Once there was a cat in a small village near some mountains.  It was a traditional village in every sense of the word: things happened there much as they had happened for hundreds of years.  There was a baker, a butcher, a priest, and many farmers who came to town periodically.

This cat, however, was not traditional.  Not that he thought of himself as such.  He simply did whatever he wanted.  And he wanted to do things differently.

Every afternoon, he would wander through the village square, and every time he did so, he did something new.  He didn't do these new things for any other reason other than it felt natural to him.  One time he simply stopped in the center of the street and took a bath while he knew everyone was watching.  One time he playfully attached himself to the mayor and would not let go until he received enough petting.  Many times he simply walked differently, with a bounce in his step.  He stopped at odd times.  He wasn't upset or even concerned with other's reactions.

At first, the villagers thought there was something wrong with the cat.  It was a small enough village that everyone knew each other, so at night they would discuss what could be going on with this cat that did not act like a traditional cat.

After some months, however, they began to realize that the cat was truly enjoying himself.  It was all done out of play.  And so they began to enjoy themselves while watching the cat.  Instead of discussing what was wrong with the cat every evening, when they got together they laughed at the antics of the cat.  The butcher left out choice meats for the cat, which of course the cat thought was natural.  He continued to do things differently, but not out of any desire for reward.  He simply did what he wanted in every moment.  He acted as was natural for him without restraint.

After a year or so, the villagers had gotten used to seeing something new every day from the cat.  They saw how much joy he had.  So one or two tried to do things differently as well.  It wasn't every day at first, and they didn't even realize they were doing it.  Some walked differently and stopped to look at odd things.  Some playfully started strange conversations with other villagers, so as to get to know them better.  The baker experimented with new treats.  The butcher tried selling marinated meats that he had dreamed of.  The priest started telling odd stories in his sermons . They didn't think about it much, but instead did it out of a new, burgeoning curiosity.

This created, in turn, new talks about how these people were destroying tradition.  It created some fear.  But after another few months, they realized that there was more fun in the village.  There was more honest joy about seeing each other, as there could now always be something new to experience.

The cat of course noticed this, but didn't get affected at all.  It simply continued to do things differently and enjoyed himself all the while.

After a few more years, some passing university students noticed that the atmosphere in this village was different.  While at the local tavern, there wasn't a dismissal of their ideas - there was curiosity.  There wasn't necessarily mutual understanding, but there was enough true communication that the students felt enlivened.  They had heard new ideas, and afterwards they felt more ideas coming to them.  They parted the village with a sense of newness in them.

In a year or two more, one of these students had inherited his father's fortune and decided to create a new home near the village.  This person was a scientist and wanted to run experiments to expand his knowledge in a place where he felt at home.  New inventions were created which caught the ear of others, and soon more people of a similar disposition had homes near this village which had expanded to a town by now.

In time, this now-town became what intellectuals called "enlightened".  It became a center of learning and the arts.

The cat continued to do what he wanted.  And had a wonderful, joyous life.