One of the things Thomas Tabby had been working on as Liaison to the Humans was finding new ways for the animals to interact with humans. He thought that if animals could see humans in different settings, it might make them more comfortable interacting with them. He thought that bringing small humans in to talk at the Felix T Khat Academy would be a good way for the young cats to interact with humans. Some of the cats had never seen a human before. Ms Oliver and five of her 10-year-old students were invited to speak at an assembly in the auditorium.

The visit was off to a rough start. On their way to the auditorium the students had walked through the halls filled with students and seemed a little overwhelmed by all of the cats.

Girl #1: Ooh! Look at all of the kitties! They’re so cute!

Girl #2: Ms Oliver, can we each take one of them home? They’re so fluffy!

Boy #1: Let me get one for you. Which one do you want?

Thomas, who was chaperoning the group, was appalled. He hissed at Ms. Oliver and spoke quickly to the interpreter, Mr Dudley.

Thomas: Tell them that if anyone touched one of the cats without asking permission, that would be the end of the trip. These cats came from good homes and were not up for adoption.

Mr Dudley relayed the information. The children looked disappointed.

Girl #1: I thought we were going to play with the kitties. Why can’t we touch them?

Ms Oliver: Cheeseland cats are different than cats where you live. They mostly don’t live with humans. We’re here as representatives of our species. They want to know more about humans.

Thomas: Okay , everyone. We’re going to wait here for a couple of minutes while the students all find a seat. I’ll introduce you, and the students will have an opportunity to ask you questions. Don’t be nervous.

Boy #2: This is weird. We’re supposed to answer questions from a bunch of cats?

Ms Oliver: Didn’t you listen to what I told you when you were chosen for this trip? You’re in Cheeseland. The animals run everything here. A lot of them have never met a human. It’s an honor to be here.

Boy #2: I guess. But it’s still weird.

Thomas is onstage, talking to the group.

Thomas: Hello everyone. My name is Thomas Tabby, and I am very excited to be here. I’m the Liaison to the Humans here in Cheeseland. My job is to make working and living with humans a little bit easier. Today we have five 10-year-old humans visiting us who are going to answer questions you might have about humans. Please welcome Ms Oliver and her students. They’ve come from Roosevelt Elementary in a town called Redford.

The humans walked onto the stage and stood next to Thomas. The felines were whispering to each other.

Thomas: Okay. Who has a question?

Jasmine: I’ll go first. Are all humans so big? And why do you only use your back legs?

The humans were puzzled. They were definitely not large by human standards, but they were also very large compared to some of the cats.

Girl #1: We’re pretty average size for human kids. We’re still growing, though.

Jasmine: So you’ll get bigger?

The children nodded.

Girl #1: I don’t know why we only use our back legs. It’s just the way we are.

Penelope: Do you eat cats?

Girl #2: Eww! No

Muffin: Are there cats where you live?

Girl #3: There are lots of cats where we live. But they don’t talk or go to school.

Muffin: Why not?

The children looked at Ms Oliver.

Ms Oliver: I’m not sure why it’s only the humans who talk and go to school where we live. You kitties would be an inspiration to them.

Giselle: Are you going to get jobs soon? Ten seems pretty old to still be in school.

Boy #1: No. Humans go to school for a long time.

Giselle: Do you live with your litter all that time?

Boy #1: Uhh. Pretty much, yeah.

Bronte: Do humans celebrate holidays?

Boy #2: Yes. We have a lot of them.

Bronte: What’s your favorite?

Boy #2: Halloween. It’s coming up in a couple of weeks.

Bronte: What’s Halloween?

Boy #2: It’s where we get dressed up and go out to get candy from our neighbors.

Girl #1: Yes. A lot of girls dress up like cats. It’s really cute.

Bronte: That’s really weird. You don’t look anything like cats.

Thomas: I think that’s about all the time we have for questions. Please thank our guests for coming over here today.

The cats purred appreciatively. On the ride back to their school, the children were pretty quiet.

Boy #1: I don’t think I’m going to tell anyone about this.

Girl #2: No one would believe it.

Since we had to break our “absolutely no pictures of humans” rule, we decided to go with Gemini AI cartoons,