Tag: what to do

March 15, 2017

“Ditto finds a dead tree” (IV)

Eulogy? said Bonny. Yes, I could say something… “Here lies a tree. It was a good tree. A tree that made use of what was offered, and offered what made use. It grew without haste, and it grew without malice. And when it fell, it made a sound.”

March 8, 2017

“Blurtso stops for refreshment”

Hmm, thought Blurtso, would you look at that… an abandoned tavern. A place where firelight once flickered on the walls and ceiling, where animals and people stopped for refreshment, exchanged words and glances, then continued on their way.

January 12, 2017

“Ditto goes to school” (II)

I don’t think Ditto liked his first day of school…

January 11, 2017

“Ditto goes to school” (I)

Maybe it’s time to put Ditto in school…

What, said the teacher, do you want?

December 21, 2016

“Blurtso wakes before dawn”

It’s unsettling to get up before dawn, when it’s still dark and the barn and the yard and the neighborhood are quiet. It’s like I’m the only living thing on the planet. It’s hard to believe others are waking to the same darkness, seeking refuge in artificial light, bathing and dressing… getting ready for the day they trust will arrive.

November 16, 2016

“Blurtso stumbles but does not fall”

Ooops, said Blurtso, stumbling on a hole in the grass. I almost turned my hoof and fell. I never do that. At least I didn’t used to. I guess in the future I’ll stumble more often. And then I’ll fall. And one day I’ll fall without stumbling. And then I won’t get up, and I’ll dream of the days when I could stumble and fall.

October 16, 2016

“Blurtso lets go”

Here I go! said Blurtso, looking down at what lay below him. Here I go! he said again, still looking at all the things that lay below. Blurtso’s boney little hooves clung tightly to the rocky spine on which he stood, and his pin-point eyes were bright and full of frenzy. Here I go! he said a little more quietly, and with much less conviction. Here I go! Here I go! Here I go! he repeated, and clung even more tightly to the spine that began to cut into his hooves and make them bleed. Here I go! he said more loudly, but with no conviction at all. Here… I… and off he went, slipping, sliding, and tumbling into the only future that awaited him.

September 25, 2016

“Blurtso tries his hoof at painting”

Hmmm, thought Blurtso, something seems to be missing.

May 25, 2016

“Blurtso learns a lesson”

Look at all that hay! I wonder if I can fit through the fence?

Oh, oh, my ears won’t go back… and I’m too fat to go forward.

I guess I’ll just have to stay here. Hmm… I can’t even reach the hay. That’s all right. I wasn’t hungry in the first place. I just wanted to stuff myself. I wonder how long I’ll be here? Someone is bound to come along. Someone with a super-modern high-tech donkey-saving tool. I don’t know why I wanted that hay, I wasn’t even hungry. But I’ll be hungry tomorrow. Then I’ll want that hay. But all I’ll have is the grass in front of me. I’d better be careful. I don’t want to eat it all. I’ve got to save enough grass for the next day, and the day after that. And I’ve got to leave enough on top so the roots don’t burn. Fortunately I’ve got a puddle of water, so I won’t die of thirst. Unless I have gas. I’ve heard that methane contributes to global warming, and if the temperature rises, the water will evaporate and the grass will burn. All because I wanted to stuff myself. And I wasn’t even hungry.

And so the days passed—night after day and day after night—and Blurtso tended his garden, eating only what was necessary to maintain his strength, and drinking only enough to slake his thirst. And from time to time it rained, and his puddle filled and his grass grew. And every day he looked at the hay, drying, splitting, and losing its fragrance, until one day when he was enjoying his morning snack… he slipped through the fence.