Adam and Eve said, "Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us everyday. Now we do not see you anymore. We are lonesome here and it is difficult for us to remember how much you love us."

And God said, "No problem! I will create a companion for you that will be with you forever and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish or childish or un-loveable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves."

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve. And it was a good animal. And God was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his tail.

And Adam said, "Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal."

And God said, "No problem. Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG."

And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them. And they were comforted. And God was pleased. And the Dog was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well."

And God said, "No problem! I will create for them a companion who will be with them forever and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration."

And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve. And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not supreme beings. And Adam and Eve learned humility.

And they were greatly improved. And God was pleased. And Dog was happy. And Cat didn't care one way or another!

Winners of last week's battle were the cats who triumphantly snuck up from behind in the last round and pushed the dogs off the winner's pedestal. Final score was Cats 27 Dogs 25.

If you haven't already, please take a minute to read "Alley is saddened by Loss of a Friend" and reflect on the gift of friendship that Max has left us. God bless you Max. Rest in peace our dear friend.

I posted an extra "Tale of a Tail" you can access from the scrapbook.

Welcome newcomers: Puninc; Voteforgeorgewbush; Lukenbach; Dummtoad; Barseje.geo; Avalon;

Seen on the fire escape: Aussie_Ca, Poppeye, Borderline, Sadie, hbear, Caddywompus_golf, Dorinda, Jawall, Producer, Mom_ox, MarySue, Lorainew, JimKat, Saluki, Pom_Two

Supersubs were: Borderline, Aussie_ca, Lukenbach

Slams were bid and made by: Redbird/Cosmarch - 6H; Felden/Linda - 6S & 6C; Golfnlady_sc/Rzzjohn - 6NT; AlanMitchell/Lynh_uk - 6H; Lorrocat/S_cat_terbrain - 6S; Francylou/MeowMixJin - 6S.

The trophy for Purrrrfect 3-0 rounds goes to: Harlequin_smiles/Galeb; Deltagayl/Avalon

The dogs were: BigDog/Doghugo; Jean/Xbrorsen; SteveBurdette/Woo7nt; Redbird/Cosmarch; ih8cats/Puninc; Blackrockgal/Softfire; Pollyvw/Pflydbob; Felden/Linda; Xwing_fighter/Littlegirl_Mary; Zuktort/Wyatt; Sandrajoy/Bearafm; Voteforgeorgewbush/Vernc; Golfnlady_sc/Rzzjohn(Lukenbach)

The cats were: Harlequin_smiles/Galeb; Nuageman/Nonny; Smilodonkiwi/Connie; AlanMitchell/Lynh_uk; debb/Dummtoad; Orla/Naelyan_rose; Lorrocat/S_cat_terbrain; Nanook(sub Borderline)/Barseje.geo; Glossit/Rueful_Rabbit; Deltagayl/Avalon; Dittny/Errikos; Opa2b/Little_ladybug; Francylou/MeowMixJin