Why Dogs Chase Cats
Dog and Cat were really good neighbors.
Dog and Cat never had a fight.
They said hello when they got up in the morning.
They said good bye when they went to bed at night.
Dog and were good neighbors. They lived next door to each other. They each had their own jobs to help them pay their bills and to put food on the table. Dog chased away burglars. He picked up sticks in the park. He often chased squirrels out of people's gardens and could be seen helpfully washing down fire hydrants from time to time.
Cat has a job also. Cat caught rats and mice. She got paid for her work and always had extra mouse-ka-bobs to eat for dinner. Cat was also a Purr-fect baby sitter. Cat would curl up next to children and purr to put them to sleep.
In case you did not know it, animals are a lot like people. When they have a good job, a nice home and are well fed, they are happy and get along.
Unfortunately something happened. Just like humans - Dog and Cat got old. They moved slower. Dog could not catch burglars. He was too old to chase squirrels out of gardens. It was hard to bend over to pick up sticks, and he was not as good at washing the fire hydrants.
Cat could no longer catch rats and mice. He was too grouchy to be around children. So, just like humans who cannot work - Dog and Cat did not get paid. They did not have enough money to eat and began to act mean towards one another.
Still, Dog had an idea. He went into the house and brought out his "Doggy Bank." He had Cat bring out her "Kitty Bank." You can laugh at that, but humans have "Piggy Banks!"
Dog and Cat put their money together. They walked together to the butcher store. There they bought the biggest ham in the world. It was so large that neither could carry it for very long. When Dog carried the ham, he sang a song, "Our ham. Our ham. Our ham."
But when Cat carried the ham, She sang a different song, "My ham. My ham. My Ham."
Excuse me, said Dog. It was my money AND your money that bought the ham. So it is OUR ham! He went on to sing, "Our ham. Our ham. Our ham."
""Uh, uh!" said the Cat. "It is MY ham! My ham. My ham. My Ham."
"No, no, no," said the Dog! "It's our ham! Our ham! Our ham!
The Cat took the ham back to carry it and started singing, "My ham! My ham My ham!
When they got back home, the Cat grabbed the ham and climbed a tall tree. It sat in the top of that tree for three days while the Dog stood at the bottom howling. Everyone things dogs are howling at the moon. But they are really looking up and thinking about that ham in the treetop and howl at the thought. After three days, Cat dropped the bone right on Dog's head. "Pow!"
When Cat came down out of the tree, Dog chased him up another one. By now most dogs have heard the story, and that is why dogs chase cats.