They stopped at the mouth of the cave and stared in awe at Gorgol the Fat. His long red tail tip swished this way and that as he licked one of his curving claws.
“We need to pass by him all casual-like,” Mauricio whispered to the younger ones.
“But he’s gigantic, and look at those claws,” Tyrell’s eyes were huge.
“He is, but he is also old, slow, and mostly blind,” Mauricio replied. He glanced at each one of his recruits in turn. “Are you ready?”
At their hesitant nods, the small party set out.
Gorgol lifted his snout in their direction.
“Retreat, retreat!” Mauricio herded them back to the safety of the cave. “We will have to try again after nightfall. Larkin,” Mauricio pointed to one of the older recruits. “Keep watch.”
“Sir,” Larkin heel-stepped to the mouth of the cave while the rest settled in to wait.
“Sir, something’s happening. He’s moving,” Larkin rushed back a minute later. They ran to the edge and watched Gorgol lumber to standing. He loomed above them.

“Men, this is our chance. Let’s go!” Mauricio cried.

“Come on, Gorgol, dinnertime,” the Great Goddess’ voice boomed above them, and the cat meandered towards his dish while the mice scurried across the room.

(This one took longer than a minute, [I’d say perhaps four]. I wanted to keep the reveal hidden until the last second. I hope I succeeded. I was also trying to see what it would look like to write a children’s story in one of these challenges. What do you think? Did you get the reveal right away or did the cat information surprise you at all? Regardless, I hope you enjoyed it.)