Chapter 13 - Joseph Wakes Up from a Dream

Everyone sitting below the color trees was shaken out of the cat’s memory for one moment. They saw Joseph smiling with the cat on his lap. Then the cat’s eyes whirled, and everyone was pulled back into the remembered story.

Back in Nazareth, Joseph had returned to his own home. It was a well-built house. The cat who had followed him from Mary’s house was very impressed. The finest craftsmanship had gone into building Joseph’s house. The outer walls were a light gold color trimmed in wood. Joseph had built a big, front entrance. The door was left open now as the cat approached. Joseph had entered so quickly he had not closed it.

The cat went into the courtyard. He saw Joseph was a gardener as well as builder. Joseph had cultivated a beautiful garden.

The cat did not stop there. He went inside the house. He searched from room to room, barely noticing the many pieces of finely-built furniture. He wanted to find Joseph and convince him that Mary had told him the truth.

The cat found Joseph sleeping on the bed. He looked as if he had been crying but now he was asleep. His bedroom had a bright glow. The cat looked at Joseph. Above the man’s head, the Angel Gabriel appeared. The light in the room turned to a blue glow. The cat could see that Gabriel was entering Joseph’s dream. He caught glimpses of, seeing the dream of Mary and a baby and Joseph. Soon the blue glow began to dim and the dream faded away.

The cat thought Gabriel was going to leave the room, but then the angel noticed him. The angel’s eyes became as bright blue tunnels that looked straight at the cat. A stern frown that seemed as big as a mountain formed on the angel’s face.

“Cat,” he said, “what do you have to do with this story?’

The cat was taken by surprise and almost jumped into the air when the angel spoke to him. The angel leaned closer and asked again, “Why are you here, cat?”

Now the cat was frightened and started to screech. The angel tried to get him to be quiet, but it was too late. Joseph was waking up. The angel vanished as Joseph said, “What...what is it?”