Lily looked at Rabbit, who gently rubbed her paw down her ears, and Nakiry suddenly was on the ground, looking at the four animals. And they were looking back at her! Rabbit, Lily and Timmy, looked somewhere between amused and stern, and Ramey was just curious.
He bent down to sniff at Nakiry, and she scurried behind one of Rabbit’s ears! Rabbit gently told her to come out. That she wanted to see what was going on so badly that she had hidden and fooled them, so now she needed to stand up like a big ant and face what she was looking for. Nakiry peeked out from under Rabbit’s ear, and saw that Ramey had sat back and was cleaning his paws. No claws were showing, so Nakiry decided that he wasn’t going to be mean to her.
Today was the very first day she had met Timmy, Lily and Rabbit, but her curiosity was taken by Ramey. None of the others had curly hair like him. She thought that it was delightful, and crawled up into one of the curls. & then out the other side! She was laughing, and he just lay down and let her play. He knew he could take his bath later. The others just watched her playing and laughed.
7. When she got done playing in Ramey’s fur, Timmy and Lily introduced themselves to her. They all chatted away like old friends as they took Nakiry back to the tunnel-holes. She ran right to the library to tell her papa about the new animal in the meadow, and that she met Rabbit and Lily and Timmy, and learned about the Bridge, and…..
Oh, no. Natu said to himself, they can’t know about the Bridge. That was never ever supposed to be talked about in this meadow. No one was ever to hear about it! The elders had thought that if the creatures here knew about it, it would upset them. According to Uncle Rotano’s research, the animals that came here didn’t remember that part. This cat must be a very smart animal indeed, to be able to remember his trip and talking to Francis.
“Sweet Nakiry, it is almost time for dinner and your mama will be looking for you. Please go on to our tunnel-room, and don’t say anything about the Bridge to anyone until I talk to you about it.” Natu told this to his daughter as he went to find Rinak. The two ants discussed this situation and decided to bring it to the attention of the elders.
After dinner, Natu and Rinak went to visit the elders, and told them of the news that Nakiry had delivered earlier. The elders were flabbergasted!!!! They, too, thought that this Ramey cat must be very special indeed. He had remembered things that no other creature entering the meadow remembered. Only the elders and the librarians knew about these things. Francis was supposed to tell the creatures a story while they napped; a story that would make them remember only their life while happy and loved, then with some twist of how they came to be in the meadow.
The elders told Natu and Rinak to keep this to themselves and they would be called for in the morning, in order to report what the elders then declared.
8. When the earth-light shown again, the elders called for Natu and Rinak. Under the circumstances, they thought that Nakiry, Timmy, Lily, Rabbit and Ramey should also join them. They all traveled to a far area of the meadow, where they knew no other insects or ants would overhear what was said. It was all very mysterious.
The elders further surprised everyone gathered there that they stating that they had spoken with Francis while the ants and animals were sleeping. They asked Francis if something had changed in the rules, and how should they handle it in the meadow? Francis shook his head and told the elders, “I was afraid that Ramey’s soul was too beautiful even for the meadow, but the meadow is the absolute highest honor that I can give to any creature”.
Everyone looked at each other with smiles on their faces, as the elders continued, “Now that the others have remembered, and a young ant is involved, Francis supposes that we must not keep the Bridge a secret in the meadow any longer. Rinak, you are directed to find the information for the Bridge that Uncle Rotano wrote down, and put it out for the public. It is no longer to be in the vaults. Natu, Timmy, Lily, Rabbit and Ramey; Once an ant reads about this, they may come to one of you with questions. You are directed to speak as freely as you want about what you know or recall.
“Nakiry. We understand that you are not responsible for what has happened. In fact, with you telling your papa, who brought it to our attention, it has possibly saved us a lot of problems. So, thank you.” Nakiry puffed up with pride as her papa put his hand on her shoulder. “But, Nakiry? Sneaking around isn’t nice. So from now on if you want to find something out, or go for a ride, just ask. OK?”
“OK. Thank you, sirs,” she added, remembering her manners.
9. As Timmy, Rabbit, Lily and Ramey started to walk away, Nakiry called out, “Can I come with you? I’m still very curious and have a lot to learn!” Lily gracefully walked back to Nakiry and let her scramble up to sit on her head. Then the five friends ambled over to Rabbits warren-hole and sat under the shady bushes and talked, all getting to know each other better.
Nakiry listened carefully, but soon fell asleep on Lily’s head. In her sleep, she heard the word “Hawk” and awakened quickly, very frightened, as she had heard the stories about the bad hawk that had tried to kill the animals. Then she realized that Rabbit had asked Ramey how Hawk had come to be in the meadow. “If the meadow is a high honor, how could someone crafty and mean get past Francis?”
Ramey said he didn’t know, but he supposed that either he had fooled Francis (which they couldn’t imagine), or managed to come over sneakily somehow. He said it was a good thing that they had banished him to another meadow. He was a very good hunter and he didn’t think it would have been taken kindly by Francis if he killed such a large creature. “Just the same,” he said, “I think I’ll wander over and make sure our Hawk is still unable to get back to our meadow. Just to help keep us all safe.”
Secretly, Ramey just felt that Francis was proud of his animals in the meadow for figuring out how to deal with the problem of Hawk.
Timmy said, “Let’s all go. We can show you the way, and we’d be glad to see for ourselves how our plan went.”
They had forgotten about Nakiry on top of Lily’s head. And Nakiry wasn’t going to remind them, as she wanted to see all of this.
10. Timmy led the way, with the other three friends riding on his back. They got to the flat rock and the quiet stream. Timmy hadn’t been there for a while, so he decided to do some fishing first. While he, Ramey and Lily feasted on fresh fish, Rabbit ate quite a bit of the berries that hung close by. Oh, they were so sweet! Rabbit just loved them!
Nakiry wasn’t very interested in the fish or the berries, so she just stayed right where she was, not making a sound. She could certainly see from her perch that the new cat Ramey really liked fish! He was almost keeping up with Timmy, the big bear! She almost laughed out loud at that.
After eating their fill, and cleaning themselves up, Lily and Ramey and Rabbit jumped back up on Timmy’s back so they could go across the stream with him. Once across, they looked around and around, but didn’t see Hawk’s nest.
Rabbit said, “That’s odd. It was right over there the last time we looked. But there is no sign that it was ever there.”
“That means that Hawk didn’t abandon it, he moved it. But to where?” asked Timmy.
Lily and Ramey yelled, “just stay here, we’ll be right back.”, and they ran around the meadow, Lily going one way, and Ramey going the other to cover the area quickly. When they came back to their friends, they had not seen any sign of Hawk or his nest.
Rabbit cried out, “You don’t suppose he flew away? But how is that possible?”
Timmy stated that the cats better start checking the trees around that meadow. Just in case, although he had no idea how Hawk would have been able to fly again.
This would take longer for the cats, so they told Timmy to take Rabbit to her warren. They would search the meadow and stay over on their side that night, under the berry bushes. They could easily jump back across the stream on the flat rocks.
Timmy turned around to leave with Rabbit. Nakiry got scared and yelled, “Hey, I’m up here!” Lily took her paw and gently rubbed her head and Nakiry landed on the ground.
“Oh, no”, muttered Timmy.
Lily and Rabbit yelled, “Nakiry!”
Ramey just shook his head at the curious little ant.
“Please let me go back with Timmy and Rabbit!” Nakiry was nearly in tears. “I can’t stay away at night; I wouldn’t know what to do!”
Rabbit chuckled as she lay her ear down for Nakiry to scramble on to. “Now child, we wouldn’t make you do that. We forgot about you for a moment because you’ve been so quiet, but we would have remembered and came back for you. You never have to be afraid while your friends are around you.”
Nakiry snuggled up on Rabbit’s soft ear, and was sound asleep when they reached the tunnel-holes. Natu and Kiryna were up top looking for her, but they hadn’t yet gotten concerned, thankfully. They happily thanked Rabbit as she jumped off of Timmy and laid her ear on the ground so Natu could pick up his sleeping girl and take her home.
