Simon lives with his family in the mountains.  His family doesn’t understand him. Because his hair is orange and theirs is blue, they think that he is strange. They don’t like to include Simon in their  morning hunts for breakfast.

As usual, Simon’s family has gone to hunt for breakfast without him. He tries to find some food on his own. When it starts to rain he cannot find a safe, dry place. His family does not make room for him.

Simon decides he would rather be by himself than with a family who does not love him. When he leaves, the other cats watch him walk away with neither a “goodbye” nor a “good luck.”

On his journey, Simon meets a couple of birds. They are so amazed by his special fur that they stop and talk to him for hours and hours. They tell him he is beautiful. This makes Simon feel better about himself and more confident about leaving his family.

He spends so long talking to the birds that he doesn’t realize they have already left. He only notices that they are gone because the leaves are all gone, too. Simon thinks that if he has spent this long by himself then he can spend the rest of his time alone, too. 

So, now that Simon is happy by himself, his journey becomes more fun than he ever had before at home.  Just as he discovers the happiness within himself, though, is the exact same moment he is ready to give happiness to another.  He continues to walk down the mountain, smiling to himself all the way.

And then something amazing happens...

Gambit lives with his family by the river. Even though he loves his family very much, he knows he is different from them.

His family always wakes up early to hunt for their breakfast. Gambit likes to savor the day. Because he knows there is plenty of sunlight, he likes to spend all morning stretching and enjoying the warmth from the glow of the sun on his fur. But, his family just thinks he’s lazy. 

Today, Gambit’s family left to hunt in the woods away from the river while he is still asleep. He wakes up when a couple of birds fly above him. The two birds tell Gambit about a beautiful orange cat they met in the mountains before they came to Gambit’s river. Simon, the birds say, was so different from all the other animals they have ever seen before. And, since they are birds, they can see all the animals on the ground. 

"I wonder what Simon is doing right now. Maybe because  we are both so different from our families we could get along together". Gambit would like to find this special cat. It is now time for him to make a decision: he can either stay at his home or explore the world, and maybe find the cat the birds have told him about. To stay would be easier and more comfortable—but if he takes the risk to travel, with the risk will come endless opportunity for happiness.

Gambit walks further from his home than he ever has before. As he walks along the river toward the mountains, his family becomes smaller and smaller in the distance. He is scared  but excited at the same time. 

Even when he becomes tired, he continues to walk, all in hopes of seeing the especially beautiful orange cat the bird have told him about. Gambit is determined to meet someone else who feels different, like him, too. He decides that it is worth the long, difficult journey to find someone special. He continues to walk along the river with a big smile on his face, so much that his whiskers almost touch his ears. 

And then something amazing happens. Simon and Gambit find out they had been walking on the same path for both of their journeys. Simon and Gambit  meet each other in a meadow between the river and the mountain. 

 

"Oh my! That orange cat is so beautiful!"- Gambit exclaims.

 

"That is a cat that will love me the way I am, and think that I am special because I am different"- Simon thinks for the first time in his life.

 

They decide to continue on their journey together. Now, though, each of them has a partner to travel with. Simon and Gambit decide to travel together for the rest of their lives.