The Empty Frame Wins Best in Show

Original cat comedy · Short read · Fiction

The picture frame was waiting for a photograph. Mabel considered it finished.

She inspected its plain backing, its four corners, and the generous absence of anyone else’s face. At last, an artwork that trusted the viewer.

Fig entered it in the museum’s annual competition. The other entries were a slipper, a folded napkin, and Mabel herself, entered without consultation.

The judging panel consisted of Fig. He awarded the frame first place, the slipper second, and Mabel an honorary distinction that prevented an awkward conversation.

The human inserted a family photograph the following morning. Fig stared at the crowded composition with professional concern.

Mabel issued a statement explaining that the prize applied to the work’s earlier period.

The photograph remained. Nobody demanded its removal; the frame was on a shelf far beyond the museum’s working collection.

Instead, Mabel posed beside it whenever anyone looked. If the human insisted on a family portrait, the museum would at least provide a director’s commentary.

Keep the comedy going

Part of The Museum of Things the Cat Knocked Over.

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