CHATO'S KITCHEN

ALLEGORY DEFINITION
A story or a writing that has things within the story that makes it symbolize something other than what it is. It shows the bigger meaning behind the story.

PLOT
At the beginning of the story, Chato the cat, sees mice moving in next door and wants to eat them by inviting them over for dinner. The mice except his invitation and ask him if it is okay if they bring a friend that is coming into town to visit them. Chato loves the idea and begins to prepare the meal, when his friend Novio Boy comes over and helps prepare the meal with Chato. The Mami, Papi, little mice, and Chorizo (the mice's friend) make their way over to Chato's house for the meal. The cats answer the door and see that Chorizo isn't a mouse like they thought; Chorizo turns out to be a dog and the cats cower in fear. The mice explain that he is a good dog and he won't hurt the cats. The cats then come out to greet them and they all end up sitting down and having a great meal together but without Chato eating any mice.

ALLEGORICAL MEANING
The allegorical meaning in the story is that you can't trust what you are told, because there can be untrustworthy people with bad intentions in the world. But in the end of this story, evil will over come goodness.

CHARACTERS

• Chato (the cat)- represents the evil, or trickster in the story
• The mice family- represents bravery and knowledge
• Chorizo- represents strength
• Novio Boy- represents evil's sidekick

AUTHORS PURPOSE
The author used cats, mice, and a dog for this story, because these types of animals are always in conflict with one another. Cats constantly wanting to eat mice. Dogs feeling the need to chase cats. The tension between these character is a perfect example for the allegory of the story.

WORKS CITED

• Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
• "Allegory Dictionary Definition | Allegory Defined." Allegory Dictionary Definition | Allegory Defined. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
• Soto, Gary, and Susan Guevara. Chato's Kitchen. New York: Putnam's, 1995. Print.