In La La Land, there was a small village called Swamp. Anthony and his two younger sisters, Jia Yee and Peng Peng, lived together with their parents. Anthony’s home was a big farm, and occasionally, neighborhood cats would try to sneak onto their property.
Anthony preferred dogs over cats, so every time he saw a cat, he would throw stones to scare it away. Since those cats were strays, nobody condemned Anthony’s actions, leaving him free to do whatever he wanted. One night, a cat entered the house and made a loud noise.
Annoyed, Anthony caught the cat and threw it over the fence into the neighbor's yard. However, the cat tried to break in again. This time, Anthony did the same thing—except he threw a heavy stone at it.
Seeing that her brother had been outside for a while, Peng Peng decided to check on him. She found a dead cat crushed under the stone and screamed, "Why did you kill the cat?!" Anthony replied casually, "Never mind, it’s just a stray. I’ll bury it tomorrow morning. It’s late now, let’s get back to sleep."
When they returned to the living room, Peng Peng told Jia Yee what had happened. However, Jia Yee took Anthony's side and warned her, "Whatever happened tonight stays between the three of us. You better not tell Papa and Mama! Tomorrow morning, brother and I will bury the cat."
The next day after school, Anthony and Jia Yee went to the fence, removed the big stone, and buried the cat. Peng Peng looked sad and wanted to burn joss paper for it. Anthony lost his temper and shouted at her, "Don’t you dare do that! It’s just a stray!" Peng Peng burst into tears while Jia Yee just mocked her younger sister.
When night came, Papa and Mama went into the city to buy groceries, leaving the three kids home alone. Around 8 PM, loud, eerie meows began echoing around the house. Frustrated, Anthony and Jia Yee searched the place for potential feline intruders.
Meanwhile, Peng Peng began to cry, terrified that the dead cat’s ghost had returned to haunt them. Suddenly, a heavy downpour struck accompanied by roaring thunder, tripping the power and plunging the house into darkness. The sound of cat meows grew louder and louder.
Around 10 PM, Papa and Mama returned. As Papa parked the car, he said to Mama, "Hey sweetheart, did you notice that all the lights are off?" Mama replied, "It must be the thunder that cut the power. Don’t worry, the kids can survive a blackout."
Papa nodded, took out his keys to unlock the front door, and called out, "Hello kids, why is the door locked?" No answer came from inside.
When the door swung open, Papa saw Anthony and Jia Yee lying on the floor with eyes wide open, their bodies covered in scratches. In a corner, Peng Peng was kneeling and burning joss paper, frantically chanting, "I didn't kill you, please don't hurt me!" Panicked, Papa and Mama dragged all three kids to the car and rushed them to the hospital.
After examining them, the doctor asked the parents, "How many cats do you keep at home? It looks like your kids had a wild cat party." Papa replied, "We don't have cats at home or on the farm... I think I need to have a talk with Anthony." The doctor added, "Well, their injuries aren't life-threatening. They should recover in a few days."
Papa walked into the ward and asked Anthony and Jia Yee what had happened. Anthony pleaded, "Father, please promise you won't get angry, then I'll tell you the truth." Papa replied, "Fine, I promise I won't get mad."
Anthony confessed everything. Upon hearing the story, Papa suddenly yelled at Anthony, "YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO PENG PENG!" Anthony shrank back and apologized, "I'm sorry, I won't kill any more stray cats."
Papa smirked and said, "I mean you should have burned the joss paper afterward! I used to kill stray dogs and cats when I was young, and your mother was my partner back then." Anthony and Jia Yee’s eyes went wide before they relaxed, and all three of them burst into laughter in the ward. The end. (1008, 20/10/2026)
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