Unexpected Guests

Once upon a time, there was a mom and two kids who had a lovely home in the country....but who also had an insatiable sense of curiosity. There were tall trees, green grass and all they could ever need at home, but the grass always looked a little greener over the fence. One day, they decided to see if that greener grass really was better. Slipping out of their lovely yard, they took a walk through the woods. The kids didn't like the woods because it was rather dark and they could sense that wild animals like coyotes lurked there. They were relieved when they came to a large, green meadow with lots of room to run. Mom thought to herself that this really did look better than home.

In the middle of the big green meadow was a large, fine home with a broad porch and many flowering plants. Being very polite, the mother went to pay her respects to the people in the house, but didn't meet with the reception she expected! The woman wouldn't let her explore the porch, or sample the beautiful ornamental cabbage growing in the pots. In fact, the woman wouldn't even let them stay on the porch, but rather rudely motioned them to return the meadow. They tried several times to get closer to the house, but the woman insisted that they keep their distance. The pet cats on the place were very friendly (friendlier than the people in the house), so they decided to stay in the field and enjoy the beautiful green grass.

About that time, the man came out of the house. He was dressed in a heavy coat, a warm hat and had a walking stick in his hand. The mother was rather frightened of the stick and tried to keep her distance, even when he kept following them and tried to communicate by waving the stick. Then, a strange thing happened....he began to talk their language. You see, the man is a linquist and besides speaking many human languages.....he could also speak theirs. His accent was strange and the words hard to understand, but they understood that he wanted them to follow him...so they did!

Across the lovely meadow, back through the scary, dark woods, they followed the man until suddenly they saw something familiar...HOME. Strange as it may seem, the place that had seem ordinary now seemed safe and welcoming. They hurried past the man with the stick and ran to their place in their yard. The grass may be greener on the other side of the fence, but there is no place like home.

(I am having trouble uploading the picture - so in case you haven't guessed by now.... three goats came to visit!)