A Stitch in Time

This old adage, "A stitch in time saves nine" is similar in meaning to another one:   "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."   The concept of both of these involves making productive use of one's time, doing things conscientiously and well the first time

Owl sailed with his friend Cat one day in their two shiny new sailboats. Owl's boat was brown, and Cat’s was bright orange. After sailing for a while, Owl noticed something. "Cat," said Owl, "is that an island in the distance? Maybe we should go explore it."

"It sounds boring," yawned Cat, "but I suppose I will come." Soon after, the two friends set out towards the island. “This is as boring as I predicted, I'm going to bed,” grumbled Cat.

"Wait! Don't go to bed, there will be excitement soon enough!" said Owl desperately, but Cat was soon asleep. As the friends slept that night, there was a terrible hailstorm. Waves churned and pieces of hail plummeted from the sky and ripped through the sails. The next morning the two friends woke up.

"Where is the excitement that you promised me?" asked Cat. "I have a better idea, let's race to the island!"

"Okay... GO!" shouted Owl, and the race was on. They had not gone far when Owl noticed the rips in his sails caused by the hail. "Oh dear, this will certainly not do!" said Owl and he stopped to mend his sails. Meanwhile Cat was way in the lead.

"Where did silly Owl go?" Cat scoffed. He yawned and as he did, he glanced up at the huge rips that the wind was widening. "Oh well," Cat yawned, “Time for my nap.” And he went to sleep. When Cat awoke he had stopped; his sails were in tatters. “Ahhhh! These will take weeks to fix!” said Cat in horror. A few hours later Owl passed by.

"Oh, hello Cat," said Owl, "I will see you later." Owl sailed on to the island, found a nice camping spot, and camped out for a whole week while his lazy friend was stuck at sea.