Another Bad Thing

Another Bad Thing happened and all the animals in the forest gathered together. This is what the animals do anytime something bad happens. They gather together, make sure everyone is okay, and reassure each other they are not alone.

Then the Bad Thing becomes a remembrance, a memorial, and before long the animals in the forest return to their own lives... As the last Bad Thing that happened fades into a memory.

"But why doesn't anyone try to stop the Bad Thing from happening?" came a voice, a small voice, from a new animal who had just joined the world this past spring.

Another small voice, one who had joined the world recently as well, echoed the same sentiment, "Can't we do something to try to stop the Bad Thing from happening?"

The adults looked around, who broke the cycle? The cycle was working. Bad Things were always going to happen. There was no way around that. This is something the adults knew for certain.

"You're new," the Adults said, "Bad Things will always happen, there is nothing we can do to stop them."

The small voices went quiet. They knew they were new, and they couldn't know everything yet, but they also knew the adults were wrong. They had to be. But there was nothing to be done now, so they moved on.

Then the Bad Thing becomes a remembrance, a memorial, and before long the animals in the forest return to their own lives... As the last Bad Thing that happened fades into a memory.

"This is a lot of Bad Things?" a newer voice came, "Why don't we do anything to stop the next Bad Thing from happening?"

The previous new voices heard the new new voice loud and clear. This gave them the courage to say even more:

"We have to at least try to stop Bad Things from happening," They said again, "We have to do something!"

The Adults were unmoved. But more new voices than before knew they were right. They knew they had to do something.

Then the Bad Thing becomes a remembrance, a memorial, and before long the animals in the forest return to their own lives... As the last Bad Thing that happened fades into a memory.

Another Bad Thing happened and all the animals in the forest gathered together. This is what the animals do anytime something bad happens. They gather together,

"We're not leaving till we do something to try to stop the Bad Thing from happening." Several of the new animals began speaking up together, "We can't keep letting Bad Things happen and never do anything about it. It's not right. It's not fair. It's not good."

...Make sure everyone is okay...

"Bad Things keep happening because we don't do anything to stop them, don't you see!" The new voices said in a growing unity.

...And reassure each other they are not alone...

"We're not going to just wait till the next Bad Thing happens to figure this out!" The new voices said in solidarity.

Then the Bad Thing becomes a remembrance, a memorial,

"We have the power to do something! We can do something right now! Don't just pretend we're helpless!" The new voices started raising with a power and a desperation that could not be stopped.

...And before long the animals in the forest become consumed with their own lives...

"The Bad Things must end! The Bad Things can end!" The new voices began chanting.

As their numbers grew and the passion grew even adults started asking, why haven't we done anything? We didn't even try? We could have at least tried. We must try. It's never too late to try. We can do it. We can stop it. We have to try. We can't be hopeless. We have to try. If for no other reason than our newest family members ask it. We've had enough Bad Things for our lifetime. Let's not allow more Bad Things for theirs.

Then the last Bad Thing that happened can finally be the last Bad Thing that happened...

And fade into a memory.

Little Stories With AnimalsMay 27, 2022