“We’ll help you look.”
They run all over the woods, even to areas they don’t like to go, but they don’t see or hear any birds. They decide to rest, and as they are sitting down, they finally see one flying. It lands on a nearby tree.
Daffodil says to Marla, “Go ask that bird what’s going on. Why aren’t there any other birds around?”
Marla asks the bird, “Meep meep meep meep. Meep meep?”
The bird understands Marla and chirps to her in bird talk, “First, since all the worms have left the woods, there isn’t much food for us to eat here. And second, by digging in the mud, worms help keep the soil healthy for the trees to grow. If all the trees die, we won’t have anywhere to build our nests. There are plenty of worms in the next woods over, so that’s where all the birds went. Besides that, there’s a rumor these woods are going to be paved over and turned into a parking lot.”
Marla thanks the bird as he flies away. She quickly turns to Marvin and starts meeping. She tells him what the bird just said. They can only stare at each other in disbelief at what they've done.
Daffodil is confused and says, “Marvin Theodore Harvey, explain to me what’s going on.”
Marvin looks at Albert and Marla, and then says, “I’m sorry Daffodil, but Albert and I made a big mistake. We wanted to do something nice to make up for throwing worms on you. We thought if we could get all the worms out the woods, you would never be grossed out by them again. We had Marla tell the worms the woods were going to be paved over and turned into a parking lot. But if they went to the next woods over, they would be okay. So the worms left last night. And then the birds left too. They left because there wouldn’t be any worms to eat. And to make things worse, that bird just told Marla that without worms in the soil, all the trees will die.”
Daffodil stares at him for a minute before finally saying, “Oh no! You’ve really done it this time. We have to get the worms back here. We can’t let our woods die. What can we do?”
Larue suggests, “Why don’t we have Marla just ask the worms to come back?”
Albert says, “Yeah. She can lie again and tell them that she made a mistake and the woods aren’t going to be turned into a parking lot after all. There’ll be plenty of dirt and mud for them over here.”
Marvin adds, “Let’s go to the next woods over right now and see if we can get this done.”
Marla grabs Marvin by the arm, stopping him from going anywhere. He can tell she is upset as she says, “Meep meep meep! Meep meep meep meep. Meep meep!”
When she finishes meeping, Marvin looks at her and then looks at everyone else. He takes a deep breath and says, “Marla doesn’t want to lie to the worms again. She thinks we should just tell the truth. Tell them we made a big mistake, apologize and ask them to come back.”
Daffodil says, “We’ve already lied to them to get us in this mess. Even though they’re gross, disgusting worms, we shouldn’t lie to them again. Who knows what else could happen.”
They all agree and run as fast as they can to the next woods over. When they get there, Daffodil says, “Marla, find the worms from our woods and let them know that we’ve made a mistake. Tell them the truth and apologize for lying to them.”
Everyone follows Marla as she runs off. After a bit of searching, she finally finds the worms from their woods. They're having an argument with the worms that already live in the next woods over.
One worm says, “With all you new worms, it is much too crowded. You can’t stay here.”
Another worm says, “But our woods are being turned into a parking lot. We'll have to stay. We have no choice.”
Marla interrupts them by meeping, “Stop arguing! I’m sorry, but I lied to you. The woods are not being turned into a parking lot. It never was going to be paved over. My friends and I just thought the woods would be a better place without worms. We didn’t know that you work hard to keep the soil fresh and healthy for the trees to grow. We thought you just crawled around in the mud without doing anything. We thought you were just gross and slimy. Please come back. If you do, we owe you a big favor.”
Marla expects them to be mad at her, but a worm says, “You and your friends need to be more careful. We know some people think we're gross and slimy, and we don’t mind. We like to be slimy. It helps us move through the mud. We think you and your friends are gross for not being slimy. We accept your apology, and because we love our home, we will go back. Just remember this before you try to change anything else. And someday we may need to collect that favor you offered.”
Marla thanks them and runs back to her friends to tell them the good news. She explains it all to Marvin, who then explains it to everyone else. They all agree to do what ever favor the worms may ask from them.
Daffodil says, “That was almost a disaster. But once the worms go home, the birds should come back too. The soil will be okay and the trees will be healthy. The woods will be back to normal.”
Marla hears the worms start singing a song. She thinks it’s very silly and teaches it to her friends. They sing it as they walk back to their woods.
“Yes, we’re going home,
The worms are going home,
The woods are left alone,
And now we’re going home,
They’re not putting a parking lot,
On top of our home,
So now we’re very happy,
The worms are going home.”
When they get back, Marvin apologizes to Daffodil, “Albert and I sure are sorry about throwing those worms on you. We’ll never do that again. I can’t believe we almost ruined the woods.”
Daffodil replies, “I accept your apology. I still might get grossed out by worms, but now I know how important they are to the woods. I hope they never leave.”
* * * * * *
Connect with the author at
https://www.VeryBoringPlace.com
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends