This weeks’ story is about hide-n-seek, not as we know it, but as the animals in the forest know it. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?
This one’s a bit longer than the others I have posted.
Enjoy!
“Hide-n-Seek”
Once upon a time, there was a bear playing happily in the forest with all the other woodland creatures. The sky was clear, a gentle breeze was blowing which rattled the limbs and shook the leaves from the trees. The creatures in the woods that lazy fall afternoon included foxes and rabbits, a stinky skunk or two, several deer, and others unseen in the thick grove of trees. It was the most perfect fall day the animals had ever lived and they wanted to make the most of whatever time remained in the day; for they did not know if they would ever experience such a beautiful day again.
The favorite game of the animals was hide-n-seek, for each animal must take special care in knowing how to hide from the hunters coming soon to the woods. The game was a fun way for them to improve their hiding skills. It was an important skill because the animals of the forest were all great friends. It would be terrible for even just one of the animals to be removed from the forest by the hunters.
During many of the games Ralph, the big, slow-moving brown bear, was found first. He didn’t like being found first. Being found first frustrated Ralph. He grew madder and grumpier each time he was found first, but he and the others kept playing anyway. Sometimes Ralph would get so mad he would just “give up” and not even look for a place to hide!
The other animals in the forest began to notice Ralph’s mood change, so they decided to meet and discuss what could be done to keep Ralph from becoming so grumpy all the time. Being sly animals, the foxes came up with an idea.
“Why not have the animal that was ‘It’ simply pretend not to see Ralph and continue seeking the other animals that were hidden?” They questioned.
This would allow Ralph to be “found” after at least one of the other creatures had been “found”. Oh how the animals of the forest rejoiced at this plan. It was the “prefect” plan. It was even decided to find Ralph first only after all the other woodland animals had had the chance to be “It”. This would allow all the animals of the forest to share in the fun of the game. But better, keep Ralph from becoming all mad and grumpy.
But, would it work?
At first it was awkward for the woodland creatures to “not see” Ralph when he was trying to hide. It was always easy to see his big belly sticking out from behind a tree or his tail hanging down from the tree limb he was sitting on. But, after a few games the animals had all adjusted to the new plan. Everyone in the forest began to notice Ralph wasn’t growing grumpy as they played. All the other animals were having more fun playing too.
Unfortunately, the animals had forgotten the real reason for playing hide-n-seek: to improve their hiding skills so they’d be safe from the hunters! Sure, the other animals in the forest were still getting better at hiding, but Ralph never improved at all. Actually, because of the plan, Ralph actually grew worse at hiding. This wasn’t good, as it would soon be hunting season.
Late September came. Soon it would be hunting season. Hunting season meant many people would be walking the forest day and night seeking out whatever animal was legal to hunt. The turkeys flew high up into the trees, the deer and elk ran into the thick, deep dark forest, but good ol’ Ralph just sat right down in the middle of the biggest meadow he could find. Why, simply because that’s where he “hid” during the games and was never found!
One day while sunning himself in a meadow Ralph heard a loud “BANG” that made the hair on his back stand straight up. It was at that moment Ralph knew hunting season had indeed started and he should go hide. Ralph wasn’t too worried though, because he knew he was the best hider in the woods since the other animals never found him. Even as the sounds from the hunter’s rifles grew closer, Ralph lounged in the sunshine.
Poor ol’ Ralph, he never stood a chance against the men with the rifles and 4-wheel drive vehicles. One minute he was relaxing in the sun and the next he woke up, all smooshed and smashed into a metal box that was sitting in the back of a truck. His box was one of the many boxes on the truck which held creatures of the forest.
Ralph couldn’t figure out what he had done wrong when he hid from the men who placed him in the box. He hid the exact same way as when he was playing with his friends, but somehow the men were still able to find him. He was very confused by this.
Soon the truck carrying Ralph and the others arrived at its destination and was unloaded. Ralph thought the building looked nice. His area was warm and there was food waiting for him, so he didn’t think much more about hiding and how he was found.
As the days passed, Ralph became restless in his new surroundings. His space was limited. He no longer could just go run and play outside. He missed his friends who were back in the forest. He was tired of the same food, at the same time, at the same place in his area every day. He missed roaming the forest looking for berries or jumping into the stream when he was trying to catch salmon. Ralph really wanted to be free again. Free to romp and play in the forest. Better yet, free to play hide-n-seek with his friends.
Ralph needed to escape from his area, but how? He watched his keepers very carefully hoping to find a weakness, but decided one didn’t exist. There was always a keeper watching Ralph and the others. He thought he might never get out. Never ever.
