leopard on a spot

by Dan Martin

Once upon a time, there was a family of black leopards. There was the Mother leopard, the Father leopard, the Little Girl leopard and the Baby Boy leopard. The Father and Mother black leopard were very proud of their two offspring-especially the Mother of her Son. And Father leopard, who was busy being a good provider, was content to let Mother leopard raise both their children as she saw fit.

However, as the years passed, the Little Girl leopard became a Big Girl leopard. She met a handsome Young Man black leopard, they fell in love and were married, and she went to make a home for him and have his children, as any good girl leopard should do.

Now, as the years passed and the Big Girl leopard married and moved away, Mother leopard began to show her partiality for her young Son. "It isn't right for boy black leopards not to like girl black leopards," she said, "or for girl black leopards not to like boy black leopards." It was her excuse for loving her Son.

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With the passing of time, the Baby Boy black leopard grew into a Young Man black leopard-and here it was the trouble began. As everyone knows, leopards are leopards; they are all born with spots, but the black leopards develop fur to hide these spots (which are, nonetheless, still there) when they become fully grown. But this Young Man black leopard had reached his maturity without losing his spots or growing black fur to hide them; he was the scandal of the family.

"Surely, if our friends see him," reasoned Father black leopard, "they will think he is the result of some unnatural taint within our family." And so, the Young Man black leopard was kept indoors (which was quite to his mother's liking) and denied the intercourse of his fellows.

Everything went smoothly, until one day Aunt and Uncle black leopard (Father's sister and her husband) came to call. "Where is your son?" they asked. "And who is his strange playfellow out in the garden?"

Much to his chagrin, Father black leopard said "That 'strange playfel-

low' in the garden is my son and your nephew; he has grown up but he still has his spots."

Aunt and Uncle black leopard were appalled. "I'll not have it!" Aunt protested. "I'll not, I'll not, I'll not!" But Uncle was a bit more reasonable." I've been around, you know," he said to Father confidentially, "and I've run into a few cases like this. It's all a case of delayed maturity-he's still just a child, at heart. Take him to a psychiatrist, who will help him to adjust to reality and accept his mature responsibility of being a black leopard, with everything that that implies!"

So Father leopard decided to take his son to a psychiatrist. "You are a leopard," the psychiatrist said, "and all leopards are born with spots. But, black leopards grow black fur to hide their spots. Now, you are a black leopard, and you must fulfill your duties to your family and decide to grow black fur like them."

"But," the Young Man protested, "aren't the spots still there-even if they are covered up?"

"That is not the point," the psychiatrist (who was himself a black

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leopard) replied. "The point is, you were born into a family of black leopards and you must be like all the rest of your family."

"And just suppose," the Young Man protested, "I like being different and having spots and showing them off?"

When the Young Man said this the psychiatrist became very agitated. He gave himself a tranquilizer and suggested that Father leopard take his son to another psychiatrist a distant relative who was born into a family of spotted leopards and was spotted himself.

("By showing him that spotted leopards have duties to fulfill also, perhaps we can convince him it would be just as easy to become black," the psychiatrist argued sagely).

So, Father took his son to the psychiatrist and they became friends at once, and although it deeply shocked his distant relative he helped the Son to adjust into a happy life as a spotted leopard.

For, this psychiatrist was wise enough to know that it is impossible to make a leopard change his spots.