WONDERFUL WELCOME
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 9: THE GIFT OF MUTUAL CARING
BY AISHA HAUSER AND SUSAN LAWRENCE
© Copyright 2008 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/8/2014 9:20:27 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
SESSION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
We know from science that nothing in the universe exists as an isolated or independent entity.
— Margaret Wheatley, American author and management consultant
This session focuses on the intangible gift of mutual caring in the connections we can make with animals. While the gift is reciprocal in many ways — including responsibility, affection, and loyalty — humans have the power to name and nurture it. By exploring and affirming mutually these relationships, this session affirms our seventh Principle, the interconnectedness of all life.
The children will talk about their own interactions with animals and learn about relationships in which a person and an animal need each other. The central story introduces guide dogs trained to help owners with disabilities: In these relationships, the animal depends on its owner for survival and nurture, and the owner depends on the animal for help with daily tasks and personal safety.
Encourage all the children to reflect on their experiences, even those who have had limited exposure to the special and at times spiritual connection that can occur between animals and people.
Make plans well ahead of time if you want to include Alternate Activity 1, Visit from a Guide Dog. Alternately, consider inviting children to bring a real pet for Activity 4, Blessing of the Animals. First, find out from parents or your religious educator if any children have extreme animal allergies or fears. If so, it may be best to skip the live animal visitors. Make sure you include safety rules for dealing with unfamiliar animals, animals in the wild, and other people's pets, whether or not live animals are part of the session.
Alternate Activity 2, Making Dog Biscuits, requires use of a kitchen. After baking, Vegan Dog Treats need eight hours to harden before packaging. The Faith in Action activity suggests that the children sell or donate the biscuits.
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Opening | 5 |
Activity 1: The Wonder Box | 5 |
Activity 2: Story — Leila Raises a Puppy | 10 |
Activity 3: Animal Friends Pretend Play | 20 |
Activity 4: Blessing of the Animals | 15 |
Faith in Action: We Appreciate Our Animal Friends | 60 |
Closing | 5 |
Alternate Activity 1: Visit from a Guide Dog | 60 |
Alternate Activity 2: Story — St. Francis and the Wolf | 10 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Folk tales, sacred texts and contemporary stories tend to either glorify or demonize our relationship with animals. For good or for bad, humans and animals are connected, and when we have a special animal in our lives, that connection can be powerful. .Examine your own relationships with animals. Have you ever owned a pet? In what ways was that relationship mutually caring?
If you have never owned a pet, why not? Whatever your experiences, prepare to discover more about this intangible gift as you learn with the children.
SESSION PLAN
OPENING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather participants in a circle around the chalice. Explain that you start each session with a ritual. Say:
All around the world, Unitarian Universalists of all ages light chalices when they gather together. With this ritual, Unitarian Universalists can connect to one another, even though they might never meet each other.
Now we will light the chalice, the symbol of our Unitarian Universalist faith; then say together our opening words.
Light the chalice and invite the children to repeat each line of the opening words:
We are Unitarian Universalists.
With minds that think,
Hearts that love,
And hands that are ready to serve.
Together we care for our Earth,
And work for friendship and peace in our world.
Extinguish the chalice.
ACTIVITY 1: THE WONDER BOX (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
With the children still in a circle, show the Wonder Box. Invite them to guess what gift could be in this big, beautifully wrapped box. Take some guesses. Then pass the box around for children to open and find the dog-related items inside. Invite brief comments on their experiences and relationships with animals .Let them know they will have more opportunity to share later.
Including All Participants
Some children may want pets and their parents have chosen not to have one. Without taking a side, you may want to affirm the immense responsibility of pet ownership.
Children whose allergies limit the contact they can have with animals may express sadness about this. Be mindful to offer empathy.
Be prepared for a child to bring up the death of a pet. You may like to have on hand the book, The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Erik Blegvad (New York: Simon & Schuster/Aladdin, 1987). The book focuses on a little boy's relationship to his cat and how he copes with his loss when the cat dies.
