Once upon a time there was a very lonely Monster who lived in the woods. She had no friends and no one to share her love. Monster was very fond of cooking. She used to invite folks over all the time to sample her meals of old stinky mushrooms and rotten fruit which she found on the forest floor. But that was a long time ago. You see, for some reason, folks stopped coming over to share her meals. Now Monster had no one to cook for which made her super sad.
One day Monster was out in the forest foraging around for her next gourmet meal. It was the day of the summer equinox and she wanted to create a special meal to celebrate. As she trudged through the thicket with her rucksack, Monster glanced up to the sky and, through a break in the trees, spied a group of buzzards in the distance. They were circling the sky while keeping a close eye on the ground. Monster's mouth was watering at the thought of road kill stew so she slowly made her way toward the scavengers.
They turned out to be a little farther away than she thought, so Monster was huffing and puffing a little as she crested the hill. It was a beautiful sunny day and she looked down in the valley to see the poor little dead creature. It hadn't been able to outrun the huge metal monsters that thunderously rolled along the rock ribbon which cut through the forest. As Monster made her way down the hill toward her prize, she saw that the big black feathered beasts were taking turns swooping down towards the dead thing. Then she saw that some of them were also swooping menacingly down toward a lone baby Maggot who was heading directly for their dinner.
Monster didn't think, she just dropped her rucksack and set out full speed toward the Baby Maggot. She had to get there quick before those mangy birds hurt that defenseless little fellow! Monster's heart thudded nine hundred and forty two miles an hour as she ran flat out. She dove toward the ground and scooped Maggot up just as she heard the bird beak snap. Monster and Maggot rolled across the ground, finally coming to a stop with Baby Maggot resting on Monster's chest. Maggot gave a little giggle and Monster wrinkled her brow as she worked to catch her breath. Baby Maggot couldn't stop giggling and making sweet cooing baby maggot noises. And finally, a smile slowly spread across Monster's face too.
That night, Maggot and Monster dined on the delectably effervescent Road Kill Stew. Maggot gobbled up bowl after bowl that Monster ladled out for him. Afterward, they settled down on the front porch to enjoy the rest of the summer day. As day faded into night the fireflies came out to give Maggot and Monster an evening light show. Maggot giggled and Monster looked down at him with a smile, then let out a heavy sigh. She couldn't help thinking how each half of the perfectly split day managed to create one fabulous whole. It turned out to be the best equinox Monster could ever remember.
And even though Maggot was very grateful to be saved from the buzzards by Monster, Monster knew that Maggot had saved her right back by becoming her very best friend.
The End
Monster's Summer Equinox Menu:
Fungus Salad
Green Algae Soup
Buzzard Pickings with all the trimmings (or Road Kill Stew)
Mud Pies
Special thanks to Jessie of Pterodactyl Pants and Catherine of Junker Jane for creating fabulously inspiring plush creatures.
