Unlike Any Other

A Story by Darl1ng N1kk1

(Working title) This is quite a change of pace for me. It just came to me this morning. It's rough and needs some editing, but I'm glad to be getting some writing done!

One bright spring morning, a litter of kittens was born. This litter consisted of six kittens, each of them a lovely array of colors; some with spots, others with stripes, all beautifully blended to make a bouquet of kittens. All except for one. Max, as his mother dubbed him, did not fit in with his brothers and sisters. He stood out. He was the only kitten to be completely one color. His totally white fur made him feel like an outcast.

Why can’t I have majestic stripes like Tiger, or fashionable spots like Duchess, he wondered. It isn’t fair.

Max looked different, and it made him feel alone. How can they accept me if I don’t look like them? Why can’t I just be the same? Feeling ashamed, Max chose to separate himself from his siblings. I’m sure they don’t want me around anyway, he thought.

On a bright sunny day, the kittens were allowed outside. As always, Max chose to be alone, feeling he would not be welcome to mingle with his brothers and sisters. He wished he could join in their games, hunt with them, and goof around with the group. But instead, he chose to go off alone.

He came across a bird in a tree. “Hello, bird. Why aren’t you singing?”

The bird looked down at Max and replied, “Why should I sing? To blend in with my family? They chirp and sing all day, and my voice can hardly be heard among them. I want to stand out! To be different! I’ve been trying something new. Listen to this!” And he began to whistle. It was the most delightful sound Max had ever heard. “Yes, that’s all well and good, but why don’t you want to be like your brothers and sisters? I’m different, and it’s not any fun.”

“What do you mean? I’d love to be different! That’s why I sing my own tune. What’s the fun in always being the same?”

“Don’t you want to feel you belong? I feel like my brothers and sisters don’t want me around because I don’t have any color. I’m boring and bland, and they’re beautiful and exciting,” Max said sadly.

“I quite like your fur. I wouldn’t be able to tell all you kittens apart if you were all the same. Why, I think it’d be more boring to look the same as them. Your hair may not be colorful, but it is silky and smooth. If it snows you can blend in and hide, while your siblings would stick out like sore thumbs! Wouldn’t that be a poor game of hide and seek!”

“He’s right, you know.” Max’s mother stepped out from the bushes behind them. She’d been listening the whole time. She gazed at the bird approvingly, and said, “Please, bird, would you whistle some more of your tune? It’s so unique and lovely.”

Bird obliged, and as he whistled, Max’s mother spoke. “Why do you not play with your brothers and sisters? They asked where you were, and I came to find you. They want to play with you.”

“They really want to play with me?”

“Why wouldn’t they?”

Max looked down at his paw, and said, “Because I’m different.”

She nuzzled his nose and said, “We should celebrate our differences, not be ashamed of them. The world is a beautiful place because of differences. There is variety everywhere, and it makes the world a more interesting place. Would flowers be as beautiful if they all looked the same? Would you enjoy music if it was always the same? It’s the same with everything in the world; trees, birds, food, people, and especially, my kittens. I want them to all be different, so that life does not become boring. Your being different is a blessing.”

The rest of the kittens appeared. “Am I different too, Mama?” asked Tabby.

“Why yes, my dear, you are. Your nose has three tiny spots on it. No one else has those spots, and that makes you unique.”

“What about us?” pleaded the kittens. “What makes us different?”

“Tiger has stripes unlike anyone else’s, Duchess has her map of spots, and even you, my twins, have traits that belong to you alone. Jasper’s paws are white and look like little boots, and Spike has a tiny heart on his nose. Every one of you is different, and I love you all the more for it.”

Max beamed with pride as he joined his brothers and sisters. “Shall we go play, then?” He batted at Spike’s nose. Spike replied by pouncing at Max, knocking him to the ground. The rest of the kittens joined in the game.

All the while the bird whistled his unique tune.