by Amphailine Phaphomxay (age 12) and Bounny Phangsi (age 11) – Luang Prabang, Laos

A cat and a mouse lived together in a house, but they always fought. The cat always chased the mouse, because she wanted to eat her. One day, when the cat was chasing the mouse, the mouse ran into a small hole. The cat tried to run in after her, but smashed her head into the wall because she was too big.

So, the cat came up with a plan. The next time that the cat chased the mouse, the mouse jumped into her hole again, but this time the cat had secretly made the hole very, very deep, with water at the bottom. The mouse fell far down the hole. The cat smiled, thinking she finally drowned the mouse, and walked back home. But the mouse was smart, and put on her duck costume, so she could swim around in the water like a duck.

On the way back, the cat was snatched up by some people. They wanted to eat her. The mouse saw the people taking the cat away, and she ran after them and scared them. The people ran away and left the cat behind. The cat thanked the mouse for saving her life, and they both went back to the house together. Now they are best friends and don’t fight anymore.