His name was Caesar, and he was a king. His kingdom was vast, consisting of forests and plains, with a huge castle in the middle. There was a black road that separated his kingdom and the others, though his was the mightiest. His name was Caesar, and he was the King of Cats.

He lived his days in comfort, coming and going as he pleased. When he wanted food, Caesar paid a visit to his palace, where his tall servants fed him an array of fish and chicken. During the winter and rainy seasons, he slept all day in his palace. When the weather was nice, he slept all day outside. Occasionally, he would catch his own food, perhaps a mouse or gopher, if he felt like it. Caesar’s life was good. Until Toby showed up.

Toby was a stray. Black and craggly, he whined and whined all day and night. Caesar’s servants fawned over Toby and his every need. He ate Caesar’s food, slept in Caesar’s favorite spots, and even got more attention than Caesar did. And Caesar hated it. He was the toughest cat in the neighborhood. He caught the most animals, had the largest territory, was the oldest, and yet this little scrap of fur had the gall to boot Caesar off his throne. Caesar would show him. Toby couldn’t do anything that Caesar could, especially catch rodents. His servants loved when Caesar did that. If he could show them how well he could hunt, then everyone would realise how amazing Caesar was, and how useless Toby was.

Caesar prowled outside the edges of the tall grass. There was a mouse that liked to nest here every spring and Caesar would catch it. He waited until it returned to its nest, and then, suddenly, he pounced. The mouse had sensed him a second before he hit. It bolted from the tall grass and across the cropped lawn. He was right on its tail. It bolted into the street. Caesar was a mere split second behind it. He reached at it, biting down hard on its spine. It was over. Caesar eyed his prize with triumph. Try to beat that, Toby! He thought. However, while he was eying his prize, what Caesar did not see was the huge, silver car bearing down on him. It was too late. Caesar’s reign had ended.