However, one day something big and exciting was happening. All the keepers were really busy running around the building. Ralph watched as they hung bows, ribbons and streamers everywhere. He also heard loud music coming from the overhead speakers.
“Today,” thought Ralph, “will be the day I escape.”
And do you know what? Ralph was right! The people were so busy decorating the room Ralph was being kept in that someone had forgotten to lock the latch that locked his cage door shut. Being smarter than an average bear, Ralph slowly walked towards the door. Once he got there he lifted the latch and opened the door. Out walked Ralph, totally unnoticed!
Once outside Ralph quickly hid, and I mean “really hid” himself behind and in the middle of a big collection of bushes. He needed to figure out exactly where he was and find a way back to the forest. Ralph was also feeling a bit hungry, so he needed to find some food too.
Ralph sat and thought,
“With all the balloons and ribbons and streamers, there must be a party…and if there is a party, there must be food. I’ll stay in these bushes as long as I can and see if I can see any food for the party.”
Ralph was right. Soon a small catering truck pulled next to the bushes. The driver opened the back door displaying a truck loaded full of vegetable platters and grilled salmon. Now all he needed to do was wait until the driver started taking the trays to the party space. While the driver was gone, Ralph could run and grab a platter or two for himself.
Ralph’s plan worked perfectly. He now had a platter of salmon and a platter of vegetables to eat while he waited for it to get dark so he could walk back to the forest.
“But which way is it to the forest?”, thought Ralph. “I think if I hide here until dark the stars will be out and I can get to the forest by finding the North Star.”
So, that’s what he did. He sat there in the bushes, ate his food and waited for night to come. He was even able to take a short nap.
Night came, so Ralph began walking home. Then he realized something. He knew which direction North was by the star, but he wasn’t sure if he needed northwest or southwest. Poor Ralph.
Ralph decided not to stop, he just continued walking. Ralph wanted to get home. He then recalled a saying he had learned as a cub.
“When in doubt, use your snout. When in fear, use your ears.”
Yes, that’s it! Ralph would lift his snout high up and smell the air. He would also listen to the wind with his ears. That should do it. Unfortunately for Ralph, he was in the big city now. The fumes of car exhaust and the honking of the horns interfered with his snout and ears.
Ralph didn’t know what to do. He was tired and just wanted to get back to the forest. He needed to find a place to spend the night, but since there were no big bushes to hide in, he had to find something else. Ralph continued walking and after a few more steps he saw a small pickup with a tarp covering the back.
“That’s a good enough place for now. I can sleep there and leave right as the sun comes up,” he thought.
And that’s what he did.
The next morning Ralph peeked out from under that tarp and noticed he was in the middle of a forest! He wasn’t too sure which forest, but it was better than being in the city. He stuck out his snout and ears. The air smelled very much like the air in his forest, but it didn’t sound like his forest. Ralph got out of the truck and looked around.
He walked to the front of the truck and saw a compass and a map, so he took them. He had been trained to use them as a cub too! Ralph quickly ran into a heavily wooded area nearby. He would stay hidden there until he was able to figure out which direction to take to go home. It took Ralph a little bit of time to remember how to use the compass and map.
Ralph remembered “just enough” to find the direction he needed to walk. As he was a law-abiding bear, he placed the map and the compass back in the truck before he started back to the woods. But, he did grab the lunchbox he saw in the truck and open it. He swiped the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, well, because he was hungry and had a long trip to ahead of him.
Off went Ralph back into the brush, walking in the direction he needed to get home. The closer he got to home, the better the air smelled and the more familiar the sounds were. Soon enough he got close enough to hear the other woodland creatures playing. It sounded to him like they were playing hide-n-seek!
“Oh, won’t they be all excited to see me?” Thought Ralph.
Ralph waited to see who was “It”. It was his friend the rabbit. A funny thing happened though, rabbit hopped right up to him and tagged Ralph “It”, like he had never left! Poor Ralph was all confused. “How could they not notice I was gone?”
Before the next game started, Ralph gathered all the woodland creatures and asked them,
“Where do you think I have been since the last time you saw me?”
Not a single one of the forest creatures had a good answer. The foxes finally said,
“We thought you actually found a great place to hide and nobody ever could find you, so we just kinda gave up and stopped looking for you.”
All the creatures laughed and Ralph laughed too! After everyone stopped laughing, Ralph told them the story about about sunning in the meadow, being captured and then escaping from the men and returning to the forest.
The creatures of the forest didn’t believe Ralph.
“You fell asleep when you hid.” They said. “Your ‘adventures’ were just a dream.”
It irritated Ralph that none of the creatures believed his story. It didn’t really matter, though, because he was back in his forest again with his friends…playing hide-n-seek.
– The End –
Dan’s View 