The Green Giant Toppled; the Cheek-Rub Followed

The intrusion occurred, as most do, during my post-breakfast nap on the living room rug. A shadow fell over me, and the human placed this... *thing*... down with a reverent hush. It was a bizarre, green pillar of a creature, all hard angles and unsettling stillness. It stared into the middle distance with a vacant, pixelated expression. I rose, stretched with deliberate slowness to show my utter lack of alarm, and began a cautious, wide circle. It had no scent, save for that sterile plastic aroma of a new trinket. It made no sound. My instincts screamed "trap," but my curiosity, a far more powerful force, demanded a closer look. With my elegant gray form low to the ground, I crept forward, my white paws making no sound on the plush carpet. I extended a single paw, claws sheathed, and gave one of its four stubby legs a tentative pat. It was unyielding, solid. A second, firmer tap produced only a dull thud. Disappointing. It didn't skitter or jiggle. However, as I nudged its form with my nose, I noticed a seam at its hip. I hooked a claw into the joint and gave a gentle tug. With a soft *click*, the leg moved. My ears perked. This was new. A silent statue that could be reconfigured? The possibilities began to percolate in my superior mind. I spent the next few minutes as a sculptor of chaos, nudging and pulling its limbs into a ridiculously unstable pose, one leg angled high in the air. This was no longer a static object; this was a challenge. I backed away, my tail giving a tell-tale twitch. I crouched, my hindquarters wiggling as I calibrated the perfect trajectory for what I call the Pounce of Judgment. I launched myself, a furry missile of gray and white, striking the green giant squarely in its blocky chest. It wobbled, held its ground for a valiant second, and then tumbled over with a profoundly satisfying *CLACK* on the hardwood floor just beyond the rug. It was sturdy, it was interactive in its own way, and it was eminently topple-able. It would do. I sauntered over, rubbed my cheek firmly against its corner to mark it as my property, and then immediately walked away to go nap somewhere else. One must maintain an air of indifference, after all.