🔄 Cat and Dog Swap Days

Marmalade the cat and Barnaby the dog lived in the same house, and they were always a little bit jealous of each other.

"You get to go on walks," said Marmalade. "You get to sleep all day," said Barnaby. "Let's swap!" they said together.

So the next morning, Marmalade went on Barnaby's walk. The leash felt funny around her neck. The park was enormous and noisy. A squirrel ran past, and she was supposed to chase it, but she just wanted to sit down. Her paws were so tired that she had to be carried home.

Meanwhile, Barnaby tried to sleep all day in Marmalade's favorite sunny spot. He curled up. He uncurled. He curled up again. After five minutes, he was so bored that he chased his own tail until he got dizzy.

Then it was dinner time. Marmalade tried Barnaby's crunchy dog food. "Too big," she said. Barnaby tried Marmalade's tiny portion of fish. "Too small!" he cried, gulping it down in one bite.

At bedtime, Marmalade tried sleeping in Barnaby's big basket. It was too big, and she felt lost in the middle. Barnaby tried to squeeze into Marmalade's little cat bed. His legs stuck out of every side.

"I think," said Marmalade, with a sleepy yawn, "I like being a cat." "And I," said Barnaby, wagging his tail, "like being a dog."

From then on, they stopped being jealous. Barnaby told Marmalade all about the squirrels in the park, and Marmalade showed Barnaby the very best sunny spots for a short nap. And at night, they slept back to back, a purr and a snore, the best of friends.