost all my friends."
         "I have lost all of my friends too."
         "Where are you going Mr. Mouse?"
         "I prayed that I will die so I can see all my friends again, and I had a sudden urge to go to a small cave with a pond in it."
         "I have been to that cave. Do you drink any of the water?"
         "Yes I did."
         "Well since you drank the water you know have nine lives."
         "Nine lives!? I do not want to have nine lives Mr. Cat."
         "If you do not want to have nine lives you need to go back to the cave and drink from the pond once again. It will reverse the effects of the nine lives. I must warn you, if you drink the water you will surely die. Is that what you want?"
         "I want to see all of my friends again; I will drink from the pond one more time."
So the mouse set off for the pond, and drank the water. As soon as the water touched his lips the mouse died. The cat who had given the mouse his solution to end his lives is the guardian of the cave. And he is doomed to live out his nine lives forever warning those that come to the cave not to drink the cursed water.