"Hello Mr. Otter," the girls said in unison, as they watched the large,
dark brown critter with it's beautiful, shiny coat glittering in the sun.
 It's neck was a silver-gray color that shimmered in the ultraviolet rays.
 Sammi swiftly stepped forward and began sniffing the otter's hindquarters.
    "Sammi, mind your manners," Wiggles scolded.
    "Oops," Sammi answered, a little embarrassed.
    "What are you doing in that river, Mr. Otter?" Maxie asked.
    "Yeah, you're all wet," Rosie added.
    "Well, I was catching some lunch.  The king salmon are running quite
strong this morning.  Come'on, I'll show you how to catch them," Otter
responded.
    "Huh?" The girls said.
    "You do have webbed feet, you know...just like me.  Now, the only thing
you have to remember is to hold your breath when you dive.  Water up the
nose is not pleasant," Otter offered.  So, the girls dove into the river,
and followed Otter to the middle.  There he submerged into the waters and
surfaced again, with a silver-colored fish in his mouth.
    "Woah, that's huge," Rosie said, clearly taken by the activity.  She
dove head first at a salmon that had just passed her, and grabbed it in her
teeth.
    "Nice one," Wiggles declared.
    "Thanks," Rosie mumbled, for it was quite difficult to talk with a fish
in her mouth.
    "This should be enough, girls, let's swim to shore and eat!" Otter
motioned with a toss of his head.  Soon they were all five on the bank to
the river, circled around the two king salmon.
    "Before eating these," Otter said, "We must first offer a prayer to the
spirit of these creatures that have given us their lives that we may not go
hungry."
    "Woah, that's deep," Maxie replied.
    "You see," Otter added, "Every animal on the earth is important, and we
must respect the balance of the relationships that all creatures have with
one another and with the land."
    "What are all of those salmon doing?  They aren't "running," they are
swimming!" Rosie stated.
    "Well, it is called a "run" because they move swiftly at this time of
the year from the ocean up the swift currents of the river to return to the
place where they were born."
    "Why do they do that?" Sammi asked.
    "So that they can lay their eggs and make more baby salmon, to replace
them when they die afterwards," Otter explained, "It is truly a delicate
renewal process in the way these creatures live."
    "But how do they find the exact place they were born?" Wiggles
interjected.
    "They just know," Otter answered, "Pretty amazing isn't it?"
    "Boy, I'll say," Maxie replied, "Let's eat!"  So with that the fish was
devoured in a matter of minutes.
    "That was good," Rosie stated, licking her mouth while lying on her back
on the grass.
    "I sure wish we had some raisins," Sammi added.  Suddenly there was a
strange glow that surrounded the crinkle sack next to the girls, which seemed
to emanate for a few seconds and then was gone.
    "What the heck was that?" Rosie said, hopping around the sack in
circles.
    "Look inside," Otter provided, smiling.
    "Woah," Rosie exclaimed, emerging from the sack with a bunch of juicy
raisins in her paws.
    "How in the heck did she do that?" Wiggles stated.
    "Well, it looks like your bag is now enchanted, girls.  Be very careful
with this power though; do not abuse this new gift you have found.  It is
time for me to leave now.  Good luck," Otter stated, and swam out into the
river and dove under the current, disappearing from view.  The girls waited
for thirty minutes or so, and he never emerged.
    "I guess he's gone for good," Maxie said, with a sad look in her eyes.
    "Mr. Otter, come back," Sammi stated, still searching every inch of the
river for him.
    "Don't worry, girls," a voice said from nowhere, "I will always be with
you, whenever you need me."
    "Was that Otter?" Rosie exclaimed, looking around.
    "Apparently so," Wiggles replied. "Come on, lets eat some raisins."
    "Sounds good to me," Maxie added.
 
    (to be continued...)
[Posted in FML issue 1653]