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Long ago -- in the year 625, to be exact -- a black and white cat gave birth to a litter of kittens in the middle of the desert. That cat had no home, but she tried to find a safe place for her babies. She wanted a place where she could find food and water, and where she could hide her kittens from any dangers.
Mother cats often move their kittens from one nest to another in search of the best place to hide them. If you've ever had a cat with kittens, you've probably seen her move them. It's hard work being a mom, especially with a whole litter of babies.
This cat thought she had found a safe place to nurse her kittens when something extraordinary appeared: a thousand people marching toward her! They were an army.
At the head of the army rode the Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad was the leader of a new religion called Islam. When he saw the poor mother cat nursing her kittens beside the road, he felt sorry for her and ordered his army to change course. All of those marching soldiers would have scared the momma cat and her kittens, so the men took a different path, far away from the little family.
The cat raised her kittens. She found lots of mice for them and taught them to hunt. Perhaps they grew up and became great mousers.
The soldiers, meanwhile, had a rough time. As the tired army marched home, Muhammad spotted the black and white cat again. He realized that she did not have a home. He picked up the little cat and decided to take her back to his family.
He named her Muezza, and now she had a home. She would sleep on Muhammad's lap and enjoyed being scratched behind the ears. She had fresh water to drink out of a bowl, just like modern cats, and once she even ate the harees--that's a porridge made with lamb and spices--that her family had been about to eat.
Muezza was very happy to have such a nice home and loving family.
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