Eat

New Friends

Skipping happily with a bucket in hand, I headed to the well to get some water. Overhead, I could hear the birds chirping. They were singing a pretty tune that blessed me every morning. Several feet away, I saw the river that guided me to the well. I decided to slow down my pace until I was walking.

Before I knew it, I was filling up my bucket with water. Once I pulled the bucket all the way to the top, I steadily took it and set it down. I rolled my right shoulder since it hurt just from holding the pail. I took a deep breath in and picked up the bucket of water. Exhaling, I started walking while holding the bucket with locked elbows. I had to grunt a little to carry it, and every now and then I had to lift it up with my thigh. However, upon doing so for the second time, I lost my footing tripped on what must've been a log and yelped.

The next thing I saw was dirt and rocks by my face. With uneven breath and a little "Ow", I lifted myself up using my shaky arms. Sitting up, I leaned on a tree to process what happened since there was not even a log on the ground when I looked back.

"Are you alright?" I turned to my left to see a little deer gazing at me.

Clearing my throat, I answered, "Y-yes, I'm okay." It didn't seem to believe, it's mouth forming what resembled a frown.

"Then why are you on the ground? And why are there cuts on your arms?" The deer asked with a little head tilt.

"Uh, well not all of these cuts are new, but I did just fall," I looked down while wiping some fresh blood on my arm with my finger.

         "Here, I'll help you," the deer smiled as it lifted me up with the back of its head and neck.

         "Thank you," I returned the smile as I heard rustling in the bushes behind the deer.

          "You guys can stop hiding, you know..." the fawn sighed as it turned its body towards the bushes. As if on cue, several animals stepped out, including bunnies, other fawn, mice, and birds. They looked down bashfully as the first deer rolled its eyes at them and turned back to me.

          "Sorry about them, they can be quite nosy," the small deer apologized while bowing down slightly.

          "We weren't trying to be nosy! We just wanted to help!" A small blue bird explained as it frantically waved its wings.

The deer turned towards the bird as it was about to say something before I interrupted, "No, it's okay! That's very kind of you all."

         "Well, I guess it's fine if you're not creeped out by it," the deer admitted softly.

         "Is this yours?" I looked to my right to see a smaller deer holding my bucket between its teeth.

        "Ahh, yes! Thank you so much," I expressed my gratitude as the deer gently placed the bucket into my hands. I peered inside the bucket with a frown as I saw that it was empty.

        "What's wrong?" A bunny questioned as it emerged from the group and hopped towards me.

        "I filled my bucket with water from the well, but it all spilled out when I tripped," I answered dejectedly.

        "Aww, don't worry! We'll help you get some more," the bunny cheered. With that, the bunny hopped towards the direction of the well and beckoned me to follow. The little forest animals and I trailed behind it until we reached our destination. I secured the bucket onto the rope and the bunnies started using their forelegs to crank the bucket until it reached past the water. With a little bit of my help, they were able to crank the bucket back up. After I untied the rope, one of the fawns used it's teeth to grab and hold the pail to ensure I wouldn't trip and drop it again.

        "I really appreciate all of your help! It makes my job a lot easier," I giggled as the animals followed me to my home.

        The birds sang sweetly for me once more as the mice crawled up to my shoulders to kiss me on the cheeks. I skipped happily until I reached my front door and turned towards all of the animals. I was about to thank them again and say goodbye until I noticed all of them staring at the berries growing in my garden. Their mouths hung open, and they had a slightly strange look in their eyes that I believed was hunger.

      "Would you like some berries? I've been growing them for awhile so I'm sure they're ripe now," I inquired with amusement. The animals' eyes lit up at my question and they all nodded firmly.

       I walked towards the bush and picked out handfuls of the small fruits before placing them in front of the animals. They all rushed towards the snacks and started chewing on them aggressively. At some points, they would even push each other a bit or steal food that was hanging from another's mouth. Wow, they must not have eaten in awhile.