Oh, Heavenly Cat!

The Newberry award-winning book The Cat Who Went to Heaven is short enough to read in one sitting, but poignant enough to remain in your heart long afterward. It is the simple tale of a starving artist who has never gotten the recognition he deserves. He barely has money to take care of himself, so he is not pleased when his housekeeper brings home a cat. However, the cat is so well-mannered that the artist grows to enjoy his company and allows him to stay.

One day, he receives a commission from the priest at the local temple to paint a grand painting to be hung in the temple. The artist spends the days leading up to his deadline immersed in his work, trying to reach into the soul of each animal which the Buddha became at one time. As the deadline nears, his painting fills up with glorious depictions of hundreds of animals. As each day passes, the cat grows more despondent because he has not been included in the painting. But according to tradition, the cat was the only animal who refused to acknowledge the Buddha. To include a cat in his painting would be utterly blasphemous.

The night before the deadline arrives, and the painting is perfect. But the cat is utterly miserable and is starving because he has refused to eat. And now the artist is faced with a great dilemma: Should he add a cat to the painting and risk the wrath of Buddha and his priests, or should he leave it as is and crush the feline who has been so loyal to him?

The ending of this story is nothing short of miraculous, and it is a beautiful commentary on love, loyalty, and forgiveness. You don't have to be a Buddhist to appreciate this simple tale of the bond between a man and his cat. Its message is something all of us could afford to hear.