11. Lily and Ramey went up one tree and then the next and the next, looking for a nest. They decided they better cross back over the stream to lie down for a while. The berry bushes were full of berries, so they thought that would make a nice shelter for the dark-time. Of course, the cats could see better in the dark-time, but if the hawk was up in the trees, he could be very, very mean if he was awakened suddenly. They didn’t want to take any chances so far away from their own meadow. They would wait for the earth-light before venturing over to the other meadow to continue their search of trees.
They talked quietly into the dark-time, and learned a great deal about each other’s lives before they came to the meadow. It seems they both had Mommy’s that loved them, and other animals around to play with. Both of their families had told them how special they were, and that they had beautiful souls. Wow, Lily and Ramey couldn’t believe how much they were alike.
Then Lily talked about how frightened she was when Hawk attacked. Timmy was the only one in the meadow that had sensed that he was evil. Luckily, he had convinced the deer, too and they had helped to capture Hawk.
“I just knew that Timmy was ready to stick his claws into Hawk”, she told Ramey. “He was fairly shaking, he was so angry! I’ve never seen him like that before. But I believe that if he had to, he would have killed Hawk to protect us. He really showed us his bravery when he did as we asked, and just banished the bird.”
When the earth-light came back, the cats shared a fish, then crossed the stream to start their search again. They were clear across the meadow when Ramey heard Lily howl. He ran over to where she stood, looking at the remains of a nest, and the feathers around it.
They looked at the mess, and looked at each other, and quietly started walking back across the meadow to cross the stream and go home.
Suddenly they saw Timmy coming toward them, with Rabbit on his back, and they stopped where they were and licked their paws.
“What is it? What did you find? Anything??” asked Rabbit anxiously.
“Timmy, why don’t you put Rabbit down and come with me for a minute”, said Ramey. “I’ll show you what we found out, and Lily can tell Rabbit.” He added quietly, for Timmy’s ears only, “There’s no need for her to see it.”
On the way back to the mess they had found, Ramey told Timmy that it looked like a bear had gotten to the hawk, but he couldn’t be sure. Whatever had happened there, it was pretty clear that Hawk would no longer be a danger to the special meadow creatures.
Timmy moved some things around with his large paws, sniffed at others, and generally agreed with what Ramey had said. They quietly walked back to where Rabbit and Lily were waiting.
12. “Well, I for one, am relieved.” Rabbit declared on the way back to their meadow. She was hopping and bouncing around, showing her happiness! “I was still afraid to go too far from my warren even though we fixed it so he couldn’t fly. I just couldn’t trust him anymore! & it frightened me that maybe he would manage to come back over here and attack us again”
Lily looked around at the smug and happy faces. She was relieved, but she couldn’t be happy. “Dear friends,” she said, “we should never celebrate another’s demise. Hawk may have been mean and conniving, but he didn’t deserve to leave us like that.”
“I wonder what creature it was,” mused Ramey. “Timmy, do you think it was a bear? & yes, Lily, you are right. We are being selfish thinking that our own problems are over. Poor Hawk”
“And all because we fixed his wings so he couldn’t fly. I feel so awful!!” cried Lily.
Timmy patted Lily on the back and told them all, “Yes, Ramey, I’m sure it was a bear, but it didn’t smell like any I’ve ever met. Lily, you should not feel bad about Hawk. We made our meadow safe for its creatures, great and small. It was Hawk’s deviousness that caused us to do what we did.
I think our greatest concern right now is, where is that bear?”
“Don’t you think that there is something strange about that meadow over there? Here we have rabbits and bears and cats and deer. Crickets, frogs, light bugs, and all manner of birds. And of course, our beloved ants. But here. Here there is nothing but a small colony of ants, and they won’t even talk to us as we pass.” Ramey was very curious, indeed.
‘Lily and I stayed out all night, just across the stream, and we didn’t notice any deer coming to graze, or any birds nesting. In fact, I didn’t find one nest all day!”
