Between Earth and Mars, thousands of kilometers away from Earth, hides a small spaceship. This spacecraft found the perfect position so that the satellites could not detect it, nor could any telescopes in use anywhere on Earth spot it.

This spaceship is home to a crew of ten explorers who have been sent to learn about planet Earth.

Not because they wanted anything bad for the inhabitants of this planet. No. Definitely not. They observed this unknown species for a simple reason that should not be unknown to the beings of this planet.

It was pure curiosity.

The explorers are inhabitants of the planet Xenox.

Earth had sent signals into the universe for many generations. And finally, these signals reached Xenox. The shock of realization was immense as the people of Xenox eventually had prove that they were not the only creatures in the universe. Not long after, the Voyager Golden Plates were found in the atmosphere of Xenox.

These plates were sent into space in 1977 after Earth time to witness the existence of mankind and to tell extraterrestrials about Earth and its inhabitants.

Of course, it had taken the residents of Xenox a while to decipher those records. But then, when the code was cracked, they were amazed at the information that the people had given them. The Xenoxians wanted to find out more about Earth.

It took a few Earth years, but then they had located the planet, and immediately began preparing a discovery mission to make their way there.

Because even if people think differently, non-humans also need protection in space. And the distance between the two planets was so great that Xenox researchers had to develop a technique to reach the distant planet safely.

The Xenoxians are not entirely dissimilar to humans. They breathe oxygen produced by the plants on their planet. They need water that they pump out of the ground, and this water is in a constant cycle, just like on Earth. They also eat meat and vegetables, and many like sweets.

Planet Xenox is relatively tiny compared to Earth, although the plants that grow there are vastly larger. The Xenoxian itself is also slightly smaller than the human. They have delicate limbs. They have three fingers on their hands and three toes on their feet instead of five as humans do. Their bodies are entirely hairless, and their faces may well remind a person of a small child. Big eyes and small noses rounded off by a full mouth. Their ears are also small and slightly tapered.

Contrary to what people imagine, their skin is not green but comes in many colors. There are pink Xenoxians, white, bluish, and rich brown - it depends on where the Xenoxian came from. As it's the same with humans.

The similarities and differences between the two species fascinated the xenoxoric researchers, and they wanted to learn more about the inhabitants that lived on the blue planet. Mainly because politeness was fundamental to the Xenoxians. The more one knows about the people of Earth, the more unlikely an embarrassing situation that could stir up unrest.

After many years, they managed to develop the technology to send a crew to Earth; ten inhabitants of the planet volunteered to take on the task.

In order to not alarm people on Earth, they had hidden their ship between Earth and Mars behind a satellite and used the safe distance to take a first look at Earth without being discovered themselves. After all, it was still not known whether humans were inherently hostile beings.

The ten researchers had settled in very well. With their sound wave devices and hydrogen telescopes, they closely observed what was happening on Earth. With the help of the satellite they were hiding behind, they were able to observe the electronic processes on Earth.

That let them realize that humans are still very underdeveloped. They still relied on electronic sound waves to communicate with each other at a distance, and they still had to use their hands to operate their electronic slaves.

Not only that. They also had slaves who were human themselves. A fact that disturbed the researchers greatly.

But who were they to judge the people? Such behavior is to be expected from a primitive race.

Nor were they surprised by the wars humans are waging against each other. When they first looked at the planet, they saw several explosions in different parts of the Earth, killing many inhabitants. They almost thought about leaving their post and retrieving back to Xenox. After all, what guaranteed that humans wouldn't attack them once they knew there were beings around them that weren't from Earth.

Xenoxians are a peace-loving race and have not had a war for many millennia. Watching these species destroy each other caused great pain to the researchers.

However, one crew member then convinced the others that all was not bad on planet Earth. There had to be something beautiful that filled people and that they for sure were willing to share.

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And so, the Xenoxians continued to search for the beauty of the planet

earth and its inhabitants. They had already learned that the planet itself was a true masterpiece. And then they found the gentle side of the beings they were examining so curiously.

People love animals. That was the first thing the Xenoxians learned when they overcame their fear. They prefer small animals, with lots of fur and big eyes. The whole communication system called the Internet is full of it.

The researchers now sat at their screens for hours and observed what was happening on the Internet.

Every day they find something new related to these little hairy creatures.

The researchers quickly learn their names. They are called dogs and bears, and seals. It seems that all animals on this planet are born as little balls of fur, and then some grow into gigantic, dangerous monsters.

Humans like all animals, but there is one they like best in its original form. This creature is called a cat.

