finding a home in the forest
DESCRIPTION
A forest story that involves acceptance and inclusionTRANSCRIPT
- 1 -
Summer in the forest had been hot and dry that year. The river was really
low; barely a trickle of brown muddy water was all that was left of the
deep river. The trees and ground were an autumn yellow, and none of the
berries were growing. The animals were having a hard time getting food.
The Twitchy Bumble Noid’s front yard was brown and the flowers around
her cabin were wilted, the once bright colors fade to weak pastels. The
ladybugs found it too hot to fly, and even the jar of freckles had no effect.
At night, she tossed and turned in the heat, hoping for even a slight
breeze to come in through the open windows.
To make matters worse the town had grown larger and the people who
lived there had built their new dump close to the woods. When there was
any breeze coming from the town’s direction you could smell the rotting
garbage.
That spring the mother bear had given birth to two baby cubs. She was
getting worried because it was becoming harder to feed them. They
weren’t growing as fast as they should and wouldn’t have enough a fat for
the winter. She needed to find them more food. And the smell on the
breeze told her where there was some, though it might not be that tasty.
Now going to the town dump was a dangerous thing to do. The people in
the town were sacred of bears, and were always complaining about the
rats that seemed to live at the dump. They didn’t know that there was no
place for the rats to live in the woods or that things were so bad in the
forest right now. They had all kinds of water and their lawns were nice
and green.
The next day Melodious Mistletoad was walking towards the Twitchy
Bumble Noid’s cabin when she met the mother bear and her cubs. “Hi
Mama Bear” she said.
1
Mama bear looked at her sadly. “Hi Melodious Mistletoad.”
“Where are you going?” she asked Mama Bear.
“I’m taking the cubs to town. There’s no food here,” she replied. “I think
I’ll take my cubs to the dump – the people throw all kinds of good food
away.”
Melodious Mistletoad was suddenly scared. “I don’t think that’s a good
idea Mama Bear. The town people can be dangerous, especially because
they’re afraid of bears.”
“I have no choice,” Mama Bear replied. “My babies need food or they’ll
never make it through the winter.” She shook her shaggy head sadly. “I
have to take a chance.” And with that she resumed her walk to town, the
cubs tagging after her.
Melodious Mistletoad ran to the Twitchy Bumble Noid’s. She would know
what to do.
The Twitchy Bumble Noid was staring wistfully at her wilting flowers when
Melodious Mistletoad found her. “My flowers sure look sad,” she said.
“Mama Bear is going to the town dump,” Melodious Mistletoad blurted
out. She was usually impatient. They had bigger problems to worry about
than the Twitchy Bumble Noid’s flowers.
“What? Why?” the Twitchy Bumble Noid shouted. “The town people are
afraid of bears.”
“Mama Bear says there isn’t any food for her cubs and they won’t be
ready for winter,” Melodious Mistletoad replied.
2
“I was afraid something like this would happen,” the Twitchy Bumble Noid
answered with fear in her voice. “We have to stop her.” She jumped up
off her step and headed toward town. Melodious Mistletoad followed her.
Mama Bear had a head start and had already reached the dump by the
time they caught up to her. She and the cubs were eating old garbage,
the cubs making squeals of delight at seeing so much to eat. It might be
garbage to the town people but it was still good food to bears. And to the
rats. Everywhere they looked they could see grey and brown rats.
There was really no place for the rats in the forest. They couldn’t find
food or a place to live. And just as the town people feared the bears
because they didn’t understand them, the forest creatures feared the rats.
The only home the rats had was the dump. The bears were trying to stay
away from them, the cubs looking over with some fear.
“Hey Mama Bear,” the Twitchy Bumble Noid yelled.
Mama Bear looked up with a smile. “Twitchy Bumble Noid,” the cubs
yelled. All three ran over to the Twitchy Bumble Noid and Melodious
Mistletoad.
“What are you doing here?” the Twitchy Bumble Noid asked. “This is a
dangerous place?”
