I Respect You

Skipping along the dusty road, Johnny was about to go to the Goodwill to buy some new clothes for his cat named Willy. When he got there, he saw another little boy about his age. He strolled around the aisles looking for a pink kitty shirt. He was having a pretty darn hard time finding one. But then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the most perfect pink pants to go with the shirt. After all, his cat’s favorite color was flamingo pink. When he was reaching for the pants, the little boy he had seen earlier snatched it from the rack!
“Hey!”, said Johnny.”What was that for?”
“I saw the pants first. Plus, I’ve been here looking for them for about seven trillion hours!”, remarked the little boy.
“Oh, don’t be so exaggerated. Just give me the pink pants! My cat would be ecstatic if he saw what beautiful clothing item I bought him. Please, oh, please, just give me the pants.”, begged Johnny.
“No! I wouldn’t give them to you for a million dollars!” said the little boy.
“There you go being all exaggerated again!” yelled Johnny. “Keep your dumb kitty pants. I’ll just go find another pair that look even better!”
“Well…alright.”, said the little boy. “I guess you can have them. BUT, only on one condition.”
“What would that condition be?”, asked Johnny.
“You have to let my kitty, Ronald, come over and play with your kitty. He doesn’t really have many friends. I can’t seem to find why. He’s one of the nicest around!”
“Why, sure he can come over to play with Willy! That would be great. I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name there.
“The name’s Billy. What would yours be?”, he asked.
“Johnny is the name given to me by my mama and papa.”
They started a whole conversation about their favorite colors, what they liked to do in their free time, and even what they loved to eat. Surprisingly enough, much of what they had to say about themselves was the same. Without noticing that they had left the pants back on the rack, they walked out of the store with nothing. Well…they did walk away with a few things: the ability to respect other peoples’ thoughts. And, the most important, they walked away with what was the beginning of a new and true friendship. Not only between them, but their kitties, Ronald and Willy, too.