Object: Several photographs of a cat.

Lesson: Anger; tolerance.

When the children have gathered on the chancel steps, I ask, "Do any of you have any pets?" Everyone seems to nod, and since the group is not overly large this morning, I encourage each of them to tell me (one at a time) what kind of a pet they have.

"A cat," says the first child.

"Ditto," responds the boy next to her.

"A goldfish," comes the next reply.

"A cat," says a young man whose family I know, including their pets.

"Just one?" I ask, surprised.

"Well, no, actually three cats," he replies.

This litany goes on through a few more children, one with a dog, one with a cat and a dog, and another with a cat. "It certainly seems that this group favors cats," I observe. "As it happens, I have two cats myself, Dylan and …