The sounds of the jungle surrounded Mouse as she scurried through the underbrush. She had been scavenging for food the day before until she got stranded in a rainstorm that roiled through, barraging the land with bombs of rain.
Nearing a storehouse of nuts vaulted within the trunk of a fallen tree, Mouse wriggled her way in and began packing ground nuts and tree nuts into her cheek.
Thump.
Mouse dropped the remainder of the nuts from her paws onto the ground and rushed to the knot to peer out.
Thump. Thump.
Emerging from behind the sun-kissed horizon clomped the magnificent Elephant, adorned in regal vines which swept the jungle floors with each gigantic stride.
“Elephant!” Mouse shrieked, narrowly escaping Elephant’ heavy foot crashing into the log. Using the vines as a ladder, Mouse clambered up Elephant and situated herself behind the giant ears of her friend. “Elephant! You almost stepped on me!”
Elephant skidded to a halt. With a jerk of her head to the left and to the right, she searched for the owner of the mysterious voice.
Mouse clung to the vines with her tiny claws in the throes of Elephant’s confusion.
“It’s me! Mouse!”
“Oh dear. I am terribly sorry!” Elephant drew her trunk near to her ear and allowed Mouse to crawl thereupon. “What are you doing out here in the middle of the woods? You are quite a ways from your home by the watering hole.”
“I was gathering food for my family, but the rain trapped me here.” Mouse looked at Elephant’s mighty legs, thick and strong like an oak tree, moving several yards with each stride.
“If I had legs as majestic as your own,” Mouse continued, “I would be able to travel these woods in no time and be back with my family.”
They approached the edge of the watering hole; a variety of animals drank from the cool springs and brayed their welcome to Elephant and Mouse.
“Mouse, you would look pretty funny with legs as big as mine paired with such a small body as yours. Besides, your cheeks can hold a lot of food for your family. They’ll be excited about the feast you are bringing home today!”
Mouse thanked Elephant for the lift home and darted through the grass, disappearing beneath the blades of her home.
Elephant thumped passed the watering hole and joined her herd sunbathing in the grass. Several calves scampered about, playfully hiding.
Trumpeting a hello to her own calf who tumbled about, Elephant continued into the Savannah, stopping by Lion’s den. “Hello, Lion.” She sighed. “Good morning, cubs!”
Lion pounced on his cubs and rolled around with them. He shook his mane and sent a cloud of dust floating in the cool African breeze. “It is, isn’t it? Such a glorious morning indeed!”
Lion looked into the deep eyes of his giant friend and saw her grief. “What’s wrong?
“Oh, nothing. I just wish I had haunches like yours so that I could pounce and play with my calves. My legs are too bulky to jump. They’d rather play with the other calves who can folly around easier than I!”
Lion looked across the field to the elephant calves running around, trumpeting shrill calls into the morning air.
“You know,” Lion said, circling Elephant, “it would look rather strange to see a jumping elephant. You are good mother, my dear friend. You have those huge tusks to protect your family from jungle predators. Your calves love the way you keep them safe!”
Elephant thanked Lion for his words and returned to her calves, keeping an eye out for the dangers hiding on the fringes of the jungle woods.
With a terrifying yawn, Lion fell back into the grass, gazing into the skies. Falcon soared over head, preying on a snake slithering in the tree towering above. Falcon swiftly dived from the heavens and snatched the snake, bringing it to his nest.
“My goodness, Falcon!” Lion roared as Falcon flew to perch upon a rock nearby. “With such powerful wings as yours I could hunt for my cubs so much better! With your vantage point from behind the clouds, I could target more deer than by lurking in the tall grass!”
Falcon pruned her feathers with as much of a grin as her beak could manage. “Oh, but Lion, my friend. Have you considered what a sight that would be? A lion with wings soaring in the heavens? It would be frightening to say the least! The deer folk would seek refuge in the rocks or in the jungles where you couldn’t find them. Then your children would cry out in hunger.”
Falcon flapped her wings and hovered around Lion, encircling him and his cubs. “I have seen the many different families of the Savannah and of the jungle, and I have watched how each beast and creature has unique sets of skills. A monkey can climb the trees with hands and feet equipped with thumbs to grab the finest fruits. A fish can wiggle and waggle underneath the surface of the waters, nibbling at insects prancing above.”
Falcon perched on Lion’s shoulder. “That’s the beauty of creation, dear Lion. We each have our strengths. We each have our own ways of living. But that doesn’t mean an Elephant’s legs are better than a Mouse’s cheeks. Nor does it mean a Lion crawling through the grass is inferior to a Falcon soaring across the heavens. We all have our own ways to live and to be together as a family.”
With a jolt, Falcon rose high into the sky, stalking her next prey.
Lion sneaked on crouched haunches through the tall grass, finding his cubs their breakfast.
Elephant bared her tusks at a jaguar creeping from a branch above her calves, daring him to approach.
Mouse emptied her cheeks as her children gathered around, munching on the feast she provided.
-(c)2020 Kevin Barrick
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