Neko no ongaeshi and Mimi wo sumaseba is the example of how a story within a story is intriguing enough that it gets an adaptation on its own
I had tried to work on a story within my story several times, and voila, none of them finished

Speaking of Neko no ongaeshi, now that I watched it again, it feels like a great example of your first work that you wrote in teenage years. It feels a lot like teenager's way of writing fantasy, but then edited in later years without changing much.

I only said this because I couldn't help but to think of how my mind worked when I was a teenager

It feels really nice to watch it again, though, because it's one of my favourites simply because it's simple, nice, and light, but the structure is good.

For some reasons, I always find it hard to remember Mimi wo sumaseba's English title. I find that the Japanese title sticks better in my mind.