Caroline Bovine

Caroline and her friends work together to ungrumphie Will Dillo

Caroline the Bovine was a cow. She took great pride in her cowness, not that she thought she was better than anyone else. No, no, Caroline was not that type at all. She was just very happy that she was a cow. What else could anyone ever want to be?

Every morning she rose with a pleasant thought in her mind. This she believed was very important in order to maintain one's cowness. She arose, splashed water on her face and changed into a white jumper. She really loved her jumper because it was comfortable and because it had lace around the collar. She looked at herself in the mirror and was pleased at who looked back. Yes, Caroline the Bovine was a very fine cow.

One day as she walked in the meadow, she met her dear friend Mary-Clare the Dancing Bear. Caroline liked Mary-Clare because she was as fine a bear as ever could be. On this morning, however, Mary-Clare was not a very dancey bear. She was not happy at all.

"Good day, Friend Bear," she said in her cheery way, "What seems to be bothering you?" Mary-Clare the Dancing Bear did a little twirl before she sat on a nearby log.

"Well," the bear began with a sigh, "it seems that someone is in quite a mood. And that mood seems to be spilling over into everyone else's mood." She put her elbows on her knees and her chin rested on her paws.

"This is not a good thing," Caroline thought for a moment. "One's mood should not spill over unless it can help someone else." She sat next to the dancing bear and continued her thinking.

"Of course, you know who it is!" Mary-Clare said. "It's Will Dillo!" she blurted before Caroline could answer her.

"I don't know if we should be saying things unless we know them for a fact."

Caroline the Bovine did not like saying unkind things about others. Even if it was about someone a disagreeable as Will Dillo, because he did not have many friends, actually, he had no friends at all. He lived in a hole at the bottom of the Old Pecan Tree and he hardly ever came out to talk to anyone. If he did say anything to anyone, it was usually not nice.

"Well, I say that you, my friend," Caroline said as she stood up, "should join me in my morning walk." With that Mary-Clare the Dancing Bear gracefully rose to her feet and put a smile on her face. The two friends walked in the morning sunshine talking about the birds and flowers that they saw.

When they came to The Bubbly Creek, they sat down and put their feet in the water. The Bubbly Creek was a nice place for a rest because its trees were very shady and the water was very bubbly. Caroline liked the way the water tickled her hooves. Mary-Clare the Dancing Bear danced about the little clearing gathering flowers. She liked making little flower wreathes to put in her hair. She often shared her little flower crowns with her friends.

"Hola!" There came a shout from the trees. As Caroline and Mary-Clare turned toward the voice coming through the trees, they saw it was another of their very best friends, Sarabou the Caribou. Everyone liked Sarabou because she had developed the habit of saying hello and good-bye in different languages. Sarabou believed that if everyone would begin a meeting and end a leaving with a good hello and good-bye then the world would be a wonderful place. Since her world was a wonderful place then this proved she was correct. Sarabou always like being correct, even when she wasn't.

"What a fine morning it is!" she continued her greeting as she ambled over to her friends.

"Yes, it is!" Mary-Clare and Caroline replied.

"Well, except for the matter of a certain armadillo," added Mary-Clare.

"Is he up to his old tricks again?" asked Sarabou in-between mouthfuls of grass.

"Yes, this very morning I saw him out and about in the Big Field," Mary-Clare continued, "and I did a most pleasant twirl and jump when I said hello and all he did was say, 'Grumph!' Can you imagine that?"

"Truly and really?" cried Sarabou, "Why everyone knows that a good beginning is the most important thing in the world!"

Sarabou stopped eating and thought about what Mary-Clare had said. The three friends sat in silence listening to the Bubbly Creek. Finally, Caroline stood up and dusted off her jumper.

"Instead of talking about someone, others should go to someone and find out why the someone is acting in a certain way," with that said, she set out for the willow tree where Will Dillo had his burrow.

Now, it was not the custom for either Mary-Clare the Dancing Bear or Sarabou the Caribou to allow anything to go on in the Forest without them knowing about it. So true to form, they got up and followed their friend. On the way they met Mikey Magpie.

"Where are you all going on such a fine morning?"

"Well, if you must know...," Caroline began pleasantly.

"Caroline is going to tell Will Dillo that he better straighten up or else," said the Dancing Bear.

"But first she is going to give a very pleasant greeting," added Sarabou, "to help set the proper mood."

"First, of all I am not going to say 'or else'," Caroline said, "that would not solve anything. The thing to do is find the ‘why’."

"The what?" They all asked.

"No, not the ‘what,’ the ‘why,’ " Caroline crinkled her little cow nose and started on her way again. The others quickly followed her chittering back and forth about what was a “why.”

The walk was going famously because the lane they took was lined with huge trees. Every now and again they would come to a spot where a meadow grew and they would have to sit for a while and roll in the grass or pick the flowers. Of course, Mary-Clare the Dancing Bear had to make everyone a flower crown. Mikey wasn't so sure it was a very dignified thing for a magpie but after he put it on and saw his reflection in The Bubbly Creek he decided that it was just the thing to wear.

