Animal Restaurant

The boy who fed animals

When the boy was finished with his chores he told his mother that he was going to go play. First he filled his pockets with nuts and seeds. He left the house and proceeded quickly to the forest.

Every time the boy entered the forest he did so from a different place. As often as he went to his secret spot he did not want to create a footpath trail that others might take. No paths led to his favorite tree and he wanted to keep it that way.

The tree was deep in the forest and when the boy came to it the first thing he always did was hug the tree. It was far too thick for him to put his arms all the way around it but he stretched his arms as wide as he could. He would hug the tree for several minutes then sit on the flat rock that butted up against the tree trunk.

He could sit comfortably in a very relaxed state with his back resting against the tree trunk. He could feel the tree’s love through his back. As he basked in that love he would take some deep breaths and say his little prayer.

Before long the animals would arrive. First it was the birds. The boy pulled a handful of seeds out of his left pocket and tossed a few seeds at a time on the ground to his left. The birds would fly down from the tree branches to eat the seeds. The boy loved it when birds would land on his outstretched legs and chirp at him before jumping down to grab a seed. It was like they were saying thank you.

Then the squirrels would show up. Pulling a handful of nuts from his right pocket, he began feeding them on the right side of his legs. To his left the ground was covered with birds and to his right it was covered with squirrels.

Occasionally a lone rabbit would appear and jump onto the boy’s legs and walk up his legs. The boy would pull a carrot from his shirt pocket and give it to the rabbit who grabbed it with its mouth and turned to walk down the legs and jump off and scurry away.

Then the butterflies came. He had no food for them but they came anyway, landing on his legs or arms and sometimes on the top of his head. Sitting as still as he could, the boy enjoyed the feel of the butterflies on his skin.

One day while the birds and squirrels were next to him eating and he was covered with butterflies he had a crazy thought and giggled. The giggling sent all the butterflies into flight and several squirrels stopped chewing and looked at him.

The boy thought about how much fun it would be when he grew up to open up a restaurant — a restaurant just for animals. He enjoyed feeding the animals so much that surely it would be the best job ever.

Copyright by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.

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