As the seasons change, the animals must face extreme weather conditions.
There was once a spring so windy the fields were empty, the people were lifted off their feet, and the sky was dotted with flying leaves.
“My god,” Mole exclaimed as he hopped frantically back into his hole. He wiped at his frizzled fur. “I almost got blown away!”
“What’s wrong, Mole?” asked Worm, who had just poked his head out of the ground.
“The outside has become chaotic! Now here is a windy spring, so windy that I can’t go out without almost getting blown away!” Mole exclaimed as he jumped up and down. “I shall never be able to go out again. We will certainly starve to death this spring.”
“What about the food you saved last winter?” Worm asked quizzically. He had never worried about starving; for as long as he could remember, the soil all around him was abundant with food.
“We finished it all!” Mole sobbed. “Lord, what a season!”
“I’m sure that’s fine. Groundhog will be willing to share,” Worm offered. “Groundhog? No, that’s an insane idea!” Mole sulked. Mole and Groundhog had long been enemies, and besides, Mole hated Groundhog’s food. “I shall go cry in a corner and wish that the Lord would bless me, but thank you for your kindness.”
And with that, Mole blew his nose and dug a nice archway by the side of the tunnel to sit in and pray. Worm sighed. He thought Mole was being overdramatic and too proud and stubborn to ask for help. Worm continued his little journey through the soil.
* * *
There was once a summer so hot that the sun burned red and the ground was cracked and the trees melted into icky, yellow glue.
One day, Eagle’s eggs fell from her nest into the icky, yellow glue. She flapped her wings maniacally and screeched: “Eep! In the name of my feathers, we have just survived a Spring of Wind! Now this! A boiling summer, so hot that the sun is now red, the ground has cracked, and the trees have melted!”
“First a Spring of the Wind, a Summer of the Red Sun, and now a Fall of Coolness?”
Just then, Snail was taking a nice trip on the scorching ground. She looked up at the yelping, fuming eagle, who stared down enviously at Snail.
“How are you able to walk on the scorching ground?” Eagle demanded. Snail blinked.
“I have a trail of slime on me,” Snail squeaked. “What about you? What is wrong?”
“My eggs have fallen into the icky glue the trees have melted into! And now I have no place to rest, as all the trees have melted, and the ground is too hot,” Eagle wailed.
“You could go stand on a house!” Snail offered.
“Oh, no. The houses are made out of bricks!” Eagle screeched. “Oh, no. The sun’s scorching temperature against that? What a joke!”
“Ah, but you could use some of my slime!” Snail offered again.
“Your slime?” Eagle stopped wailing for a while and considered the notion, scrunching up her beak in disgust. “I won’t be able to touch the ground. No, thank you.”
And so Eagle continued being pessimistic and flew away in despair to find a friend to share this complaint with. Snail shook her head and continued pushing herself forward.
* * *
There was once a fall so cool that the trees bent down and the polar bears shivered, and the people wore three jackets each time they went out.
“What season is it?” Orca asked Tuna Fish, shivering.
“It’s fall!” Tuna Fish replied in the same shaky voice. “Why, I’m going to die from the cold! Fish don’t feel cold, do they?”
“I suppose not,” Orca shivered back. “But I am a mammal, and so I do.”
“If I may ask, do you migrate?” Tuna Fish asked as it started to swim in mini- circles to get warmed up.
“Yes!” Orca wailed. “First a Spring of the Wind, a Summer of the Red Sun, and now a Fall of Coolness? The cold will definitely prevent us from migrating without dying.”
“You’ve got a big brain,” Tuna Fish pointed out. “You’ve got to be able to think of something.”
Now Orca started to swim in circles in deep pondering. “You are right. I am going to call upon my pod for a meeting. We must find a way to thrive using the deep waters as a habitat this season.”
“But won’t the cold water here”—Tuna Fish paused before continuing— “bring death upon you too?”
Orca stopped swimming and let out an exasperated sob before continuing to swim at a rapid speed, so fast people would’ve thought he was insane.
“So be it!” the orca said shakily. “We all die one day. But at the moment, I’m very, very hungry.”
And so Orca gobbled Tuna Fish up and went to his pod to declare the devastating conclusions.
* * *
There was once a winter so cold that the trees downright froze and all the animals got frostbite, and the snow froze blue.
House Dog barked and barked and nibbled hopelessly on the door, feeling desperate after almost an entire year of being stuck indoors, but it would not budge. He sighed and flopped onto a nearby sofa, exhausted.
“I told you not to try and open the door!” purred House Cat. “Now you’re tired.” “Well, enlighten me! How will we get outside of the house, then?” House Dog cried out as he rolled over off the couch.
“Here is a freezing winter, one so cold there are only frozen trees, animals with frostbite, and blue snow. Our house has been covered with too much ice for us to open the door and go outside,” said House Cat.
“What?” House Dog asked, shocked. He sat up and started to sulk. “I shall never get my daily walk again! A Spring of the Wind, a Summer of the Red Sun, a Fall of the Bending Trees, and now a Winter of the Blue Snow? Why, life can be cruel!”
“I live perfectly fine without a walk,” House Cat said proudly. “And you will too.” “You’re a cat!” House Dog yelped again, devastated. “Easy for you to say! I require walks and sunlight and warmth, but now all those are forever gone for the season.”
“Well, why don’t we just enjoy the fact we have our home and wait for the next spring?” House Cat suggested. “I’m sure we have enough things at home to fill our winter.”
And so the two sat on the couch with their tails dangling off the couch as they stared out the window and watched the blue snow fall gently to the ground.
