[Abdul Majid; Quetta]

There was once a cat, “Mano Billi” who was not loved by anyone. She was born in a city’s garbage can and after shifting here and there with her mother and siblings, she finally started living at a dirty water channel near a butcher’s shop.

When she grew up a little, her sister “Rano Billi” was adopted by a pretty little girl who came and took her away in her big car. Her brother “Shani Billa” was eaten up by a ferocious dog. Later, her own mother abandoned her. She went up to her mother a couple of times so she could recognize her but her mother always beat her and kicked her out.

Gradually, Mano Billi also forgot her mother and started moving around in streets like a stray cat. One day, she came across her sister Rano Billi who was sitting in a big lawn and drinking milk comfortably. Mano Billi stepped forward to meet her but Rano Billi also refused to recognize her sister and kicked her out of the house.

Mano Billi was disheartened. When she came out, she was bullied by a very naughty kid who threw a stone at her. The stone hit her leg, and she fell down. The kid’s friends started laughing at this act.

Mano Billi managed to stand up with a lot of difficulty and ran away with her injured leg, so that the rest of the kids don’t start stoning her as well. She began to hate humans for their shameless cruel treatment of the innocent animals and that no one questions them about it.

She entered another house with her injured leg and there she encountered a kind-hearted small boy who pitied her miserable condition. He brought a cup of milk for her after some time. Mano first hesitated, but she was also very hungry. She looked at the boy who went and stood at a distance. She drank a little milk, which ignited her thirst now. She finished all the milk quickly and laid down. The boy approached her softly and with his kind hands, started palpating her injured leg. He then went inside his house. Mano Billi thought of running away meanwhile. But, she didn’t feel like leaving her newly found friend. The boy came out and bandaged Mano Billi’s leg after which she felt relieved and eventually slept.

Next day, the boy took her inside his house. Mano Billi found his parents pleasant and kind-hearted too. Within no time, she started living in the house like a family member. The kind boy would take her out, bring her favorite things to eat and keep her clean and tidy. Mano Billi started loving the place and returned all the favors of these kind people by forcing all the rats out of the house.

She finished up the cockroaches and other insects as well. She was life-threatening to all the rats. She did not let any of their schemes work because she would grab them instantly and eat them up. However, good food, comfort and all the attention pampered her and she became lazy in her work. She started sleeping all day long after eating and drinking. Often, she would stealthily drink milk and eat other food items when no one was looking. Because of eating excessively, she became too fat to the extent that she found it hard to walk even. One day when the rats were in the kitchen, Mano Billi ran after them but gave up only after a little while because she got tired. The rats got to know about Mano Billi’s exhaustion as well and kept running here and there in the house but Mano Billi couldn’t catch them. She had grown so fat that she fell short of breath on running and got extremely tired. She heard the family members one day saying that Mano Billi should be returned outside because she was of no use anymore. Listening to this, she was taken aback. She recalled her days of stray life and poverty. She felt angry at the human’s selfishness but realized she was at fault as well. So, from the very next day, she started eating less and got regular in running and exercising. She bid farewell to laziness and lethargy, and geared back to her former self. Once again, she was life-threatening to the rats and became the apple of the family’s eyes.