Once upon a time there was an animal hospital in Tokyo that had accumulated a number of full-time-ownerless-boarders. Among them was a stray female that gave birth at the hospital, during the summer. She had four kittens, three of which were adopted soon after, and one, the runt, who stayed with her. There were lots of other stray cats at the hospital, and once a day they were let out into an examining room to play with each other. Among them was this runt. He never played with the others though. His main objective was to get as close as possible to the nurse, and get her to hold him for the duration of the free period. The nurse was always happy to give him attention, but she tried to divide up her time evenly among the other cats too. This was his life, and he was happy. He had his mother, and he had his nurses to lavish him with attention. He played with the other cats just to be social, but really he prefered the human attention.
One day, the free period came in the middle of the day, much earlier than usual. The other kittens were excited and a rumor was going around that one of them would be leaving today. "Who? Who's leaving for where?" The little runt tried to find out, but every one was busy trying to get the nurses attention so that they could be next into the play room.
Finally the little runt was taken in. The room was more lively than usual, even the cat who normally didn't get excited were jumping and rolling with the others. The nurse left to get another kitten, and the runt cowered in the corner awaitng her return. He scaned the room, and discovered that there was another human in the room. A young lady, and she was picking up the kittens she could grab, and looking them over one by one. She tickled and played with each and tried to get others to come to her. Most of the kittens were busy playing though, and she couldn't get any to calm down enough for her to hold them. Just then the nurse came back.
The two began talking about the gender of the cats, and temperment, and as they did, the runt wormed his way onto the nurses lap. "OK little one I'll give you attention", the nurse said to him. "This one is really sweet, if you are looking for one with a good personality, but it is a boy. I know you wanted a girl but...", she siad to the young lady. "May I see him?", the young lady asked and the little runt was handed over to the young lady.
He was scared at first, but she pet him and scratched under his chin, and he relaxed. The little runt was not the prettiest cat. He had short legs, and a bobbed tail. Compared to the other cats, he was rather comical looking. His chest was white, and he had white socks on each of his paws. It looked like he was wearing a suit!
A few more words were exchanged regarding his age of six months, and whether he had been fixed or not. Just when he had gotten comfortable, he was swept away and placed in a carrying cage. "Good-bye!" "Good luck!" he could hear the other cats saying. "Be good dear, I'll miss you", his mother called out in a sad voice, and the next thing he knew he was bumping along in the carying cage watching the sidwalk go by, and then he was on a bus.
"Don't worry little one, you won't be lonely where we're going. Shimiton is waiting for you. He is your older brother, and he will show you the ropes", it was the young lady's face peering in at him. Her eyes were shiny and her smile was bright.
"Well", the runt thought, "If I'm with this lady, things can't be that bad." And he was right. Shimiton was a little domineering, and insisted on sitting on him, so the runt was named 'Zabuton' after the Japanese sitting cushion, and because it rhymed with Shimiton, but the two soon became best friends. The best part was they all got to sleep together every night. The young lady, Shimiton and Zabuton all snuggled in one bed.
And that is how Zabuton Joined Mie the Pooh's Family Zoo.
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| Hey! This is my secret hideout. | This chair is too small! | Ooh, that's the spot! |
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| Can I go with you please! | Hello! | Yep. This is my big brother Shimiton |
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