"Now, Caroline, I don't mean to seem pushy, but I really need to know something," said Mikey.

"There is nothing pushy about wanting to know something because knowing is the purpose of a something."

"Yes, of course." This answer created another puzzle but he thought it better to save that one for another time.

"As I was saying," he continued, "I don't mean to sound like someone who doesn't know things but...," he paused because he wanted to be sure he worded his question properly. "Caroline, just what is a 'why'?"

This was such a grand question and everybody applauded the excellent way in which Mikey worded it, not to forget that it was a wonderful question!

"What is a 'why', why?" answered Caroline.

"No, not what is a 'why-why'. What is a 'why' ?"

"You said that in order to help Will Dillo, we had to find the 'why'," said Mary-Clare.

"Oh," said Caroline, "it really is quite simple when you think about it. Everybody and everything does something for a reason. That reason is the 'why'." The little group quietly thought about this. Finally, Sarabou had a big smile on her face.

"Of course, I always take time for a good hello and a marvelous good-bye because I think it makes for a better in-between."

"And I dance about and make flower crowns because I think that it makes for a better everything," shouted Mary-Clare as she grabbed Mikey and twirled about the meadow.

"Wait, wait! Stop, please!" yelled the magpie.

Finally, Mary-Clare stopped her twirling and dancing and gave the magpie a very beary hug.

"I just love an adventure!" sang Mary-Clare the Dancing Bear.

"And I just love not spinning," said Mikey.

"With that said and all done, let's go," said Caroline and they continued on their adventure.

Finally, they reached the Old Pecan Tree at whose roots the disgruntled armadillo made his home. Sure enough, there he sat with a very unhappy look on his face. He glared at the joyous company.

“Kaneechi-wa, Friend Will Dillo!” called out Sarabou.

“Good day, Friend Will Dillo!” Mary-Clare sang out as she pirouetted and plop a special armadillo sized flower crown on his head.

“Hello, hello, hello,” cawed Mikey Magpie.

“Grumph,” grumbled Will Dillo as he scrunched up into a ball.

“Friend Will Dillo,” began Caroline softly, “we’ve come to,” she paused trying to find the right words. “We have come to find out the ‘why.’” She beamed a beautiful smile so pleased with the words she chose.

“Why? Why? Why, what?” his tone seemed even grumphier.

“Not the why-what,” laughed Sarabou, “The why!”

“The why you are such a grumphy-wumphy!” said Mikey.

Before he could grumph back or roll into a tighter ball, or slip back into his burrow, Will Dillo began to cry. The little group was stunned.

“I do not mean to be a grumphy-wumphy. Really!” he sniffled as he continued, “I hear Mikey singing, and see Mary-Clare dancing, and love Sarabou’s greetings and good-byes, and I want to join you all, Caroline.”

“Why don’t you join us then?” asked Caroline puzzled.

“I try but you see,” and here he paused and scrunched his little face and produced the largest yawn any of them had ever seen!

“Are you sleepy, Friend Will Dillo? It’s still so early.” Mary-Clare did a little jumping step.

“For all of you, but you see I’m a night creature,” he said, “I sleep during the day and play at night when all of you are asleep.” He finished as little tears streamed down his face.

“Oh,” they all said at once. Seeing their stunned faces he smiled a brave little smile.

“It is ok, really, I just tried to change my way but my way did not want to be changed.” With that, he slowly turned and waddled into his burrow. The friends stood for a while stunned.

“This is a very sad thing,” said the magpie with a sniffle.

“I can’t think of a single good-bye that could make this leaving pleasant,” said Sarabou with a snuffle.

Mary-Clare could not think of one thing to say or one dance step that would make anyone feel happy. Even her tutu seemed to wilt a bit.

“Well, we must do something!” said Caroline in her most determined cow voice as she stomped her little hooves.

“What can we do?” her three friends asked at once.

“I am planning a plan right now!” she announced with a big smile and as they walked back through the meadow on their way home she told them her plan.

It was twilight and the full moon rose slowly over The Bubbly Creek filling it with thousands of moonbeams. A soft breeze tickled the leaves of the Old Pecan Tree as Will Dillo slowly waddled out of his burrow. As he poked his head past the opening he was surprised by a cheerful shout.

“Bon noir, Friend Will Dillo!’’ Sarabou was so pleased with how quickly her friends had learned this new greeting.

“It’s a party…,” sang Mikey from the old pecan tree.

“Just for you!” finished Mary-Clare with a pirouette and a bow.

“For me?” Will Dillo was pleased, amazed, and puzzled all at one time.

“Yes, it was all Caroline’s idea!” they all said with such love that Caroline blushed.

“Why?” asked the armadillo.

“Well, the why is very clear, really,” said Caroline, “when a friend can only be a friend at night then it only makes sense for day friends to become night friends sometimes.” Caroline bent down and hugged Will Dillo and before anyone knew it there were hugs all around.

As they laughed, they walked toward their favorite spot on The Bubbly Creek and watched the moonbeams play with the ripples.