Whoomp…thud…little feet scurried over Ruthe's head.
Ruthe glanced over the covers to see that it was still dark outside.
"Oh Charlotte." she groaned. "It is only 5 o'clock in the morning."

"But you said we could!" Charlotte said as she raced around the room,
across the bed and tried to climb the shades!

"All right," thought Ruthe. "I might as well get up. I'll never get back to sleep now."

Ruthe's Mom and Dad were coming for a visit! Known to the critters as 'Grandee and Popee'
and Ruthe had told the critters they could wait on the deck for their arrival.
After her cup of hot tea, Ruthe fed the critters and they all went out on the deck to watch for them.

There was a rosy glow in the east. The sun was just peeking over the horizon.

"What a wonderful world!" Pearl said looking around. "I like this time of day!"

Boy George, the cat someone left in the driveway, was sleeping in the garden behind a pot of mint.

"Hey! Who woke me?
I was having a delicious dream about a field mouse.
Oh, it's you Cikala. What's that you're pushing?"

"It's a piece of your cat food that I'm taking to my children." she replied panting. "This is heavy work."

Mr. Hummer buzzed by after inspecting each flower for nectar.
"Can you stop and talk to us?" asked Pearl.
"I'm on my way to gather spider webs and lichen to use for our nest building.
But I'll come by tomorrow and tell you about it. Mrs. Hummer is waiting for me. Gotta go!"
And sparkling in the sun like a little jewel, he was gone.

"Charlotte, leave Speckles alone! Can't you see he's busy?" Halle knowingly said.
She knew what Speckles was doing. Halle sleeps in the bookcase and had seen a
book about snakes. Speckles was lying on a rock in the morning sun shedding his skin.
"Speckles is shedding his old skin because his body is growing." Halle told the critters.

Little Flitter was bobbing from flower to flower drinking nectar.
"Did you know your Auntie Teddy's animal guide is the butterfly?" asked Ruthe.
"That just may be her paying us a visit."
As she flitted past Whitefoot she paused briefly on his nose.
"A-choo! Auntie Teddy tickled me." he giggled.

A sweet chirrup and a flash of blue were seen as a bird darted from the nesting box
on the old post in the side yard.

"It's a bluebird! See how it flies over the ground and hovers, then pounces on an insect
to feed to his mate. His mate is in the nesting box, sitting on eggs,
so Mr. Bluebird feeds her." explained Ruthe.

"Shhhh."
"See that little green thing? That's a tree frog. They have suction pads at the tips of their toes
and can climb on vertical surfaces. They sleep during the day." said Ruthe
as she pointed out the little green lump on a nearby bush.

"Do they sing?"
"Of course Charlotte. We hear them singing at night down on the pond." answered Melissy.

The little critters were so caught up in everything around them they didn't see the car
coming down the driveway. It was Grandee and Popee!

"What are you doing out here?" asked Grandee as she hugged all the little critters.

"Ruthe has been teaching us about other critters.
She says we are all 'children of the universe' and each has a right to be here.
We must be gentle with each other and look for the beauty within. We can not be selective.
Love embraces all." the critters answered.

The End.