For hours, researchers stare at pictures and videos of these creatures, exuding a softness they've never seen before, with their tiny paws and pink snub noses.

The Xenoxians are fascinated by the pointed ears, not very unlike their own, although cat ears are more prominent. They giggle at the sight of the little tongues that seem to have little spikes on them. And the squeaky noises these little furballs make get their hearts racing.

The Xenoxians quickly learn that humans are also very fond of music in addition to small cats. And when cats and music are presented together, people seem to go crazy with joy.

So the researchers decided to send two brave crew members to Earth to take a closer look at these little creatures. One of them was Urgs. He had fought not to abort the mission at the time. He also had hacked the satellite and discovered the first cats.

So it was only natural that the honor of the first earth visit was given to him.

Urgs and his comrade Erbs flew to the planet in a small capsule and landed in the middle of a city whose name they did not know.

It was nighttime, which meant no one saw the small spaceship slowly making its way through the streets until they found an excellent place to hide.

This place was right behind a dumpster on the side street.

The Xenoxians had decided that a species so infatuated with little furry creatures would indeed pose no threat. They were so sure they could walk under them safely that they didn't even put on their protective gear.

This gear would make them invisible in case of doubt.

When they climbed out of the tiny capsule and looked around in the dim light of the streetlamp, they were fascinated by the tall buildings, with lights still burning in the windows here and there.

They strolled slowly down the street, marveling at the shop windows displaying the latest clothes, books, and food. In the distance, they saw lonely people scurrying across the road only to disappear into a house.

Somewhere a dog barked, which scared Erbs terribly.

He and Urgs stopped for a moment until Erbs had calmed down again.

Urgs was interested in examining the many cables that were stretched across the street and then disappeared into the walls and on the roofs of the houses, which now seemed to be getting smaller and smaller.

They had learned from their observations that individual families lived in these small houses. Families were big people and little people who lived together until little people became big people. Then they usually moved to one of the larger houses.

It was different on Xenox. Whole clans lived here in underground houses. As a rule, anyone who once moved into one of these houses never moved out again. There, one found one's partner, laid eggs, and helped the little ones to grow up.

When Erbs had calmed down, they continued down the street, past smaller houses with lots of green space in front of them. Here most of the lights were off, and it was very quiet.

Suddenly something flitted through the darkness, causing Urgs and Erbs to pause again.

Something told them they had already found what they were looking for. Urgs didn't wait long and jumped after the creature. He pursued the dark shadow through bushes, over walls and roofs, which, unimpressed by the pursuer, did not speed up.

The shadow and Urgs were balancing over a fence when the shadow stopped and turned to Urgs.

Silently, both Xenoxian and Shadowform stared at each other before Urgs sat down on the fence with a sigh and dangled his short, thin legs. Xenoxians have the advantage of being able to see very well in the dark. This is generally because Xenox does not have a sun directly illuminating the planet. So Urgs quickly recognized a small cat with black fur and big green eyes, which was now coming a little closer.

Urgs wanted nothing more than to pet and sniff the little creature. He had always wondered how such a cat would smell. He carefully stretched out a hand like he had seen in one of the videos on the Internet and patiently waited for what was to come.

The cat stretched out its head a little and sniffed curiously at the three fingers that stretched out long and bluish towards it when the light went on in the house behind the fence.

A glass door opened and a figure Urgs recognized as a woman stepped into the small garden.

"Napoleon?" Urgs heard the woman call, and the cat reacted immediately.

He watched in fascination as the little animal jumped off the fence and meowed softly towards the woman, who knelt in front of him.

She stroked the small head and scratched the belly as the animal threw itself onto its back and stretched out on all fours.

That impressed Urgs. Cats were so different, so alien in nature, and yet this human woman appreciated the creature's existence. Then Urgs had forgotten all the atrocities they had witnessed at first glance at humanity.

Uncertainty gave way to curiosity and hope that a first reveal would be peaceful.

So why not put it to the test, thought Urgs, silently hopped from the fence into the garden and slowly walked towards the woman who was still petting the little animal.

"Grumphgrrr!" said Urgs, a greeting in his language.

She raised her head, paused as her eyes widened, and took a deep breath.

KYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Urgs couldn't react as fast as the woman jumped up and started throwing things at him. He just dodged a watering can and a small shovel as he ran to the fence with quick strides.

A gardening glove hit him in the head, and the woman screamed wild things as she ran after him.

The lights went on in the neighboring houses, and Urgs was sure that what was to come next would certainly not be peaceful.

Maybe humans weren't that easy to meet, after all, Urgs thought as he hopped back over the fence and onto the street, where he grabbed Erbs' arm and dragged him behind him.