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==The Desert Rat==
The cicada hopped his way through the blades of grass and made his way to the large rocks that loomed in the south before him. As he traveled, he recalled memories of his parents. They would look so happy when they would describe to him the lovely oasis they came from. How glorious the sunshine was, how clear the water in the pond was...the plants flourished, and everything was perfect. He missed his parents dearly, and imagined how proud they would be if he made his way to such a lovely home. That thought kept him going, despite how nervous he was as he travelled around this huge expanse of a world.
Finally, he reached the very tall rock. It looked more like a wall, and the sides were quite steep. He clambered up to the top, and to his astonishment, he saw a giant machine. He approached it cautiously, glad that the noise of that monster’s mechanic drives overshadowed his chirping. Finally, he came to the building in front of the machine (or was it part of it?), and as he looked about, he noticed a sleeping rat. This must be the clever rat that the fennecs told him about!
“Hi there!” the cicada announced with excitement, still proud that he had found the rat.
The rat bounced straight up into the air, and landed on all fours. He held perfectly still, except for his twitching whiskers.
After a few minutes passed, the cicada tried again. “Hello there! I’m a cic---” But as soon as he spoke the rat bounced up into the air again, and landed, frozen like a statue.
Wondering what was wrong, the cicada hopped over directly in front of the rat. He whispered, “Are you ok?”
“Who sent you!??! How did you find me?!?” the rat screamed as he leapt up again, landing off to the side in another frozen stance.
“Uh, the fennecs under the trellis sent me. They told me you are the cleverest rat in Egypt, and I was hoping you could help me.”
Finally the rat seemed to relax. His tail lowered from the awkward angle it was extended in, and he sat down and regarded his visitor.
“Well, that I am! I am the smartest desert rat you’ll ever find. I have outwitted all the silly humans, and I live the life of luxury!” He turned and looked all around himself quickly before adding quietly, “so long as I remain alert.”
“What makes you so much smarter than the humans? Didn’t they make this noisy monster?” The cicada pointed to the Raeli oven churning behind them as he spoke.
“Yes! and they always come up to check on it! They sometimes take away its poops, but they make sure its always eating.” He looked over at the oven with disgust.
The cicada was still confused. “Don’t they see you here?”
“Ah ha!!” blurted out the rat. “They cannot! They can’t see me if I hold still here!!! SEE!!” And with that, he started to bounce around the rocks, holding his body stiff as he landed, singing “they can’t see me, they can’t see me”.
“Oh, well...” interrupted the cicada, “I can see you. How is it that the humans cannot?”
“Because, they can only see me on SAND!”, he proclaimed. “They used to follow me around as I would search the desert for food, and no matter how I twisted, turned and jumped, they would find me and trap me in a tiny little trap. It was horrible!!!” His nose twitched nervously as he remembered the traps. “But up HERE, I am invisible!! If I don’t move when I land, they can’t see me! I’m a GENIUS”. Again, he looked over both shoulders and lowered his voice. “But I must stay vigilant.” He sat down again calmly.
The cicada was puzzled. “If you found your food in the desert, then how do you live up here? You..don’t eat cicadas, do you?” He gulped nervously.
“Oh, no need! The stupid humans always bring food with them. You see, they stare at their monster for hours at a time, watching it burp out its wretched gas. It does that before it can poop, you see,” he explained. “Well, they bring snacks with them, and usually leave crumbs around. Plenty for me to live on. And they never ever see me!” He smiled triumphantly.
“Amazing!” proclaimed the cicada. “But how do you stand to live next to such a monster?”
“Eh, you get used to it,” said the rat. “Life could be worse. I could be getting trapped again.” He peered around, whiskers twitching. “Really, it’s ...it’s all safe here.”
“Yes, you are the most clever rat, I think. But...I do not think I would like to live next to such a horrible beast.” The cicada sighed. “Do you know where I might go to find a home more suitable ... to my kind?”
The rat stroked his whiskers as he considered this request. “Why, yes! You like plants to hide in, and water to splash in, yes?” . The cicada nodded so he continued. “Then follow along this rock wall. Just beyond its reach you will find a most glorious lake, with more plants than you could ever hope to count! I think even the great gazelle makes his home there, and he’s quite the picky one. I've seen him there before, lounging in his gazebo.”
“Thank you so much!”, exclaimed the cicada. “That sounds like the perfect place for me!”
But before he could say another word, the rat held out his paw and grabbed the cicada’s little shoulder. He leaned in and whispered, “just remember to... stay...alert...always.”. He let go, and glanced around himself nervously.
“Yessir, thank you,” replied the cicada, not sure what the rat meant by this. “Well I”m off to find my home now. Thank you again!” And he made his way carefully down the rocks and began to follow its lead.
Head to his next stop to continue his tale...
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