Every inhabitant of the apartment in which I lived knew how ugly the Ugly was. Local cat. Ugly loved three things in this world: fighting, eating garbage and, well, love. The combination of these things plus living homeless left indelible marks on Ugly's body. For starters, he only had one eye, and in place of the other there was a gaping hole. An ear was also missing on the same side, and the left leg had once been broken and healed at some incredible angle, giving the impression that the cat was always going to turn the corner. His tail has been missing for a long time. All that was left was a small stub that was constantly twitching.
If it weren't for the many sores and yellow scabs covering Ugly's head and even shoulders, he might have been called a dark gray tabby. Anyone who looked at him at least once had the same reaction: what an ugly cat. All children were strictly forbidden to touch it. Adults threw stones at him. They hosed him down when he tried to get into the house, or jammed his paw in the door so he couldn't get out.
Ugly always showed the same reaction. If he was watered with a hose, he obediently got wet until his tormentors got tired of this fun. If they threw things at him, he rubbed his feet, as if asking for forgiveness. If he saw children, he would run to them and rub his head against his hands and meow loudly, begging for affection. If someone did pick him up, he would immediately start sucking on the corner of his shirt or anything else he could reach.
One day, Ugly tried to make friends with the neighbors' dogs. In response to this he was terribly bitten. From my window I heard his screams and immediately rushed to help. When I reached him, Ugly was almost dead. He lay curled up in a ball. His back, legs, and back of his body had completely lost their original shape. A sad life was coming to an end. A tear mark crossed his forehead. While I carried him home, he wheezed and choked. I carried him home and was most afraid of hurting him even more. Meanwhile, he tried to suck my ear. I pulled him close to me. He touched his head to the palm of my hand, his golden eye turned in my direction, and I heard a purr, even experiencing such terrible pain, the cat asked for one thing - a drop of affection! Perhaps a little bit of compassion.
And at that moment I thought that I was dealing with the most loving being I had ever met in my life. The most loving and the most beautiful. He will never even try to bite or scratch me, or simply leave me. He just looked at me, confident that I would be able to alleviate his pain. The ugly one died in my arms before I could get home, and I sat for a long time holding him on my lap. Subsequently, I thought a lot about how one unfortunate cripple was able to change my ideas about what true purity of spirit, faithful and boundless love is. That's how it really was. Ugly taught me more about compassion than a thousand books, lectures, or conversations. And I will always be grateful to him.
His body was crippled, and my soul was traumatized. The time has come for me to learn to love truly and deeply. Give everything to your neighbor without reserve.
Most people want to be richer, more successful, to be loved and beautiful. And I will always strive for one thing - to be Ugly...
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru