Little Red Runningkit
Part Three of the Nursery Series
"Treekit, Leafkit, and Brackenkit... I can't believe you did that to my mother!" The queen meowed, astonished that her kits had attacked the frail elder as if she was a plaything. The elder almost died from the shock of the kits leaping at her! "You were supposed to bring her a mouse, not act like she was a fox! What did you do with that prey anyway?"
"We ate it." Treekit replied, eyes wide with faux-innocence.
"We were hungry." Leafkit meowed, licking her muzzle as if to lick up the last bits of prey
"We were acting brave." Brackenkit gave a brisk nod.
"Well you really shouldn't sneak up on cats like that." The queen sighed. "Especially old queens."
"Why?"
"What's so special about elders?"
"They aren't so brave."
The silver-black queen got a good idea. "Let me tell you the story of little red Runningkit. You'll see."
Getting used to stories before resting at night, all three kits hopped into the nest. The queen climbed in after them. She pressed them close to her flank and and sighed. She was running out of ideas.
"One day, there was a small ginger-kit named Runningkit. She was very mean to the elders. On a sunny new-leaf day, she was bringing a vole to the elders. But she stuffed it with yucky things as a trick.
"The elders sniffed the vole. They could smell icky things in it. They got very mad and turned into wolves. They ate up little red Runningkit. The medicine cat had to use herbs to get the elder-wolves to spit her up, but she was all chewed up. That's why you shouldn't be mean to the elders. They get special powers."
From that day, all three kits were very nice to the elders.