Piper Learns Empathy

My sister Lily was sick. It was horrible. I didn’t know what to do.

At first, I was jealous because Lily was getting so much attention from our mom. More than me. Mom held Lily and talked to her all night. Then the next day they went away together.

Mom always takes me with her. Not Lily! But here she was going away in the car with Lily and leaving me behind. Boy! I was angry. How dare Mom give Lily so much attention. What about me?

I started thinking about where they were. I bet they went to the park to go for a walk. No. I bet they went to visit a human who has a cat Lily likes. No. I bet they went for cat treats at the pet store.

I kept thinking and thinking about where they went. Finally, I gave up. All this thinking about where they were made me tired. So, I took a nap.

I was still sleeping when I heard them at the door. I was so happy they were home. But I planned on giving them both a piece of my mind. After all, they deserted me. Left me all alone.

Mom’s first words were, “We’re home, Piper. We love you.” She was holding Lily. When she put Lily down, Mom said, “Lily’s sick so you need to be kind to her.”

Lily smelled funny. I sniffed and sniffed her. She smelled like…like…like the DOCTOR! Oh no! Poor Lily. Not only did she not feel well, but she also had to go to the animal doctor.

“I’ll take care of you, Lily,” I said. “I promise. I will.”

Mom gave Lily lots of attention all day and all that night too. I didn’t mind. Lily was not feeling well. I told Mom it was okay that she gave Lily more attention than me. Lily needed Mom’s attention to get well.

And Lily’s my sister. Even if she’s a cat. She’s still my sister. I wanted her to get well too. I told her to get well over and over and over. I looked at Lily and told her, “I’m sorry I was angry with you and Mom for leaving me. I’m sorry I was mean to you. I promise to be really nice to you forever. Please, please get well.”

And she did! She did! She’s all well now.

I’m so glad Lily’s all well. I took really good care of her and made her all well. Okay, so Mom helped too.

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