ACTIVITY 2: STORY — LEILA RAISES A PUPPY" (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Ask the children how they would feel about raising a puppy they would have to give away. The children may talk about their own pets and they may say they would never give away their pet. Affirm this decision. Then say:
This story is about a family that decided to raise a puppy they knew they would have to give away.
Read or tell the story.
Then, ask the children why they think a family would want to raise a puppy that would then go live with someone else. Affirm answers that touch on the importance of the job the puppy will have when it grows up. You might ask:
Show the children any materials you have brought in about how guide dogs help people with disabilities lead independent lives. You may like to discuss these points:
ACTIVITY 3: ANIMAL FRIENDS PRETEND PLAY (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
In this activity, children draw pictures of mutually caring relationships between people and animals.
Ask the children to think of an animal they have as a friend or one that they would like to have as a friend. Tell them it can be a real animal, such as their own pet, or an animal they have read about or seen pictures of.
Make it clear that they can use their imaginations, while acknowledging "real life" safety rules. You might say:
Of course it would not be safe to make friends with a wild raccoon. And, you wouldn't really pat or play with a strange dog you do not know. But it is okay to pretend some things and imagine an animal friend for your mutually caring picture.
Distribute photocopies of Handout 1, My Animal Friend. Invite the children to draw a picture of themselves with their animal friend. If they prefer, they could draw someone else with an animal friend — for example, a person who has a guide dog. Visit each child and help them fill in the blanks on the handout to name the person and the animal in the picture.
While children draw, ask them, "What are the person and the animal doing together in the picture?" and "How do they showing that they care for one another?" Encourage children to identify some elements of mutual caring in their pictures with questions such as:
Variation
If the group has children who need to move around, invite them to take turns demonstrating the relationship of mutual caring that they are drawing. Assign or let them choose another child to play the animal role.
Or, end the drawing activity and gather the group in a circle. Pair the children. Invite pairs to demonstrate the human/animal relationships they have drawn.
Including All Participants
If you plan to include the demonstrations, it may be helpful to have more adults on hand for this activity, especially if the group includes children with high energy or who have trouble focusing.
ACTIVITY 4: BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Children experience a Blessing of the Animals ceremony.
Gather the children in a circle with their toy or stuffed animals.
Tell them, in your own words:
At many Unitarian Universalist congregations like ours, people sometimes come together to bless the animals. This tradition comes from our Catholic friends. A blessing shows how we appreciate the animals in our lives. These might be the pets in our families. It can also be animals we think are beautiful to look at or nice to pet on a farm, or animals that give us wool for clothes, pull plows on farms, and even give us their bodies for our food. We are going to have a Blessing of the Animals here today.
Ask the children to think of at least one thing that is special, valuable, or wonderful about the animal they are holding. Tell them they will each have a chance to say something about the animal. They may pretend the animal they are holding is a real animal they would like to bless, such as a dog or cat that is at home today. Or, they can think of something they appreciate about the kind of animal they are holding; for example: A tiger is beautiful and strong. A kangaroo can jump high. A lamb is cute and grows up to give us wool for clothes. A dog will love you if you are kind to it and take care of it.
Conduct the ritual you have planned. The ritual might include a chalice-lighting, a chance for each child to say how they appreciate an animal, and a collective blessing of all the animals. If the group is not too large, you might like to bless each child's animal individually, and invite the child to say something about the animal at that time. Then lead the children on a parade with their animals unless you have chosen to hold the parade before the ritual.
Including All Participants
It may be helpful to have additional adult volunteers for this activity, especially if the group includes children with high energy or who have trouble focusing.
CLOSING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle. Show the Wonder Box poster. Explain that it looks like the Wonder Box to remind us of our intangible gifts. Invite a child to tape or glue the picture of the guide dog to the poster. You may say, in your own words:
Now we will see the guide dog when we are together. It will remind us that there are many ways we can help animals and they can help us. We can give and receive the gift of mutual caring with different animals we in our lives. When we feed an animal, when a guide dog helps someone get around, when we pat a dog and the dog licks our hand with affection, we are caring for each other as part of the interdependent web of life.
