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When Archie was snatched away from his mother and sold to a stranger, he had no idea what had happened. He was bought by a kind, old lady who gave him finest chicken slices and delicious red salmon. Every night, she would comb his sleek grey fur and read him a bedtime story which usually involved evil witches or untruthful puppets with long noses. Although the little cat missed his mother, he was happy and content with his peaceful life. That is, until Toby arrived.
After a ruthless burglary, the old lady had decided that the house needed a guard dog. Archie had never seen a dog before and had no idea what to expect. But as soon as Toby the Rottweiler was led into the room, Archie knew that he was in big trouble. He trotted majestically past the tiny cat and gave it a nasty, sneering look. Most dogs are loving and kind hearted, but Toby was obviously a huge exception. He turned back to the old woman and gave her a false, warm smile.
'Awww! Isn't he sweet?' She cooed. Archie felt his stomach lurch in disgust, and was very nearly sick.
Weeks passed, and Archie grew to dislike Toby more and more every day. The worst thing was the subtlety of the dog's nastiness. Whenever their mistress was present, Toby would rub his head against Archie affectionately or stand on his hind legs and perform tricks, which would often result in praise and large dog biscuits. As soon as she walked out of the room, however, Toby would resume his reign of terror, pulling horrible faces at Archie and sinking his teeth into him. This biting was always done moderately, so as not to raise suspicion, but was nevertheless extremely painful.
On a cold Saturday in November, something that seemed like Archie's ultimate chance for revenge arrived. It arrived in the form of a bolt of lightning. Archie had been trying to stay out of the house as much as possible, so as to stay away from Toby's torment. He turned a corner and saw his mistress taking the Rottweiler for his daily walk. He hurriedly stopped in his tracks and began to walk in the opposite direction. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and then a crash of thunder. He turned around swiftly and saw Toby lying on the ground, being crushed by a smoking tree that had been uprooted by the lightning. The old lady screamed in horror and began to tug at him frantically in a desperate attempt to set him free. But she just wasn't strong enough. Archie immediately knew what had happened, but was unsure of what to do. Toby was being pinned down with only a few branches, and it would be a simple job with his claws to cut them away. He knew that Toby would die if he wasn't freed quickly, but why should he help? Toby had done nothing but terrorize him since the day he had arrived. Archie screwed up his face in concentration. The thought echoed around in his mind. He will die. He will die and it will be your fault. Archie's good side got the better of him, so he ran forwards and began to swipe at the branches with his sharp claws. As soon as they were loose, the old lady gathered up all of her strength to lift them off him. Toby began to splutter and choke, and then opened his eyes slowly. He saw Archie cutting at the last branches and his face flooded with guilt as he realized that the cat had saved his life, despite his repeated cruelty.
Archie had a huge party in his honour, and even earned the front page in his local newspaper. But best of all, Toby owed the cat his life, and was never mean to him ever again.