They talked about this as they crossed the other meadow and came to the stream. As they started to cross the stream, suddenly Francis appeared before them, standing on the other side. The four friends sat down on the rocks and stared at this wonderful man who had sent them to the very special meadow.
“My friends. My dear, dear friends. How good to see you together and accepting of each other. I knew you would be friends.
“This business today is rather upsetting, of course. I’d like for you to know why this other meadow is here. It, like your own meadow, was once teeming with life. But the life that lived here was the opposite of the creatures in your meadow. Oh, they may have looked the same, but they, like Hawk, were mean and devious. They were meant to keep you on your guard, to protect the other creatures in the very special meadow.
“They would sometimes cross the stream, and cause havoc in your meadow. & the creatures that were here at the time would send them back, somehow making sure that they couldn’t go across the stream again. Eventually the mean creatures that would be banished to that side of the stream would leave. Just fade away.”
At this point, Timmy very shyly raised his paw in the air, and in a very quiet voice said, “Um, sir, Francis sir? I don’t remember ever taking any creature other than Hawk back over there”
Lily joined in, “I haven’t been here long enough to have!”
Rabbit nodded her head in agreement.
Ramey, of course, hadn’t been there long at all. He KNEW he hadn’t done anything like that.
Francis made calming motions with his hands and said, “Now, now. Calm down. None of you have, other than Hawk.”
13. “Come on across the stream, friends. Sit and have some fish and berries with me, and I will explain about your very special meadow.”
The two cats and the rabbit jumped on the bear’s back and he rambled across the stream. The animals jumped down and went about the business of gather fish and berries for themselves and for Francis.
When the food was gathered, they all sat in a circle near the rocks of the stream. Every now and then, Francis would interrupt himself to eat a berry or a piece of fish while the others waited patiently, sometimes throwing something in their mouths, as well. The story Francis told went like this:
“Friends, the Bridge and these meadows have been here since time began. They have housed creatures that were vastly different from you and some that are not so different. Most, but not all, of the creatures in your meadow are very special. The four of you are examples of these creatures.
“Timmy, you saved that human family from a fire in the woods. That showed you have a great capacity for compassion.
“Rabbit, you have been here the longest. That is because you were very young when you came here. This place is all you know. But even as a young rabbit, your mind and your actions showed me that you would be deserving of this place if you had been able to grow up before coming here.
“Lily, sweet Lily. You are right; your friend Bouncer was a special creature. But Bouncer was also very selfish, and that did not earn him a spot in the meadow.
“Finally, Ramey. Once you found your mommy, your capacity for love just opened up. I watched the two of you with awe and wonder. It was as though your souls bonded. I would watch how you carried on conversations! Her a human, and you a cat. You understood each other! I was amazed. You and your human touched me in a way that none before you have.
“The creatures that have come here before you have all gone back to their humans when it was time. They are in the most very special place of all.”
At this, Rabbit spoke up. “But sir, Timmy and I didn’t have any humans. What will happen to us?”
“Rabbit, always so frightened and unsure. Rabbit, you and your bear friend can stay in this meadow until your natural time comes to go to the next special place. Your presence here will help others coming in to adapt.”
14. Once Francis was certain that the creatures understood what he was saying, he told them, “Now, when someone comes to you to learn more about the meadow, you can tell them all that there is to know. Ah, there is one more thing to know. The deer that are here; some are special and some are just to make it look like a small herd. They do not know which is which, and will not be any help to anyone with questions. All they can know is that they are here for special purposes.
“Well, my dear friends. It is time to go back to the Bridge for me! I believe I may be sending another special friend your way shortly!”
The friends watched Francis cross the stream, and start to walk through the deserted meadow. Suddenly, he was gone! Just like the twitch of a whisker!
“I guess it’s time to go back to our main meadow,’ said Timmy. “I’m feeling very good about our visit with Francis, but I do not think we will see him here again.”
“I believe you’re right, Timmy,” replied Ramey, as he licked at his tail.