Patrick and his cousin, Rex, are the only boy cousins among a cluster of girls. Mischief abounds when they get together, and this Christmas is no exception.
Twelve-year-old Patrick believes curiosity is a strange thing. His teachers say it opens the door to creativity, but it’s also said to have killed the cat. “It certainly killed my sister’s cat, Henry, though it was my curiosity, not his which did him in,” he explains as he begins his tale. He and his cousin, Rex, try to hide the evidence of their involvement, not realizing that Grandaddy saw what happened. When they discover this, they are in agony, waiting for him to share the news with the family. He doesn’t, and Patrick feels pretty good about himself. At the candlelight service that evening, this good feeling soon turns to guilt. The pastor seems to read his mind and the story he tells makes Patrick’s conscience hurt. He knows he has to make things right with his sister, but knowing and doing are two different things.