Tell the children you are happy and thankful you all could be together this morning. You may say:
Giving thanks for being together helps us remember that all of us, humans and animals, are part of the web of life. Let's say our closing words of gratitude together.
Invite the children to hold hands. Show them where you have posted the closing words. Ask them to say each line with you, and say the lines slowly:
We are thankful.
We are thankful to be here.
We are thankful to be here, together.
We are thankful to be here, together, now.
Then ask one child to very gently squeeze the hand of the person to their left, and have that person continue to pass the squeeze until the squeeze has returned to the person who started it. Tell the person who started the squeeze to signal that it has returned to them by raising their arms, still holding hands with the people on either side. When this happens, instruct everyone to raise their clasped hands, together. If you like, suggest a word for them to say at this moment, like "Good-bye" or "Shalom," or the name of this session's intangible gift — "Mutual Caring."
Extinguish the chalice. Distribute Taking It Home handouts. Thank and dismiss participants.
FAITH IN ACTION: WE APPRECIATE OUR ANIMAL FRIENDS (60 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
The children make Vegan Dog Treats and package them in gift bags. The children can give the biscuits to a local animal shelter or sell them as a fundraiser for a no-kill animal shelter, an animal protection organization, or a guide dog training school.
If the children are making the Vegan Dog Treat dough, have the group work together to measure and assemble the ingredients. Then set up smaller groups for rolling dough, cutting out the shapes and placing biscuits on cookie sheets. Before baking, use wax paper to separate layers of uncooked biscuits.
Have all the children wash their hands in preparation for working with food. While they work, talk about the importance of caring for animals. Ask them in what ways pets depend on their owners to take care of them. Invite children to list different responsibilities someone with a pet may have, such as feeding, walking, and bathing their pet and taking the pet to the vet. Tell the children about the shelter or guide dog training school that will be the recipient of their gift of biscuits or money.
Including All Participants
It may be helpful to have additional adult or high school youth volunteers on hand for this activity, especially if the group is large, includes children with high energy or children who have trouble focusing.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Take a few minutes and think about how this session went. Reflect on the children's reactions to the story and the activities. Were any of the children already familiar with guide dogs? Did any of the children have allergies to animals, or bring fears or past negative experiences to the session? How did prior experiences, positive or negative, affect individual children's participation and the session outcomes? What can we learn from the experience of this session? What preparations do we need to make for the next session?
TAKING IT HOME
We know from science that nothing in the universe exists as an isolated or independent entity. – Margaret Wheatley, American author and management consultant
IN TODAY’S SESSION… The children learned about how animals are trained to help people with disabilities. They learned that animals’ potential to be useful to humans speaks to a deeper, seventh Principle connection that can exist beyond the feeding and shelter of pets. The children made biscuits to take to (or raise money for) an animal shelter and heard a story, Leila Raises a Puppy, about a family that raised a puppy and prepared it for training to be a guide dog.
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGEHER. Talk about… How are members of your family connected with animals? Do you have a pet? What contact has your family had with animals that assist people with special needs? When has your child had opportunities to interact with farm animals?
Talk about animals that members of your family have known, and how you have loved and/or taken care of them. Identify elements of mutual caring in your relationship with specific animals. If you have a family pet, point out that when your child helps with its care, they earn the pet’s affection and loyalty.
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Try… Sit together outside your home and see how many animals you notice. Even urban areas offer opportunities to see animals in their natural habitat, such as squirrels, insects and birds of many kinds. Notice what the animals are doing. Are they searching for food? Are they playing together?
FAMILY ADVENTURE
Is there is a petting zoo in your area? Go as a family to a small-scale zoo that provides safe, direct interaction with animals. Often a petting zoo allows visitors to feed as well as touch animals.