“I already told Melodious Mistletoad,” Mama Bear answered. “I have no
choice.”
“But what about the town people? And the rats?” Melodious Mistletoad
asked.
“The rats leave us alone,” Mama Bear replied. “And we haven’t seen any
town people yet.”
3
“But they’ll be here as soon as they find out you and the cubs are here,”
the Twitchy Bumble Noid said.
No sooner had she said that than they heard shouts from across the
dump. It was a town person holding a rifle. Mama Bear, the cubs, the
Twitchy Bumble Noid and Melodious Mistletoad all ran to the woods. They
could hear the rats scurrying off in all different directions. A shot rang out
and overhead the leaves twitched as a bullet flew through. The cubs were
bawling and Mama Bear was yelling at them to hurry. The Twitchy Bumble
Noid and Melodious Mistletoad ran for their lives – they had never been
shot at before.
Soon they all had reached a little clearing. The Twitchy Bumble Noid and
Mama Bear listened but there were no sounds of the town person. The
cubs were still shaking with fear and panting in exhaustion. It was
obvious they weren’t getting enough food and the run through the wood
had used up a lot of energy. Even Mama Bear seemed worn down.
Melodious Mistletoad and the Twitchy Bumble Noid were really worried
now.
“Now what will you do? the Twitchy Bumble Noid asked.
Mama Bear shook her head. “I don’t know.” She looked at the cubs sadly.
“I guess we’ll have to try the dump again.”
“That’s crazy.” Melodious Mistletoad yelled. “They’ll be watching for you
now.”
“Then we’ll go at night,” Mama Bear answered. “Like I said, I have no
choice.” She looked first at the Twitchy Bumble Noid and then at
Melodious Mistletoad. “Please don’t worry, we’ll be careful.” She and the
cubs disappeared into the woods.
4
“I don’t feel any better,” the Twitchy Bumble Noid said as she watched the
bears leave. “We better keep an eye on them.”
Melodious Mistletoad knew better than to argue with the Twitchy Bumble
Noid. She also knew they wouldn’t be getting much sleep that night.
When night finally arrived the sky had clouded over. There was no
moonlight to see by so they had to be careful walking toward town. They
hoped that would make it easier for the bears if they got there before the
Twitchy Bumble Noid, Melodious Mistletoad and Dancing Dimpled
Doodlebug. Melodious Mistletoad had know idea what the Twitchy Bumble
Noid had in mind but if anybody could help the bears it would be her.
By the time they reached town the bears had already made it to the dump
and were busy eating. Mama Bear kept an eye in things while she ate,
but the cubs seemed to have forgotten the afternoon. And the rats were
back as well. But instead of the darkness of a cloudy, moonless night the
dump was lit up by big, bright white lights. They knew some town person
would be there to watch for the bears.
Things went well for a bit but it wasn’t long before somebody did show up.
As soon as they saw the bears they yelled for other town people. Rifle
shots rang out. The bears and rats scattered. One cub got confused and
ran in the wrong direction. Mama Bear called to him and he turned back
towards the forest. As he reached the trees he tripped over some rusty
cans. Mama Bear grabbed him by his fur and pulled him into the woods.
He jumped to his feet and all of them ran as fast as they could.
Once they had reached the clearing there were no sounds of anyone
chasing them. Poor Dancing Dimpled Doodlebug was so sacred he was
shaking. “I… I … I don’t e…e…e…ever want to g…g…g…go there again,”
he stuttered. He sure was scared. Dancing Dimpled Doodlebug never
stuttered.
5
Mama Bear agreed with him. “We will have to figure something else out,”
she answered him. “This is too dangerous for my babies.”
The Twitchy Bumble Noid nodded her head. “We will help you.”
“Yeah, we’ll think of something,” Melodious Mistletoad agreed.
“C…c…c…come see us in t…t…t…he m…m…m…morning,” Dancing
Dimpled Doodlebug suggested. “We’ll think of something,” he repeated
And with that they all parted, hopefully to get some sleep and think of an
answer to the bears’ problem.
