There once was a rat who was very happy. Life was 

very easy for it. But one day, a hungry cat chased the 

rat into a corner. 

Before the cat could pounce on the rat the rat quickly 

changed how his name was spelled. He took the "t" 

and made it the first letter and took the "r" and made it 

the last letter.

Instantly, he became the new word – tar. He was a 

big blob of black tar.  

"Do not touch me," the tar said, "or you will 

become stuck forever."

"Who ever heard of talking tar?" the cat 

asked. "I will just spell you back to rat and 

then eat you".

"No, because I am the only one who can 

change the letters of my name. The same is 

true for you."

The cat was so hungry that it thought that 

maybe tar from a rat would still be food. So 

despite the warning, the cat touched his paw 

very lightly to the tar. His paw became stuck. 

Pulling with all of his strength, the cat was 

finally able to pull his paw off, but only 

because he had touched the tar so lightly in 

the first place.

"Then I will just wait here," the cat said, "until 

you become tired being a blob of tar. Then 

when you become a rat again, I will eat you."

"If I know you are going to eat me, you think I 

will become tired of being the way I am now?" 

the blob asked.  

"Besides, if I did become a rat again and you 

ate me, that would only be one meal for you. 

The next day you would be just as hungry 

again."

The cat was very frustrated.