FAMILY DISCOVERY
Part of a mutually caring relationship is to protect the other party from harm. As a family, go outdoors and practice caring for wild animal friends by leaving them alone. Talk about how wildlife is part of the environment that humans enjoy. Share your knowledge about how human actions affect wildlife. At a local pond, for example, tell your children, that feeding scraps of bread to waterfowl can actually harm them. Online, find information on encounters with animals in the wild, such as a Wildlife Safety (at www.nps.gov/kefj/planyourvisit/wildlife-safety.htm) section of the National Park Service website or this information on National Parks and Safety Tips (at ezinearticles.com/?National-Parks-and-Wildlife-Safety-Tips&id=661665) from Ezine Articles.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: VISIT FROM A GUIDE DOG (60 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Invite a working animal to visit the group with its owner. Have the owner give a demonstration of how the dog takes care of him/her and talk about how the human, in turn, takes care of the dog. An owner might also talk about how the animal was trained. In discussion, stress the mutual care that characterizes this human/animal relationship.
The children might like to present the visiting dog with Vegan Dog Treats as a thank-you gift. Determine beforehand if the owner approves.
Including All Participants
From your religious educator and parents, determine whether any of the children have allergies, fears or other conditions that require special accommodations for them to meet a guide dog.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: STORY — ST. FRANCIS AND THE WOLF (10 MINUTES)
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Tell the children this story comes from the Catholic tradition. You may say:
Francis of Assisi was a man who loved animals. The Catholic faith finds him so special that he is called a saint. This story is about him.
Read or tell the story.
WONDERFUL WELCOME: SESSION 9:
STORY: LEILA RAISES A PUPPY
Read or tell the story.
Have you ever had to give something away that you really loved? This is a story about a little girl who gave away a puppy she really loved because she made the decision to help someone else.
Leila was staring out the car window noticing the sun shining through the leaves as she thought about the children's worship service she heard that day. It was about the Unitarian Universalist idea of the web of life. Leila remembered this idea by calling it "the spider web of life." The lines of the web connect everything that is alive — people all over the world, and plants, and all the animals.
Leila knew how pollution and litter hurt all the life that shared the web. Leila was very sensitive about littering. She never threw garbage on the ground. She knew to turn off the lights when she left a room, to save energy. Leila was thinking she could do more to help the web of life. But, she didn't know what to do.
"How about volunteer at an animal shelter?" her mother, Sophie, suggested.
"Maybe," said Leila as she gazed out the window.
Instead of going right home, her mom parked in front of the local ice cream shop. "Hey, are we having ice cream for lunch?" asked Leila, coming out of her thoughts.
"We are! I feel like having an ice cream for lunch today," said Sophie.
In the ice cream shop, Leila noticed a dog with a bright yellow jacket on it and a stiff, rectangular leash. She loved dogs and wanted to run over and pet this one, but its jacket had some writing on it. "Mom, what does that sign say?" Leila asked.
"Dog in training. Please do not pet," read her mom.
Leila asked, "What is that dog training for?" Sophie explained that the dog was being trained to be a guide dog for people that can't see, people who are blind. Leila looked at the person holding the leash and said, "She looks like she can see."
"That's right," her mom replied. "The person holding the leash is a trainer. A guide dog has to be trained for a long time before it can help a person who can't see."
Licking on her cone in the back seat of the car, Leila thought about how dogs could be people's helpers. When they got home, Leila asked her mother, "Mom, could we get a puppy and train it to be a guide dog? We would be part of the spider web of life," she said. "We can help a dog that grows up to help a person!"
"We'll see," said her mom.
That night, Leila's parents talked about it. "Does Leila understand that the puppy would only live with us for a short time?" asked her father, Claudio. "What if she loves the puppy so much, she can't say goodbye when she needs to?"
"I thought about that, too," said her mom. "But, I love that she wants to do something so generous. I think Leila understands how helping the dog get ready to help someone else is a good way to be part of the interdependent web of life."
So Leila and her family signed up to be "Puppy Raisers" for a school that trained guide dogs for people who are blind. The guide dog staff interviewed Leila and her parents and visited their home, to make sure the puppy would be safe and well cared for. The puppy would live with them until it was about one year old. Leila was very excited to have a pet of her very own, one that would grow up to have an important job. Now they just had to wait for the right puppy to be born.
