In World War II-era Greece, the invading Italians have just been pushed back into Albania. In desperation, the Greeks requisition anything and everyone that could help the army. Included in that is Mule No. 095, a proud beast that almost immediately proves to be a problem. Branding her takes three men and almost an hour. Not for nothing, her wistful owner tells them, is she named the Cat. On the road to Albania, she refuses to be broken and barely even accepts a saddle. Her muleteer rages at her, as do the corporal and major under whose command he falls, but they can do nothing. Across the border, the army is becoming desperate, and not just because of the muddy, rainy mountains they must cross. Their pack-mules are falling sick and dying of exhaustion en masse, and the Cat is the last one without a burden. By some miracle, she finally accepts one when they plead with her — a huge load. She struggles on until, finally, they reach a long, deep pool of mud on the other side of the mountain. Overloaded and short, she sinks in up to her neck and cannot escape. Try as she might, she is stuck. Unexpectedly, the corporal comes alive, and together with the muleteer, he tries to pull her out with a rope to no avail. Sadly, they leave her in the mud and press onward, but after a few hours' rest, the corporal goes back. The mud, however, is too thick. Despite his desperation and the combined efforts of two teams, they cannot save the Cat. Together, her muleteer and the corporal mourn her fate and, at long last, put her down out of mercy.