Those puppies… are mine. Their mother died this morning. And your Marsa…

I looked in confusion at my cat, who at that moment was softly purring and holding the puppies in her paws.

— I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, she must have behaved that way because we had found other owners for the puppies, but she still needed to feel like a mother. I’ll bring them back right now.

The neighbor stood for a moment, looking at the peaceful scene — Marsa tenderly licking and mothering the puppies — and added:

— Let them stay with you. I think… it’s better for everyone.

I nodded, and Marsa, as if understanding every word, pressed her new little ones even closer to her.