Summary

A young boy loses his cat. He doesn't want to watch T., eat dinner or even dessert -- he just cries. His mother decides to hold a funeral the next day for the cat. She tells him to think about ten good things about his cat, Barney, so that he can say them at the funeral. Before falling asleep that night he thinks of nine good things about Barney. At the funeral the next day he recites all nine things but still is missing one. He is very upset and his friend Annie tries to tell him that Barney is in heaven enjoying cream and tuna but he protests saying that Barney is only in the ground. His father then comes in and says both scenarios are possible and distracts the boy by getting him to work in the garden. He explains that the seeds they plant will sprout leaves and then flowers and that all things change in the ground. The little boy realizes that Barney too will change in the ground and eventually he will help the trees, the flowers and the grass grow. The little boy realizes this is the tenth good thing about Barney.

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General Themes

Saying Goodbye

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Kara is the Gothic root of the word "care."
It means to reach out, to care, to lament, to grieve with.