The next morning the Twitchy Bumble Noid had a quick cup of tea and
headed for the clearing. When she got there Melodious Mistletoad and
Dancing Dimpled Doodlebug were waiting for her. Mama Bear and the
cubs were there too. It was time to go to work and come up with a plan.
Both the Twitchy Bumble Noid and Melodious Mistletoad were good at
coming up with plans.
“We need to find food here,” the Twitchy Bumble Noid began. “I know the
berries aren’t growing and there isn’t much food even for the other
creatures.”
“This has to be the hottest summer yet,” Dancing Dimpled Doodlebug
said. “If this keeps up we’ll all be in trouble soon.”
“Yep,” Melodious Mistletoad replied. “But we need to help the bears
today.”
Mama Bear was about to speak when the forest creatures began to show
up. They all appeared to be very upset. Even the giant was with them
and he seemed to be upset too. It had to be something important for the
6
giant to be there. Although he and the forest creatures liked each other
now he still preferred to be in the garden he and the Twitchy Bumble Noid
had planted.
“The rats have left the dump,” a rabbit said. “They are in the woods now,
eating our food and sleeping in our old holes.”
“Why are they here?” the Twitchy Bumble Noid asked.
“I don’t know,” the rabbit answered. “We are too afraid of them to ask
them.”
“Well it has to be something big,” Dancing Dimpled Doodlebug replied.
“They love that dump.”
Just then some rats entered the clearing. “There they are,” a mouse
yelled. She started to run to the other side.
All the small forest creatures, and even some of the larger ones, started
running around and yelling. The rats just sat there, they were used to this
reaction. The Twitchy Bumble Noid yelled for everybody to calm down but
she was just ignored. Then the giant yelled very loudly.
“QUIET!”
Everybody stopped where they were. Even the rats seemed startled.
“Sorry,” the giant said. “But nobody was listening.” He looked kind of
embarrassed.
“Thank you!” the Twitchy Bumble Noid answered him with a smile. “Now
maybe we can get this whole thing solved.” She looked at the rats. “We
have two problems here. The bears don’t have enough food for the
7
summer and get ready for the winter. And you rats are here instead of at
the dump.”
One rat stepped forward. “We have to come here now. The town people
bulldozed the dump ever since the bears were there, and when they saw
us they started shooting at us.” He looked both sad and angry. “Now we
have no home and no food. And it’s because of those bears.”
“They didn’t mean to cause trouble. But Mama Bear is really desperate.
Her babies won’t make it through the winter if they have no food,” the
Twitchy Bumble Noid tried to explain.
“So they can ruin it for us?” the rat demanded. “After all, we’re just rats.
Who cares anyway?” He was getting really angry.
The forest creatures were getting used to the rats now and also getting
angry again. Some started to grab rocks and sticks to throw at the rats.
A butterfly landed on a plant near one of the rats. “There is barely
enough plants and food for us. What will you eat here? And where will
you sleep?”
“Well we can’t go back to the dump. Its gone and now the people are
watching for us to come back. What do we do?” the rat demanded.
Melodious Mistletoad stepped toward him and looked at the forest
creatures. “There has to be enough food and space for them. This is a
bad summer and its affecting all of us. We should all work together.”
Dancing Dimpled Doodlebug started to say something but he was too late.
The forest creatures started throw the sticks and stones they had picked
up. With yells of “here we go again” the rats ran from the clearing. The
Twitchy Bumble Noid and Melodious Mistletoad were very angry and ran
after them to try to bring them back. Dancing Dimpled Doodlebug started
8
yelling at the forest creatures to stop but he was just ignored. The forest
creatures were very angry and worked up. Again the giant yelled. Very
loudly, for he was angry at the forest creatures. He remembered when
they didn’t like him.
“STOP!”
It worked again. Everybody stopped and stared at him.
“Listen to Dancing Dimpled Doodlebug,” he demanded. Again he looked
embarrassed – this was more talking than he usually did.
