What would you tell your kids?

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My discussion about my sister's cat dying suddenly yesterday made me think of my kitten dying when I was 8 years old. When I was in 3rd grade I had a kitten named Mittens, how original. One morning, my sister and I woke up and were looking for Mittens. My parents told us that she got outside and ran away. My sister and I ran to get dressed to go look for her. After some time, I am not sure how long, of walking around the block calling for her and looking in bushes and trees, we went home dejected. My parents finally admitted that Mittens had died the night before in a freak accident. She ran into the banister when trying to get out of the way when my mom tripped on the stairs. She died almost instantly. They lied because they didn't want us to have to deal with death. We ended up dealing with it anyway. We buried her under the peach tree in the yard. Would you have told your kids the truth or made up an elaborate story?