The Father’s day gift

CEBU, Philippines - The kittens known as Blackfoot, Whitefang and Stripe wanted to do something special for Brad on Father’s Day, even though Brad wasn’t really their dad.

Well aware that Brad valued knowledge more than anything, they thought that telling him about the history of Father’s Day – instead of them asking him about it – would be a good Father’s Day gift, apart from simply giving Brad Father’s Day goodies.

But as good as their Father’s Day gift idea was, it had one flaw: they didn’t know anything about the history of Father’s Day.

Luckily, Bow-gart, the only son of Dog-las the grumpy dog, was around, and they went to him asking, “Would you know anything about the history of Father’s Day, ‘gart?”

“Isn’t that a question you guys would normally ask Brad about?” quipped Bow-gart in response. “He is the world’s smartest rat, after all...”

Explaining the reason why they were asking him, Bow-gart then understood why the kittens were asking about the history of Father’s Day. As a pup, Brad was also Bow-gart’s teacher, and he knew how Brad loved knowledge above anything else.

“Though I’m not as smart as the world’s smartest rat, I do know something about the history of Father’s Day,” said Bow-gart.

“When I was your age, I took the time to really study hard, and though Brad was always there to help me learn new things, his lessons on being self-reliant and having good study habits helped me discover new things on my own.

“From what I’ve come to learn, the history of celebrating fatherhood dates back to 4,000 years in the past. In a place called Babylon, modern scientists have discovered a ‘Father’s Day card’ made out of clay, one that was crafted by a boy named Elmesu.

“In his ‘card’, Elmesu wished that his father would live a long and healthy life.

“But when talking about the Father’s Day celebration we are more familiar with now, a woman from Spokane in Washington named Sonora Louise Smart Dodd is noted to be the ‘Mother of Father’s Day’.

“As the story goes, Ms. Dodd, who was 27 years old at the time, got the idea of celebrating Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909.

“You see, Ms. Dodd’s father, William Jackson Smart, was a single dad, who took care of Ms. Dodd and her five siblings. Ms Dodd’s mom passed away when she was born, leaving the responsibility of taking care of them to her father.

“While listening to that Mother’s Day sermon in 1909, Ms Dodd thought: Why not have a day celebrating Fathers, too.

“It was from there where the first Father’s Day celebration, as we know it now, came to be.”

Enlightened by Bow-gart’s words, the three kittens were confident that their Father’s Day gift for Brad was ready.

But far from simply content in knowing about the history of Father’s Day, they also learned a valuable lesson from Bow-gart, one that says a lot about how beneficial having good study habits can be.