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It was Gilmer’s first day out of the
cave since he’d been born. His mum, Iona, was ready to take him to explore
the world. "Gilmer, stay close to Mum now. There are a lot of things out
there that can hurt you. Follow me and I’ll show you some of nature’s
wonders." She took him by the paw and led him into the woods.
"What’s that, Mum?" Gilmer asked. He
pointed at a yellow flower.
"That’s a daffodil. It’s a flower
that blooms in spring. Isn’t it lovely?" Iona said.
"It has a trumpet," Gilmer giggled.
"Bees crawl inside and gather pollen
to make nectar and honey," Iona explained.
"Honey? What’s that?"
"You’ll learn soon enough. It’s one
of my favorite foods."
"What’s that, Mum?"
"That is a butterfly. It flaps its
wings up and down and flutters from flower to flower."
"Does a flutterby make honey too?"
Gilmer asked.
"It’s called a butterfly, not a
flutterby and no, it doesn’t make honey. Only bees," Iona answered.
Mother and son walked thru the
woods. She showed Gilmer the fish swimming in the stream, the bird’s eggs
in the nests, and what flowers he should eat and ones he shouldn’t. "Why
can’t I eat a thistle, Mum?" he asked.
"You could, if you really wanted,
but they are covered with prickles," Iona said.
Gilmer was curious. He grabbed hold
of the thistle’s stem. "Ouch!" he cried and ran to his mum. "I’ve got
prickles in my paw."
"I just warned you about that. Here,
let me pull them out." She made sure there were no more stickers in
Gilmer’s paw and then held him in her lap. " I think maybe you’d be safer
if you sat here for a while and just looked around."
Gilmer curled up in her lap and
watched the butterflies, bees, and bluebirds. It was a grand time for the
bear cub on his first day out of the cave. |