One morning a few months later, Leila opened her eyes and stretched with her arms way over her head. She put her arms down and yelled, "MOM! Is today the day? Are we getting the puppy we are going to train TODAY?!"
Leila and her family went to the guide dog school. They met a woman named Nadia, who introduced them to Chester , an adorable, tiny puppy. He was so cute! Leila loved him right away.
"Of course, you will feed Chester and take him for walks, and it is fine to love him and play with him," Nadia said, "But, you also have to get him ready to be a working dog. Take him everywhere you go. He needs to get used to lots of people, loud noises, and traffic."
The whole year Leila was in first grade, she played with Chester every day and took him for walks. She learned how to read the words on the sign he wore: "Dog in training. Please do not pet." Leila knew some day she would have to say goodbye to Chester , but for now, she cherished her time with him.
When first grade was finished for Leila, it was time for Chester 's school to begin. Leila and her family returned Chester to the guide dog school which would be his next home. Nadia told Leila and her family they could come see Chester graduate from guide dog school when he was ready to go live with a person who needed him. Leila was sad to say goodbye, but she knew Chester would learn to do a very important job.
On a beautiful day when Leila was in second grade, she and her parents were invited to the guide dog graduation. Nadia brought them to see Chester . He had grown a lot bigger. As soon as Leila saw Chester , she shouted and ran up to him. Chester whimpered with joy when he saw Leila, but he stayed where he had been told to stay — next to Miranda, the seventeen-year-old high school girl who would be taking him home. Chester had been trained very well. Leila realized with a little tug at her heart that Chester was no longer her pet.
Leila looked shyly at Miranda, and Nadia introduced them to each other. "Miranda has been blind since birth," Nadia said. "This is the first time she will have a guide dog, so she has been in school with Chester , too. Now they know how to work together. Chester can help Miranda do things she could not do on her own."
"Hi, Miranda," said Leila.
"It's very nice to meet you, Leila. Thank you for taking care of Chester when he was a puppy. I can tell you and your parents have done a great job! Chester is friendly and he is very focused. We have been walking around my neighborhood all by ourselves!" said Miranda.
"Please take very good care of Chester ," said Leila. "He likes lots of hugs."
"I will take very good care of him. I promise," said Miranda. "And he will take care of me."
After the ceremony, Leila and her parents went home. Even though Leila would always miss Chester, she felt very good about helping Miranda. She felt so good that she asked her parents, "When can we adopt another puppy to become a guide dog?"
WONDERFUL WELCOME: SESSION 9:
STORY: ST. FRANCIS AND THE WOLF
This telling of "St. Francis and the Wolf" was written by John Feister, editor of AmericanCatholic.org, based on the story recorded by Thomas of Celano during the 13th century.
Read or tell the story.
Perhaps the most famous story of St. Francis is when he tamed the wolf that was terrorizing the people of Gubbio. While Francis was staying in that town he learned of a wolf so ravenous that it was not only killing and eating animals, but people, too. The people took up arms and went after it, but those who encountered the wolf perished at its sharp teeth. Villagers became afraid to leave the city walls.
Francis had pity on the people and decided to go out and meet the wolf. He was desperately warned by the people, but he insisted that God would take care of him. A brave friar and several peasants accompanied Francis outside the city gate. But soon the peasants lost heart and said they would go no farther.
Francis and his companion began to walk on. Suddenly the wolf, jaws agape, charged out of the woods at the couple. Francis made the Sign of the Cross toward it. The power of God caused the wolf to slow down and to close its mouth.
Then Francis called out to the creature: "Come to me, Brother Wolf. In the name of Christ, I order you not to hurt anyone." At that moment the wolf lowered its head and lay down at St. Francis' feet, meek as a lamb.
St. Francis explained to the wolf that he had been terrorizing the people, killing not only animals, but humans who are made in the image of God. "Brother Wolf," said Francis, "I want to make peace between you and the people of Gubbio. They will harm you no more and you must no longer harm them. All past crimes are to be forgiven."
