> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cafebedouin.gitbook.io/potm/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cafebedouin.gitbook.io/potm/section-3-boundaries-as-cognition/3-the-mullahs-gate-and-the-whispering-neighbor/interlude-the-vegetarian-cat.md).

# Interlude: The Vegetarian Cat

A cat met up with a big male rat in the attic and chased him into a corner. The rat, trembling, said, 'Please don't eat me, Mr. Cat. I have to go back to my family. I have hungry children waiting for me. Please let me go.' The cat said, 'Don't worry, I won't eat you. To tell the truth, I can't say this too loudly, but I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat any meat. You were lucky to run into me..' The rat said, 'Oh, what a wonderful day! What a lucky rat I am to meet up with a vegetarian cat!' But the very next second, the cat pounced on the rat, help him down with his claws, and sank his sharp teeth into the rat's throat. With his last, painful breath, the rat asked him, 'But Mr. Cat, didn't you say you were vegetarian and don't eat any meat? Were you lying to me??' Th cat licked its chops and said, 'True, I don't eat any meat. That was no lie. I'm going to take you home in my mouth and trade you for lettuce.'

—Haruki Murakami, 1Q84