05 - Hunger
This happened last week: The moon is not a cheese, even though sometimes it might look like one. Little Red doesn't know this yet.
Little Red was in a happy mood today as she walked under some huge trees that seemed to stretch all the way up to heaven itself. Not much sunlight was allowed to shine through the leaves, but it was enough to show her where she was putting her feet.
After a while she met to earthworms that looked like they were lost. They were going back and forth, looking in every direction as if trying to find out exactly where they were.
Little Red walked up to them and said, "Hi." The earthworms jumped in surprise and rushed towards the nearest hiding place; but the nearest they could find was an anthill, and that wasn't safe at all. They stopped, frozen in fear.
Little Red said, "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you." She picked them up in her hand and cuddled them. The earthworms looked at each other in astonishment. "What are you two doing here?" she asked.
They looked at her again. "We are looking for earth."
"Earth?" she said, "But there is earth everywhere around you."
"No, you don't understand. We are looking for Planet Earth."
"Oh. But this is Planet Earth," she explained. They gaped at her.
"Are you sure?" the other earthworm asked.
"Fairly sure," said Little Red.
"What an ironic name for a planet that's full of water," said the same earthworm.
"And when you find a piece of solid ground, there's water falling from the sky," said the first earthworm.
Just then Little Red heard a bush rustling behind her. With the earthworms in her hand she turned and saw a massive black spider crawling through the bush towards her. The earthworms crouched in hiding in her hand and whispered to each other, "I thought we tricked him into thinking we went the other way!" Little Red looked at them in wonder, then closed her hand carefully to hide them from the intruder.
The spider was breathing loudly. "Hhhhelllooo," it rasped. "Hhhhave you ssseen two puny earthhhhhwormssss around hhhere somewhhhere?" Little Red quenched her rising fear and answered stoically, "Earthworms? Me? Seen? No. Definately not. Nope. No earthworms around here. Why?"
"Ahhhh.. thheyy.. ahhh.. we hhhhad decccided to meet around hhhhere.. somewhhhere.. You ssseee.. I fear thhey got lossst in thisss nice foressst.."
Little Red felt the earthworms in her and squirming and sweating disquietly. "No, I haven't seen anybody in a few days."
"Ahhh..," the spider rasped. "Too bad... Ohh, no, I mean, that'sss.. hmmmm." It grinned. "Not too bad.. really.. I hhhave you now.. teehhhhee... yesss.."
"What do you mean?" Little Red asked. She was afraid of what might come. "Ahh.. I am.. verrry hhhungry.. I mussst hhhaave food.. You are my ffood." No! She thought. She wanted to bring out the coffee machine, but couldn't with only one hand available. She thought furiously. Then she had it.
"No, please. Not me. There is another one coming after me, a day or so behind me. She is older and bigger. More food," she said, staring at the spider, willing it to believe her.
The spider pondered. Then it said, "Yes, ok, on you go."
So she did.
The spider waited for many a year, but in the end it starved to death, very angry and very bitter at the world in general.