Who Loved the Good Rules?

There once was a family with a little boy and a talking dog and a talking cat.

This family had rules, and they were good rules.  They were posted on the refrigerator.  Now the cat, of all the family, seemed to make no effort to follow the rules unless he was sure to be caught, but he was also inordinately interested in the rules.  For instance, once when Mom was dicing some cucumber peels to put in the compost, he wanted to know why that didn’t violate the rule against damaging things, and refused to be pawned off with the explanation that ‘this was different.’  Finally the family had to add a rule to the rest on the fridge stating that composting was not damaging property.  And so on, that was the kind of interest he had in the rules.  The little boy, on the other hand, didn’t bother too much with the exact rules but tried to follow them when he remembered.  And the dog kept them completely.

Now one day Dad and Mom had to go on a long trip and wouldn’t be back until late.  On the white board by the front door they wrote one big new rule; it said, “FOLLOW THE RULES ON THE FRIDGE.”

When they left, the cat promptly went to the fridge and started to tear down the paper with the rules.  The boy and the dog stopped him.  The cat hissed, “no grabbing, no force, that’s a rule!”  The boy retorted, “but you are tearing down the good rules!”  “Is there a rule against that?” the cat asked.

The boy was perplexed.  There really wasn’t.  But after some thought he brightened.  “Look!” he said.  “Right there! It says ‘no damaging things.'”

“I am going to to put in the compost,” the cat said triumphantly.   “That’s allowed in the rules.  Now let go of me.  Holding me is against the rules!”  The dog let go.

“But you are trying to destroy the rules,” the boy said, and held on even though there was no rule saying he could.  And the cat bit and scratched and the boy still held on.

Which of these loved the good rules?