It Was Just One Day - Clark Mahoney (rainbow fish read aloud TXT) 📗

opened himself to others, and helped another critter find happiness. Yes, today would be a grand day, a day he could be proud of.

As the morning wore along, dozens of Rollie’s family and friends came out and joined in the fun, doing somersaults, and back-flips, and sometimes going up in pairs, two at a time. Spider was ever careful with his new friends, encouraging those who were afraid, and complimenting those who did the best tricks. Yep, this was a truly majestic day, and he owed it all to the sad musings of a lonely flyer.

And, just off to the side, in among the damp leaves, lay Centipede, watching quietly, and smiling. 

Chapter 15

Centipede was quite the happy runner. He sat under a pile of leaves, listening to the world above, critters waking, and wandering, enjoying the delights of the day. Undetected by others, he was safe from predators, for above him was a blanket of red and black flyers, six-legged creatures, waking from their nightly rest. He laughed at the thought, to have only six legs, while he had thirteen pairs of them, to move him quickly to the next meal, or away from a hungry eater.

The sun sent its warmth through the leafy canopy, down to the ground below, where hundreds of ladybugs rested. They were eager to begin their day, of foraging for food, soft, green plant-eaters called aphids. Mmmm, tasty. Each beetle had one thing on their mind, after a night-long fast…breakfast.

But, they had to be careful, for there were always predators out there, birds that hadn’t yet learned to avoid the foul-tasting spotted beetles. Red, a warning to stay away. And, crawlers, like the assassin bug, the lightning fast attacker. Or, the dragonfly, noisy in its hover, with powerful jaws to end a ladybug’s search for food.

Fifty aphids. Mmmm. That would be a good day’s food. But, ladybugs had to watch out for the ants, for they protected the aphids. And ants have powerful mandibles, to tear, and rip, and kill. They protected aphids, and in return, they received the tasty honeydew that aphids secreted from tubes at the rear of their bodies, a sweet delight for the ant willing to stand guard.

Centipede watched the ladybugs, moving, walking, stepping on each other, lifting off in flight, and returning. His eyes settled on one, crawling across a fallen branch, up the near side, then atop, and over. He thought of Bee’s words, of helping others. What had he done for his whole life? Was it meaningful to others? Had he helped anyone find their own happiness?

As quick as lightning, he sprinted toward the fallen branch, then up, and over. Grabbing the ladybug with his claws, he carried him to an empty patch of dirt, and set him down. Ladybugs knew how to stay alive when facing imminent death. Feign death. Pretend to be dead. She flipped over on her back, stuck her legs straight up, and secreted a pungent smelling liquid from her knee joints.

Wheh! The smell was horrible, like a rotting carcass. Typically, predators would get one sniff, and off they’d go, unwilling to eat carrion, or a dead critter. That could make you sick.

“You’re NOT dead. I know that you’re faking it,” Centipede laughed. He took his front leg on the right, gave the beetle a flick, and watched him spin, and spin, and spin, legs twirling around and around. It was so funny to see, and he laughed, and laughed.

As the ladybug slowed down, his head kept spinning. He tried to right himself, but it wasn’t easy, for his brain kept turning around, and around. His little legs wiggled, and twiggled, but didn’t do much to right himself, so Centipede gave him a flick, and over he went.

He tried to fly, to escape from this crazy centipede, but he just crashed down to earth. Up, he’d try to fly, then down he’d crash onto the ground. He had no balance. His equilibrium was tipsy-topsy.

Finally, his world stopped spinning, and he was able to focus on the centipede, standing right beside him, smiling and laughing.

“Was that fun?” Centipede asked.

“It was terrifying! I was scared to death! I thought I was going to die!” screamed the ladybug.

“But, you didn’t die,” answered the smiling centipede. “You were perfectly safe. I wouldn’t harm you, but I did want to play.”

The ladybug realized that his words were true. This game was terrifying, but it was safe. Ladybugs were NOT known for taking chances, or risks. They played it safe, all the time, every day. He was tired of playing it safe. He wanted to take risks. He wanted to play this game.

“Let’s do it again, please,” requested the ladybug.

Around and around and around he spun, until he was too dizzy to think or fly or crawl. He screamed in delight, “Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” as Centipede brought happiness to another creature.

Other ladybugs gathered around him, watching, wondering, waiting, for their turn at this game. Centipede obliged them all, for hours and hours, never losing his energy or his desire to please.

“Get on my back!” he ordered, and six ladybugs quickly got atop his skinny frame. “Now, hold on, tightly, and we’ll go for a little ride.” They did so, not knowing what awaited them atop this runner.

Off he ran, at full speed, losing the entire load of riders on the first turn.

“Hold on!” he yelled, allowing the ladybugs to climb atop again.

Zoom, he went, along the ground at full speed, under a fallen leaf, across a lengthy twig, into a hollow log, around the inside, to the top, and back down again, then out, in a wild, zig-zagging race among the underbrush, losing no one this time, and all the while hearing the excited yells of ladybugs in delight. They had never done this before. They had never ridden such a roller-coaster. They had never had this much fun.

Centipede made a lot of friends that day, hour after hour, entertaining, playing, helping. And he smiled as he realized the impact that a lonely flyer could have on the critters it came across one night.
 

A lonely bee,
getting caught in a spider’s web,
hoping to find a friend,
hoping to find happiness.

It was just one day.

What would tomorrow bring?

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Publication Date: 12-17-2010

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