“We aren’t being fair,” Dancing Dimpled Doodlebug said. Its our fault the
rats are here.” He looked apologetically at the bears. “The town people
probably knew they were at the dump but we caused them to bulldoze it.
We have to help the rats.”
“But they are dangerous,” the rabbit said. “And we have no food for
them, or places for them to stay. We barely have enough food for us.”
Just then the Twitchy Bumble Noid and Melodious Mistletoad returned with
the rats. The rats still seemed angry.
“I know how you feel about us,” the rat said. “But we aren’t the way you
think we are. You just don’t know us. “
“And the food they eat is stuff the town people throw away,” the Twitchy
Bumble Noid said. “I heard Dancing Dimpled Doodlebug and he is right.
We have to be fair.”
Melodious Mistletoad looked at the butterflies. “When you came here it
was because you had no choice, just like the rats. And the wasp, bees
and moths shared their milkweed plants with you, even though they didn’t
want to. “
9
“And the people were pretty scared and upset when you were
caterpillars,” Dancing Dimpled Doodlebug added.
“That’s true,” a butterfly answered. “We didn’t think of that.”
“I heard they will steal our babies and eggs,” a bird twirped.
“We don’t steal babies or eggs,” the rat said. “That’s the problem with all
of you. You don’t know us and you will believe anything about us because
of that.” He looked disgusted with the forest creatures. “The only things
we take are things that have been left behind.”
“That’s right,” the Twitchy Bumble Noid said to the rabbit. “The holes
they slept in last night were holes you had left and were no longer using.”
But still the forest creatures were upset and angry. They started yelling at
the rats, who started yelling back. The Twitchy Bumble Noid was right.
The forest creatures just didn’t know the rats and were afraid, so they
believed anything that was said about them. And it was hard to think
about sharing when you were worried about yourself and your children.
As the Twitchy Bumble Noid tried to calm things and Melodious Mistletoad
started to cry a buzzing could be heard from beyond the clearing. It grew
louder and soon a red and black could of ladybugs flew through the trees
and landed in the clearing.
One of them started to speak. “We heard about the problem you are
having. And we have brought some help,” she said. She pointed back
toward the way they had come.
Now a black and gold cloud was flying through the trees. It was the
honeybees, which were seldom seen these days as they were very busy
10
with their honey nests in the western woods. They landed to sit amongst
the ladybugs, and the brownish clearing was soon brightened by black,
red and gold. The Twitchy Bumble Noid began to feel better and
Melodious Mistletoad stopped crying.
“We are here to help,” a bee said. “Every year we make all kinds of
honey, and always have extra. We would like to offer that to Mama Bear
and her cubs. “
The cubs yelled happily. “Oh thank you,” Mama Bear said. “I don’t know
what else to say.”
“Well you help us. These flowers have to get their food from somewhere.”
The bee answered with a smile. “So you actually help us. All of you do.”
She looked at the forest creatures. “So we are happy to have the chance
to give some help back.”
“That’s what this forest is about,” the ladybug said. “You didn’t like the
giant and were afraid of him. But now you help him and are friends with
him.” She looked at the butterflies. “And when you came here nobody
wanted to share and even be your friends. Now you are important to us.”
She looked at the rats. “And I am sure it will be the same with the rats.”
Mama Bear stepped forward. “I moved to a new den this year,” she said.
“The old one was too small for me and my cubs. I am sure some you can
stay there.”
“And we really don’t need our old holes,” a rabbit said. “I guess were
being selfish, thinking they belonged to us. You can use them too.”
“But what about food?” A mouse asked.
“We eat what people leave behind,” the rat said. “You call it garbage, but
11
to us it is food.” He looked at the mouse. “It means that there really is no
waste.”
“And did you notice?” Dancing Dimpled Doodlebug asked. “You can’t
smell the dump anymore.
All the forest creatures cheered. They looked at the rats differently now.
Slowly, at first in small groups but then in larger ones, they welcomed the
rats to the forest. The Twitchy Bumble Noid and the ladybug smiled at
each other.
And the forest returned to normal.
12