The wolf showed its assent by moving its body and nodding its head. Then to the absolute surprise of the gathering crowd, Francis asked the wolf to make a pledge. As St. Francis extended his hand to receive the pledge, so the wolf extended its front paw and placed it into the saint's hand. Then Francis commanded the wolf to follow him into town to make a peace pact with the townspeople. The wolf meekly followed St. Francis.
By the time they got to the town square, everyone was there to witness the miracle. With the wolf at his side, Francis gave the town a sermon on the wondrous and fearful love of God, calling them to repent from all their sins. Then he offered the townspeople peace, on behalf of the wolf. The townspeople promised in a loud voice to feed the wolf. Then Francis asked the wolf if he would live in peace under those terms. He bowed his head and twisted his body in a way that convinced everyone he accepted the pact. Then once again the wolf placed its paw in Francis' hand as a sign of the pact.
From that day on the people kept the pact they had made. The wolf lived for two years among the townspeople, going from door to door for food. It hurt no one and no one hurt it. Even the dogs did not bark at it. When the wolf finally died of old age, the people of Gubbio were sad. The wolf's peaceful ways had been a living reminder to them of the wonders, patience, virtues and holiness of St. Francis. It had been a living symbol of the power and providence of the living God.
WONDERFUL WELCOME: SESSION 9:
HANDOUT 1: MY ANIMAL FRIEND
Download a high-resolution PDF (at www.uua.org/documents/tapestry/welcome/animalfriend.pdf) for printing.
WONDERFUL WELCOME: SESSION 9:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: GUIDE DOG PICTURE
WONDERFUL WELCOME: SESSION 9:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: VEGAN DOG TREATS RECIPE
This recipe comes from the Gourmet Sleuth website .
After mixing all the ingredients and kneading, divide the dough into small batches. Have children work in groups of three to roll dough, cut shapes, and place biscuits on flat cookie sheets. Help children tear off sheets of wax paper to separate layers of uncooked biscuits.
Materials
Ingredients
Directions
Mix dry ingredients. Add approximately the water. Knead into a pliable dough. Roll out to 1/8" thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 350F. (Important: After turning off oven, leave biscuits in the oven overnight or for an 8-hour period so they become hard and crunchy.)
FIND OUT MORE
Children and Wildlife
Not all animals are appropriate candidates for mutually caring relationships with young children. As Susan Gilchrist writes:
It may be important to respect the feelings of animals and avoid causing them pain unnecessarily, but it is also important to see that wild animals do not belong as pets in people houses.
Gilchrist's article, "Teaching Young Children About Wildlife," (at www.iowadnr.gov/education/backinfo/teach.pdf)adapted on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website, includes thoughtful writing and many structured activities that can help you focus young children on your local wildlife and highlight the ways wild animals are different from — and should be treated differently than — family pets and working animals such as guide dogs.
St. Francis of Assisi
The Blessing of the Animals done in many Unitarian Universalist congregations is inspired by a Catholic tradition related to St. Francis of Assisi . Find out more about St. Francis on the American Catholic website (at www.americancatholic.org/Features/Francis/blessing.asp). The site also includes some stories about St. Francis (at www.americancatholic.org/Features/Francis/stories.asp), including "St. Francis and the Wolf."
Talking with Children about Death
About Death: A Unitarian Universalist Book for Kids (at www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=1663). About Death presents a gentle, yet unsentimental, story about how a family deals with the death of their beloved dog. The story is followed by a series of questions a child might pose about death and its aftermath, particularly the rituals and cultural customs that accompany the death of a person. The answers to these questions, like the story that proceeds them, are frank and respectful of the child's curiosity. At the same time, both the story and the questions are illustrated by lovely watercolors that say, without words, yes, death makes us sad. A short poem that follows reminds us that death is a part of life. Ages 5 and up.
Death of a Pet
In case a child mentions the death of a pet and children are upset or have questions, you may like to have on hand the book, The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Erik Blegvad (New York: Simon & Schuster/Aladdin, 1987). A little boy appreciates his pet cat's life while coping with its death.